Psycho Killer, qu'est-ce que c'est, run run run run run away

Hey kids,

It's that time of year again. When momma gets visions of succulent, fresh tomatoes and brilliantly colored squash in her head. A dream that inevitably turns to nightmare.

I could go on and on about the gardening mishaps that have befallen me over the past few years. Endless weeks of back-breaking work that have coughed up but a paltry couple of wizened green tomatoes and stunted squash. But why dwell on my failures?

They say crazy is doing something incorrectly, over and over again, expecting to get a different result. That was me the first three or four years of trying to grow a garden in the high desert. This year, two words: container garden.

There's even a website that deals in nothing *but* miniaturized versions of old standbys. It's called containerseeds.com, natch. I bought a bunch of seeds last year, but just didn't have it in me to even get started, so I'm using that same batch of seeds this year. Here's what I've got:

• Bush Goliath Tomato
• Glacier Tomato
• Siberian Tomato
• Silvery Fir Tree Tomato
• Red Robin Tomato
• Yellow Canary Tomato
• Space Miser F1 Hybrid Zucchini
• Gold Rush F1 Summer Squash
• Calliope Hybrid Eggplant
• Fairytale Hybrid Eggplant
• Sweet Pickle Pepper
• Feher Ozon Pepper
• Early Jalapeno Pepper

I started each from seed last Saturday, in plastic cups in my kitchen. I had planned to get them under a grow light, but it was a busy week, and I didn't get around to it until tonight.

Which means the poor little things sprouted. They were leggy and pale and weak. It actually turned my stomach this evening as I uprooted them and started over. Who'da thunk they'd grow so quickly! This does not bode well.

But -- starting now -- no more failure! This is the year! Yay, tomatoes! Yay, squash! Grow, grow, grow!



It's still dropping into the 20s at night, so I can't put them out in the garage yet. It's even supposed to snow for the next couple of days. So they're in my bathroom for now. Whatever!