seed sowing

My big plan for yesterday was to take both girls outside and have them help me fill my seed trays with soil and get my seeds planted. Charlotte fell asleep on the couch at 12:00 (almost 2 hours early) and ended up sleeping for 3 1/2 hours!! So, I moved my operation inside and Maddie ended up being my only helper. It probably worked out better this way anyway.....Charlotte is not so good with putting dirt in specific locations......it's more like a dirt shower when she is around. Maddie did a really good job at filling up the peat pots with soil and watering it with her brand new water can. I waited until Maddie went down for her nap to plant the seeds.....they're just way too tiny for her to be successful in helping. Here's what we have cookin' so far:

Rosemary
Brussel sprouts
Broccoli
Radish
Tomatoes (5 different kinds)
Cilantro
Sweet onions
Cabbage
Basil
Spinach (2 different kinds)
Cabbage (Pak Choi)
Cauliflower
Onions (bunching)

I will also be planting lettuce (4 different kinds), carrots, and sugar pea seeds straight into the garden.....once we have beds and dirt. I was a little bit nervous about starting my seeds so late, but this winter has been SO cold that I think we'll be fine. One issue that I had last year when starting my seeds in January/February is that they grew really fast and then ended up long and stringy and didn't stand up very well. I'm hoping that with getting a late start they won't grow so big before I transplant and they will be healthier and more robust. And it seems like it will be easier to plant a little later than to battle trying to keep transplants alive if we have another cold snap.

I currently have our little seeds sleeping under the grow light that Dan built! I saw something similar in one of my seed catalogs but it cost $70. Dan made our grow light for $22. We had the light fixture left over from when we bought this house.....there used to be an ugly fluorescent light in the kitchen which we promptly took down. D bought some PVC pipe, 2 fluorescent grow bulbs, an electrical cord and some random screws and wa-la. Since we are lacking in direct sunlight in our house, I'm hoping that the grow light will help out little seedlings grow up big and strong! Have I mentioned how fantastic my husband is? Anything I dream up he can make come true. He's a good guy to have around if you ask me! :o)