A Tomato Sprouts in Phoenix

Well, technically in Litchfield Park, a West suburb of Phoenix. Regardless it was an extremely exciting occurrence. My tomato growing adventure went something like this:

I bought some heirloom tomato seeds from Seeds of Change. I planted them in organic potting soil, watered them, and waited. And waited. And waited. And, yeah, nothing happened. Really? Germination isn't a highly technical procedure right? You just water the soil and kind of leave them sit. So I tried again. You would think that I'd do some research after the first batch but no, not me! I just decided fate did not want that batch to germinate and set out on the same fruitless path again. Yeah, nothing happened. Again. So I finally got the hint. I was doing something wrong. I know, hard to believe. So I read up on germinating tomato seeds. Kind of obsessively if I am truthful. Turns out they do not need sun to germinate and the intense Arizona sun was even worse. I also, ahem, overshot the depth at which the seeds should be sewn by, well, a lot. Then I learned that the composition of my potting soil, however awesome and organic it may have been, was not holding water and was not appropriate for the arid climate.

I took my new found knowledge and sprung into action. I Sterilized my pots, mixed new soil containing some clay, planted the seeds at 1/4" depth, placed them on a warm, but not too hot windowsill, and kept the soil moist. You will never guess what happened. They frickin germinated!!! To say I was ecstatic was an understatement. A severe, severe understatement. I immediately screamed and texted my husband (who happens to be stationed 4 hours away on an Army base) "911 call me." Apparently far wiser than me, my 9 year old son looked at me and said "Mommy, that's not really 911." Oh crap, he's right, it is NOT a 911 text. Resend "Not 911, but important." Then my husband calls. "What's wrong?! What happened?!" I proceeded to tell him with great joy that my seeds finally germinated. Silence. Then "Amy...really??...911?!" Uh yeah, guess that whole 911 bit was a tad over-exuberant.

So yeah, my husband did not share my immediate joy over the seedlings, rather he was just relieved no one had died.

Here they are, showing off their first true leaves. My beautiful little seedlings. I have already transplanted some of them to other containers, and I read directions first.