Big things come in small packages...

The first two types of tomatoes that I planted are just beginning to sprout. Aren't seeds amazing little capsules of life?

As you can see, these are planted in our newspaper pots that can be planted directly into the garden soil, lessening the transplant shock on the plant. In addition, the pots will add organic matter to the garden. I had some plastic forks that someone brought to a get together here at our house that I decided to use for plant markers this year.

I had hoped to get the carrots planted in the garden yesterday, but our youngest and I have both been down with the flu, so they'll have to wait. Maybe I can plant them later in the week.

In other news, digging around in the freezer, I came across a frozen package of apples that I put up when they were on sale. We made some delicious apple crisp with them.

To-mAH-toes, To-mA-toes...

Whatever your pronunciation...I planted more last night. If every newspaper pot ends up with one strong seedling, we'll have

• 4 Pearly Pink Cherry Tomatoes
• 4 Pink Boar Tomatoes
• 12 Green Zebra Tomatoes (Just for fun!!)

These are in addition to the other tomato seeds I'd planted. Nothing has sprouted yet, even though I go out to the garage to stare at them several times a day.

Also, Dad has set a date to come up and build the chicken coop. I'm still waiting for Atwoods to get their baby chicks in...can't find a mail order company that will ship less than 25 chicks. I'm only looking to get 4-6 chicks, so I guess I'll have to be patient. Our local Atwoods store says their chicks will arrive in March. I plan to check at two other area stores, though, to see if they will be getting chicks earlier.