I say toe-mae-toe, you say tah-mah-toe...

The seeds are planted! Well, at least some of them are. Little Sis and I started a large portion of our tomato and pepper seeds this week. I know it's a tad early, still 12 weeks till last frost, but I'm planning to re-pot these once they are big enough and start another batch. Looks like no one in our family will need to buy plants this year! So far we have 392 tomato and 196 pepper plants on the way. :)

I know that's a lot. We had around 120 tomato plants last year and everyone thought I was nuts. However, last year was a blight year, and if I hadn't had so many plants, we certainly wouldn't have had enough tomatoes to put up. This year, I'm hoping to participate in the farmer's market in addition to putting up twice as much as last year, so all those extra plants are pretty much a necessity.

I'm trying a few new varieties this year, some heirloom, some hybrid. I have nothing against hybrids, many of them are bred for disease resistance which means a better crop. I have a particular fondness for Celebrity and Early Girl, but I haven't started any yet (note to self: order seeds!). They have great flavor and produce wonderfully.

Here's what we have started so far:

Tomatoes: Omar's Lebanese; Dutchman; Djena Lee's Golden Girl; Golden Sunburst; Aunt Ruby's German Green; Black Russian; Red Zebra; Super Beefsteak; Mortgage Lifter; Big Mama (paste); Bloody Butcher (ok, I confess, I got that one because of the name);Marglobe; Delicious Beefsteak; Golden Mama (paste); Tangerine Mama (paste); Razzle Dazzle; Italian Ice (cherry); Honeybunch (currant).

Peppers: Chinese Giant (great luck with these last year); Habanero; Anaheim; Ancho; Long Slim Red Cayenne; Jalapeno; Hungarian Wax; Big Red; Chardonnay (these are lovely) ; Purple Beauty; Orange Sun; Diamond.

I can't wait for the first little seedlings to emerge; a small taste of spring while the wind howls and the snow swirls outside.