Tomatoes: Transplants vs. Seeds

Although tomatoes are easy to start from seeds, I purchased several different varieties of heirloom tomato transplants from Home Depot.  They were selling them for $3.48 each, and they came in 5" peat pots.  So why did I purchase transplants if tomatoes are so easy to grow from seeds?

1. Early Harvesting Time.  Transplants have been started indoors from seeds several weeks prior to the spring planting season.  This means my newly purchased tomato transplants will set fruit much earlier than a tomato plant started from seed during the normal planting season.  It will continue to set fruit until the first frost in fall.  
2. Cheaper for People with Limited Gardening Space.  Unless you harvest seeds from an heirloom tomato from the market or can get them on the cheap, it may be slightly more expensive to buy a standard pack of seeds.  For example, Burpee is selling a packet of 50 Black Krim seeds for $3.95.  That packet of seeds cost $0.47 more than a transplant.
3. Limited Space.  I do not need 50 Black Krim tomato plants.  I only want one for now.  I do not have the space for it, and I am more interested in having a variety of plants in my garden.  
4. Free Future Seeds.  I can still easily save seeds from the tomatoes my transplants will produce this year, and start my own transplants early next year.   

Smart Savings on Magazine Subscriptions

Would you rather pay $10.99 per issue or $0.85 per issue?  I purchased a couple of magazines from the grocery store rack during my trip.  I needed something to keep me entertained during the flight back.  One of the magazines I purchased was by Southern Living.  It was a issue focusing on Backyard Retreats.  I purchased a single issue for $10.99, but after doing some research I learned how to get them for as little as $0.85 per issue.  All you have to do is use your free ebates account, and then use the additional coupon code SPRINGMAGS which gives you $5 off your purchase.  If you do not have an ebates account, you should sign up for one today by clicking here.  It is absolutely free, and it will save you lots of money in the future.  Although I used Southern Living as my example, you can apply the $5 discount and additional 26% off on other magazines.

Savings Break Down Using Southern Living Subscription as an Example:

A.  Purchasing 1 Issue at a Time at the Store:
1 issue at the store $10.99

B.  Purchasing 13 issues through EBATES.com and Magazines.com will cost:

13 issues at $19.95 + $5 off coupon using coupon code SPRINGMAGS + 26% EBATES Discount + Free Shipping = $11.06 for 13 issues, which breaks down to $0.85 per issue!

Container Plants Survived Week Long Vacation with Easy DIY Tricks

Photo: butternut squash (left) and early sunglow corn (right) both from seeds

I went on a week long vacation to the tropics.  I started some seeds in containers on March 28, 2011 and left them outdoors in DIY mini-greenhouses to germinate.  Most of them had already sprouted before leaving for my trip.  I watered the plants thoroughly, and used the plastic bag method and homemade greenhouses to keep the soil moist and the plants happy while I was away.  I am happy to report that not only did all of the seedlings survive, but also more seeds have sprouted!

Photo: Romaine Lettuce from seeds

Photo: Cantelope (left) and Cucumber (right) both from seeds

Photo: Bush Bean from seed

Photo: Late Corn (left) and Watermelon (right) both from seeds