I got some of the peat cups and started my plants!

[Aerows]

I have started the following - Heirloom Tabasco Peppers, Beefsteak Tomatoes and Brandywine Tomatoes.

I'm probably going to mother hen them to death, but I'd REALLY like for them to be successful. Right now they are inside in the little compartments. I also have lettuce to put out, too.

[Curmudgeoness]

1. You won't mother hen them to death.

Don't overwater them, and make sure that they have air circulation when they get to about an inch high----that is where I used to kill them with too much water and they would die right at the soil line. Live and learn.

You are lucky to be able to put out lettuce already.....they are calling for snow tomorrow night here. Ugh. This has been a very long winter.

[Aerows]

2. I haven't put the lettuce out yet

It's still too iffy. I had to take the whole box inside because the temperature fluctuations are so strange. It's 75 one day, then the next it's 55 and plummeting (like tonight). I'm on the Gulf Coast. You aren't the only person that is puzzled and flummoxed by this weather.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Lettuce will do fine with those temps.

Lettuce is one of the cool weather crops, so you don't want to wait too long on the Gulf Coast.....it will get too hot too soon.

[Aerows]

4. Oh! I thought it needed to be warmer

Thanks for that! I'll have to do that tomorrow after work! I'm intending to grow butterleaf heads and looser, faster growing black seed. It is said to be ready to eat by 40 days. I don't know, I'm giving it a shot.

[Aerows]

5. I read online that butter lettuce might just do better in buckets

I have the space for that, and some empty plant pots that I could grow them in. Do you know anything about the efficacy of going that route?

For the leaf lettuce, I may just go this route. I already grow sprouts in jars, and like to have my own produce on hand.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-lettuce-cups-69242.html

[Curmudgeoness]

6. I have not grown butter lettuce, so don't know.

Experiment. That is always a good idea, since what works for one person may not work for another as well. Find out what works for you.

I grow my leaf lettuce in window boxes, and it doesn't do too bad but would probably do better in a larger container. Growing it in the ground is not an option for me here because of the rabbits.

But I do have experience with lettuce in Houston, and I guarantee you that it will be bitter by early summer.

[Aerows]

7. See, I'm in a climate that is about like Houston, but more humid

I won't say hotter because hell, it's always hot along the Gulf Coast. Once it gets past 100F and 95% humidity, it really doesn't matter anymore.

If I grew it inside in a window box would that mitigate the bitterness, instead of outside?

Hell, it's 80% humidity and 63F here at 8pm and it's March.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. But more humid??????

My god, I don't think that is possible.

I would think that yes, it should work growing it inside....especially when it heats up outside. Try a few different things to see how they work. Let us know what works the best.

[Aerows]

9. I'm already growing alfalfa sprouts inside

with the "Jar method" because I love crunchy greens. I'm getting pretty good at that. I'd just like to have some lettuce in there. I don't doubt that tomatoes and peppers will grow. I worry about the cucumbers, but if they survive, I'm sure they will be okay.

And yes, more humid. I've lived in Houston TX during the summer. A FULL summer. Like I said, after a certain point, how stifling it is doesn't even matter anymore. Try moving furniture in Houston in August in the middle of the day. I know bad.

I know worse, as well.

[Aerows]

10. I'm so thrilled I could just about burst

My cucumbers and tomatoes are coming up like you wouldn't believe.

Of course, my tabasco peppers haven't even peeped out of the dirt, but I think I've thrown in the towel on trying to grow them.

I'll have cukes and tomatoes, so who can complain about that!?