The babies are coming...

I'm a little bummed that I'm heading on vacation at this critical time during the baby veggie's birth, especially since they're finally poking their heads up.

Between the mold and first over watering and then under watering the little buggers, I'm surprised to see so many green heads looking for the light. But here they come, despite my accidental attempts to murder them.

I hope that when we get back they'll all be waving their little shoots at me, getting ready to go into the ground in a few weeks.

Here's where we are with some of the over-achievers:

The broccoli clan is the biggest and most boisterous of the bunch.

 

The Rutger tomato is on the left and the yellow cherry is on the right. YUM.

And Sweet Basil is the first of the herbs to start coming up.

In other news, the first person I emailed with from the county that said chickens would be OK, forwarded my message to someone in Zoning and now Zoning says chickens are NOT allowed in our residential area.

After doing much research, I've drafted a letter asking for an exception and a change in the zoning laws for the county, so we will have to put the chicken adventures on hold while I fight with the county administration.

I will prevail! It will just take some time. Vote for chickens!!!!!

DIY Grow Light Stand - my 1st DIY project!

Well, I've done it. I've survived my first DIY project and even though it involved a saw, I still have all of my digits. (My work pants are a little worse for wear with a small hole, but there was no blood so it's a success!)

Because I'm starting all of my edibles from seed and need to sow them indoors, I needed a growing light to encourage the little buggers skyward.

Most of the light stands I found online ran $60-$200 and the $60 stands only have one small light (which is good for growing 12 little pods, but I'll have hundreds).

A little research and I came across this guy's DIY blog: http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/10376/diy-pvc-grow-light-stand

With my shopping list in hand, I hit Lowe's and a very friendly employee walked me through the store to pick up a bunch of PVC connectors, PVC pipes, light timer, florescent grow lights, and some bolts. Getting a 10-foot long PVC pipe into my Honda hybrid meant going down the highway with about 5 feet of pipe sticking out of the back window, but nothing flew out of the window.

Here is the before:

About an hour later, I finished! 

I would not recommend sawing PVC without a clamp. I was holding it with my hand on the staircase and it wobbled all over the place. This is why my cuts look like California fault lines, but once I jammed them into the connectors, who will know?

The lights are attached with temporary ties, so I still need to get some more permanent method for hanging them, but it works!!!!

Ta da!!!!! (Cat not included)

The lights will be adjustable, so fast growing plants will go under one and slower growers get closer light for longer under the other. I just need to hook the lights into the timer and they will magically treat my soon-to-be seedlings to 12-15 hours of light without me having to remember.

Instead of paying $85ish bucks plus shipping, I whipped this sad little puppy out for:

2 grow lights = $30

PVC pipe = $6

Connectors = $7

_________________

Grand total: $43 + a wicked sense of accomplishment