Sprigs: a $9.00 tomato

I feel a little like the witch in the gingerbread house. She fed her guests so they would be plump when she baked and ate them. 



I pamper my tomato plants to the same end. 
I planted seeds in nice little jiffy pots and put them under the plastic dome of a re-purposed vegetable tray to create a tiny greenhouse. Because I don't have a grow light, I put it on top of a gutted angel food cake pan. The heat from the furnace kept them warm and sped up germination. 





Bingo. It worked. Now I shuffle the pie plate from room to room to catch the sunshine. They're leggy; but I'll move them to bigger pots soon. 

link to Territorial seeds at left

Fast forward to transplanting outdoors. I bought special plastic to mulch and heat their growing spot. Ruby tubing will create temporary hot houses when I put them out in early May. 






Then, like Jack's beans (I'm mixing my fairy tales) they'll grow and grow.  
I hope I get a lot of 'maters, because I've invested nearly $35.00 in seeds and fancy red plastic. If I have another harvest like last year's, each tomato will be worth $9.00!