Snow, A Blessing And A Curse

As I look longingly out the window every morning at the knee deep snow on the hill outside, I think of the warm spring weather to come and how it seems like it will take months for it to melt.  I've been trying to plan for what I want to grow, where to plant, and how much space I'll need.  In general, I'm anxious to start gardening. But then as I lift my arm to shield my eyes from the ultra bright sun reflecting off the snow, I'm grateful to have the extra light at this time.  That's because, luckily, I decided to start my tomato and pepper seeds indoors on the day after the first big snowfall. 

I planted the seeds in little peat pellets and I'm keeping them moist and toasty in a Jiffy box by my bright window.  And thanks to the snow the seeds have been getting more light by my window than they would normally, I don't even have to use an extra lamp.  For the peppers specifically, I heard they need heat to germinate, and since I have a heat vent by the window I positioned the box over the vent, giving the box just enough heat.  So I haven't had to spend any extra money creating a hothouse environment for the seeds. 

The tall sprouts pictured are my tomatoes.  They come from the seeds of the tomatoes I grew last year.  The little sprouts are peppers from a former co-worker.  It's so encouraging to see plants growing from the seeds I saved last fall.  I have such an abundance I may give some of the tomato plants away and swap the extra seeds. 

The More You Know:
Here is a good site that talks about seed germination with Jiffy boxes and peat pellets. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/696468/
Storing veggie seeds is pretty easy and fun here's a site for seed saving.
http://www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds/seed_saving.htm
And here's a site that makes seed saving an artsy fartsy endeavor.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/homegrowndotorg/sets/72157623267324767/show/
For seed swaping info.
http://www.seedswaps.com/