topie, your using something to hold the paper pots apart is a terrific idea. That should work very well. May I suggest that you sow sweet peas no more than a week or two before planting time? Those seeds germinate fast, similar to dahlia, Morning Glory or cypress vines. I gave up growing sweet peas long ago. Our spring weather heats up too fast those beauties get sunburn ....same as spring flowering bulbs and Oriental Poppies...sigh... * ******* * ************ I usually fit 8 - 9 paper pots in a milk jug--- as tightly as I can. I actually don't mind when paper pots stick together. By the time the seedlings are big enough to transplant, the root ball is so robust that it holds the soil together. Breaking the pots apart won't do them that much harm. That's the beauty of WS. In fact, there are times when I even break apart the paper pots because the root ball is so dense I need to tease out the roots. Or I need to make a smaller chunk of seedlings. :-D

Thanks for the replies everyone! I didn't sow into individual cups -- I just loaded the whole shebang up with dirt and sowed into the dirt. Some stuff I sowed HOS-style, some stuff (like sunflowers, larkspur, etc) I sowed in tiny rows that I made with a fingertip. Of course, as soon as I finished all my containers it started to rain here in Pittsburgh. I moved all of my containers onto a covered porch for the night because I didn't want to flood them so soon! I'm going to move them back out into the yard and the sun today. I had lots of condensation inside my containers so I know I did it right! I labeled my containers by duct taping a snack sized ziploc bag with the names written on a slice of paper. I don't know if that will hold up over the next few months so I will have to check frequently! I've read about the paint pens you guys use. BTW, making the soil was SO EASY! I'm so glad I didn't plunk down all that money for seed starting soil bags. Here they are about 4 dollars for 8 quarts, and with the amount of soil I used it would have been a small fortune. Just a big bale of peat, some compost, and the perlite and it looked almost the same as the MG stuff. I mixed it in a big bag and used the dishwashing liquid tip! Next time I think I would try the mushroom compost over the cow manure compost. Mine had a LOT of large chunks of wood and rocks and stuff. I wound up using only a very small amount. I guess I can use the leftovers out in the beds! Happy growing! Kara

Hi, I live in the hill country, in southeastern Blanco County, so I'll answer the best I can. 1. We are going to bring in dirt. Should we just add dirt on top of what is already there, or should we till the old stuff and mix it up with the new dirt? ANSWER: Till up the old stuff, and pull out the grass and weed root, then dump in the new stuff and till it all in so that you mix it. 2. Can (should) we till a week or two before we actually plant? In other words, can we have the dirt delivered and do the tilling one weekend and do the planting 2-3 weekends later? Yes, you can do that. 3. Because of work and travel schedules, we are limited to putting in the beds either the first weekend in March or the last weekend in March. Which is better? Last weekend might be better weather and warmer, so I'd go with that. 4. We are not going to be putting in a sprinkler system, but were thinking of laying soaker hoses. In reading various posts on this forum, there seems to be a difference of opinion on whether those work or what type to get. Thoughts? Soakers are OK, but I've never been all that impressed with them. You could also do a hose sprinkler. One other important thing--look for deer-resistant plants and flowers, like red salvia and maybe some nice lavendar. Lavendar grows VERY well in the hill country and smells wonderful. Rosemary does well, too! Good luck! We moved out of Austin 2.5 years ago and I wish we could've done it sooner. I LOVE it out here.

Alrighty! good info, Carol. I ended up using my processing pots of water since they were right THERE...but once I get a better idea of what I'm actually doing I can see how that might be pretty handy. Can I just send you my extra peppers, Mom? I didn't know how bulky they'd be so I overbought. I love stupidly spicy foods but the spouse can only handle medium spicy (and I haven't even tested the baby's threshold yet). Even so, I didn't taste these. But they are pretty.