Tomato babies

After returning from the weekend out of town, I checked my seedlings for progress. I was very pleased to see I had some tomato babies. Because they are so spindly and tender, I am going to have to gently care for them, but I am hoping by next week I will be able to take the tops off my sprouts and allow them to grow their second leaves.

It might be kind of silly to get so excited about little tomato sprouts but I must admit I am. I kind of feel extra special about the plants I grow from seed. I am also amazed at how the first leaves of so many plants look similar to totally unrelated plants. My tomatoes look very similar to my several small dill sprouts, but later they won't resemble at all. I think that is amazing.

I can see why it is best to plant tomatoes in a more protected environment than plants like squash or beans. The tomatoes are very fragile when they sprout. Squash and beans have larger, heartier sprouts. I know you can plant tomatoes directly into the ground, but it also takes them much longer to go from seed to plant. It makes better sense to start them indoors.

I do apologize for two posts that are practically the same but it is a very big deal for me to have success with my tomatoes. I think the photo at the top is of Romas and the photo at the bottom is probably my Heirloom Brandywines. (Sigh) I really love them.

This week looks promising for us to get some seeds into the ground if we can break up our garden. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a continuation of the good weather. We will see.