End of Summer and My Garden

Hello All,

I have not blogged too much this year due to long hours at work and the lack of production from the garden.  I have to agree with Lynne Sullivan, the Indiana Organic Gardeners Assn. President, when she wrote in this quarter's newsletter, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad that Summer is over!"   Man, what a dissappointing season!  Everything started so well, too.

Anyway, I cleaned out the garden last weekend.  Funny thing is, the tomatoes plantes looked great and were starting to have little tomatoes everywhere.  Same thing with my tomatillo plants.  Too little, too late, though.  I have emptied the rain barrel but I still need to winterize it.  I also emptied all of the plants in the containers, and stored both trellises that I used for cucumber and sugar baby watermelon plants.  I'm still deciding on what to do with the garden box.  You see, Miss 38th Street and I could be in a transition in the next three to six months.  The house is for sale and we're determined to be out of the house soon.  We'll hope for the best!  So, I don't want to spend a lot of time and money in the garden, yet.  Ahh!  I might have to change the name of my blog!  Who knows, I might not be an urban gardener anymore.  We could be out in the country.  We could be 20 or 30 blocks north of here.  We'll see.  Either way, we will continue to garden and I will continue the garden blog.

Speaking of gardening blogs, check this one out!    Skippy's Vegetable Garden   I really like her blog.  It's wonderful.  I've got to step up this blog, and the GARDEN so I can class this joint up!

The recap of this year's 38th Street Garden is this; the gardening season started out great, summer was brutal and not a lot to show for all the hard work and money we put into the ol' garden.
My seedling operation, which I stepped up this year, went well.  I had a lot of seedlings.  Too many, really.  I gave a lot away.  My greens and radishes were fantastic!  They were successful early.  I transplanted my seedlings successfully.  I have only a few plants die or I had to remove.  Then Summer, as we all know, was too hot!  I had only a handfull of tomatoes from 10 tomato plants.  Sad.  Even the cherry tomato plant, which are pretty prolific, gave me very little.  No tomatillos, no green beans, very few peppers of any variety.  I did get some cucumbers.  They did ok.  Not as good as last year, but decent.  I got two watermelons, which was the same as last year.  The herbs were fine.  I love fresh basil and mint.  Oh, the garlic was pretty awesome, I have to say.  I got twelve good bulbs.  I think I will plant these again.

I won't have much to write about for a bit, but I think I'll have to post some ideas and options for the 2013 garden.  I have no idea where that garden will be located, but it will be fun regardless.

I hope everyone had a good garden and enjoyed the experience this year.  Till next time!

Rafael

Long Over Due Post

Hello,

It's been a really long while since my last post.  Simply put, I work too much.  Anyway, the update on the garden is...  eh.  As a whole the garden is not doing well.  Everything is pretty much surviving, but that's it.  I think my basic problem is my soil is not good enough.  It just doesn't have the good organic goodies everything needs.  I've picked up the fertilizing.  I'm using mainly water soluble fertilizer.  I'm using a 2-2-2 fish fertilizer which i'm spraying on the plants' underside in the evenings or mornings, Botanicare Pure Blend 1-0.5-1 organic compost solution on the plants, and Organicare Humega soil conditioner.  I picked most of this stuff at Worms Way around Bloomington.  Man, that store overwhelmed me!  Cool store, though.

The veggie rundown:

Very few tomatoes this year.  Much like last year, actually.  The difference from this years' to last years' tomatoes it that this year, I have no blooms.  Last year I had lots of blooms, but they didn't turn to fruit.

Peppers are fairly non-existant.  I have one Aji Limon Pepper in a pot that's doing fine.  That's it.  No Green Peppers, no Serranos and the Scotch Bonnet Pepper I thought I ordered wasn't a Scotch Bonnet!  It was a Cherry Pepper.  No biggie, other than I only had one that survived.

The cucumber variety that I planted this year is ok.  Miss 38th Street doesn't really care for it and I'm not too fond of it either, yet.  We've only had a couple.  Boo!  Cucumbers are one of my favorites!

Green Beans.  I got eight.  Eight!  All of the beans were eventually reduced to skeletons and died.  I'm sure a little yellow beetle with four black spots on its back is to blame, but I can't prove it.

I already told you about the Blueberry situation.  None.

Carrots I'm not sure about.  They're still growing, so that's good.

Sugar Baby Watermelons are not giving me much.  I have one melon per plant.  Just like last year.  One day, I will have these watermelons figured out.

The Tomatillos are just starting to fruit.  It took a while, but they are finally coming around.  The plants are getting huge.  I need a picture of the biggest one.  The bees like it, too!

Now, the garlic, which we harvested in June, then let cure for a couple weeks, is pretty awesome.  They are potent!  Very happy with the garlic.


Yesterday, I added some homemade compost, Garden Tone and some Fish Meal to the garden's vacant areas.  I watered it and let it marinate for a day.  Today I planted some more greens for a fall crop.  I think I'll get a fall crop because the all greens did well this year.  I planted Baby Spinach, Red Winter Kale, and Baby Leaf Lettuce (Heirloom Mix).  I planted them where I could.  They're kinda scattered, but it's cool.  Wish me luck!

No picture today.  I'll have more for the next post.

Good luck in the garden!

Good night, everyone!

Thinking Ahead

Happy July 6th!

I hope everyone is enjoying sweating their behinds off as this heatwave rolls on.  Right now, I look outside and I start sweating!  Hopefully, this heatwave will break this weekend.  

I started thinking ahead this week about canning the future bounty from the garden and about starting a fall crop.  I have not done either of these.  I want to try both, if I can afford it.  I definitely want to get the canning operation going.  Hey, I've come this far, I might as well do everything associated with home garden, right?  Right.  I am optimistic that I'll get a lot of tomatoes and tomatillos this year.  I can makes some sauces, some salsas and whatever else I can think of.  

I started looking at canning options today.  We have the boiling water bath method and the pressure canning method.  I'm trying to keep this operation real, so I'm going for the pressure canning method.  I like to have as many options as possible and the pressure canning method looks to let me can just about anything I would want.  Pressure canning is all about killing the Clostridium Botulinum microorganism, which is the bad guy responsible for spoiling low-acidic foods.  You'll have to research the list of foods that are low-acidic on your own.  There is a brief article about canning one the American Seed Alliance site.  Anyway, it looks like I'm going have to drop about $150 to get this started.  I think I can swing that.  If anyone has any opinions or suggestion on the canning topic, I would love to hear anything you have to say.  I love advice!  

I also started looking into cold frames.  I don't know if this is doable where I'm at, but I'm going to investigate.  I was telling Miss 38th Street I was interested in doing the a cold frame this year.  It depends on getting some scrap wood and an old window, as well as finding a good spot on the property that Miss 38th Street approves of.  Or I could just put it in and ask for forgiveness later? (lets see if she reads this post).  I found this link about cold frames today.  Very Nice.  It's from the University of Missouri so I'm giving it a read.  I also speaks about hotbeds, which are heated cold frames.  I'll stick to the cold frames, for now.

On a sad note, my six blueberry bushes, which were doing well this year, are not going to give me what I wanted.  Mainly because the BIRDS ATE ALL THE BLUEBERRIES OF THE BUSHES!!!  Ahhh!  They were looking so good, too.  I have 3 Jersey Blueberries, 2 Elliot Blueberries and 1 Blu Ray Blueberry bushes.  Well, next year, I'm putting a net about the bushes.  Because next year, I'm going to have this:

OK, if anyone has any advice or stories about these subjects, I would love to hear them.


Stay cool!


Seriously, stay cool.  It's hot outside.  Margaritas help.


38th Street!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

No personal firework display this year.  Banned in our county.  Too dry.  I have a feeling that this heat will be the norm from now on.  Anyway...

I pulled the Garlic yesterday.  It had went to seed, but I waited until there were only 5 to 6 green leaves.  I've heard a couple different things about harvesting Garlic, so I'll just try this first and see what happens.  Miss 38th Street is braiding the Garlic now, which I think is pretty cool.  Funny thing is, I planted the Garlic upside down.  So, all the garlic plants look like a "J" when I pulled them up.   Chui is assisting in the Garlic clean up.

Luckily, Mimi is not interested in the Garlic.  She just wants to play with the frisbee.  She's a little hot, so back in the AC for her.

I did have one garden casualty today.  I had to pull up the Roma Tomato plant out of the garden box.  It was diseased.  It was wilting and all of the green fruit had black bottoms.  It's out.  I might have to pull out one more.  We'll see.

Everybody stay cool today!

We're off to downtown for some fireworks.

The End of June

The end of June is fast approaching.  The garden is doing well.  Some things are starting to take off and some are coming to an end.  Today,  I pulled all the lettuce out of the garden box.  The Romaine, Simpson and Freckles lettuce are all out.  Most had gone to seed.  There were two plants that hadn't, so harvested both.  They are washed and are drying right now.  Miss 38th Street and I will have a nice salad for lunch!

Now I have to decide what I'm putting in these empty spots in the garden.  A couple weekends ago, I pulled all the spinach out.  It had all gone to seed.  In it's place, I added a Valencia Tomato, and three Serano Peppers.  Although, I did put the Seranos next to the Bell Peppers.  We might have some hot Bell Peppers.  That happened to us last year when I didn't put enough space between the Anaheims and the hot peppers.  The later rounds of he Anaheims were HOT!  Well see.

I'm thinking Cabbage, Kale and more Lettuce and some Baby Spinach.

Oh,  if anyone has some experience with Garlic, let me know what you think.  My Garlic has gone to seed and it look about ready to harvest.  I had someone tell me I couldn't use the Garlic after it had gone to seed.  Then I read something on the interawebworldwide that you should let it go to seed.  I did see where I messed up, in that you should stop watering the Garlic a couple weeks before you dig it up.  Whoops.  We're going to dig some of it up tomorrow.  See what it looks like.  I pulled one up a couple weeks ago, and it was surprisingly small.  I hope the Garlic is still good.  I've heard that home grown Garlic tastes better than the store bought.  If the Garlic is not edible, then I might turn into this:

Or maybe I'll just be Vincent Vega.

Ha!  Keep it 38th Street!  

Garden Video?!?!?!

Are you ready for a Garden Video?!?!?!

Too late now, cause here it comes!!!!!

Check it out!!!!

http://youtu.be/ps96OK7rkL4

Wow.  I was...

was expecting more.

Thanks, anyway.

State of the Garden

Hello,

I haven't written in a bit.  It's been the usual.  Busy, busy, busy.  The garden has been busy, too.  It's been steadily growing.  Most everything is doing well.  I took some pictures to share with everyone.   Let's see what we have here.

The blueberries are looking good.  I didn't know what to expect from them.  I didn't get any berries last year.  

My Fukushu Kumquat Tree is doing well.  No flowers yet, but it's rebounding.  I thought I finally killed it earlier.  The Scotch Bonnet and Aji Limon Peppers are slowly getting bigger.

Here are 3 Tomatoes in pots by the front steps.  Two are going great.  One, not so much.  I think it's slowly dying.  

 Here is a couple more Tomatoes in the garden.  

The Garlic is looking fantastic!  It's going to seed.  I'm supposed to wait until there are only 5 to 6 green leaves left, then harvest.

Ahhhh, yes.  The Sugar Baby Watermelons.  I'm hoping they do a little better then last year.  I got two watermelons last year.  I'm hoping for 4!

I have two cucumbers.  One is blasting off!  One is waiting for it's morning coffee or something.  

Here is one of my Tomatillos.  Something is eating my Tomatillos and Green Beans!  

I hope it they live.

Here are a few shots of the Garden.

 I need to mow.

Ok.  Nothing fancy on this entry.  Just pictures.  

I hope everyone's plants are doing great!

Until next time,

38th Street Gardener

Miss 38th Street's Day Off

Hello, again!

Miss 38th Street had the day off on Saturday, the lucky devil.  I had to work at the Big Blue.  She was home having fun, making the house look great.  I was at work dealing with clients and making sure the shows look good.  She was at home with the dogs and having a great day outside.  I was inside the hotel running around like a crazy person trying to make everyone happy.  As you can imagine, I was very jealous.

Here is photo evidence of the difference:

Miss 38th Street was planting Hostas and Marigolds
around the pear tree out front.  Very Nice.

I was working.

She was making the porch flower boxes look

 beautiful with a spikes and a few types of Coleus.

I was working.

She was planting more Asiatic Lilies in the south flower boxes.

I really like the burgundy and white lily.

I was working.

 She hung some Boston Ferns and some flower baskets, 

and I don't what kind of flowers they are.  

Sorry Miss 38th Street.  Do see her arm?  Hot!

I was working

Another shot of Miss 38th Street's handy work.  

She even shined up the porch swing!  Amazing!

Miss 38th Street did a wonderful job making the house look beautiful!  I wish I could have been there to pitch in and have some fun too!  Hey, I love her.  She's awesome. And I'm not just saying that because she's my hot fiance, even though she is my hot fiance.  I'm saying it because I mean it.  YOU ROCK, MISS 38TH STREET!!!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend outdoors!

Adios.

Late Garden Update!

Hey All.

I have a late garden update for you.  Last week, we left for Myrtle Beach, SC for Miss 38th Street's sister's college graduation, which was awesome!  Thus, I had to quickly plant the rest of the garden before we left.  Unfortunately, I didn't label everything so I have a few mystery plants.  Which can be fun!

So, here's the rundown of what's in the garden and around the garden:

First off, I planted the final seeds, which are (4) Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean and (8) Tendercrisp Green Beans.

Then I transplanted the seedlings from the basement.  I had a lot of seedlings die, but I also had a lot live.  Some were strong.  Some, not so much (I'm going to post an entry totally devoted to this seedling operation of mine).  I put the strongest in the garden box, and pots, and a few around the area, which wasn't a popular idea (heh heh, sorry Ms 38th).  I hardened them off for a few days, first, then I put them in on Wednesday, May 2nd.

In the garden box, I have:
-Four tomato plants; Black Krim, Brandywine, Green Zebra and a Roma.
-(2) Sugar Baby Watermelons
-(2) California Wonder Bell Peppers
-(2) Aji Limon Peppers
-(2) Cucumber
-(1) Basil
-(1) Lemon Basil


I also added some pots around the front, because I have an addiction and don't know when to quit.
I have the following:
-(1) Black Cherry Tomato
-(1) Green Zebra Tomato
-(1) mystery tomato
-(1) Aji Limon Pepper
-(1) Scotch Bonnet Pepper
-(1) Lemon Basil
-(1) long planter box with a Cilantro, Basil and Parsley

Around the garden box, I slipped in two Tomatillos and one more Roma Tomato (I love you, Ms 38th!)

When we got back this afternoon, everything was doing great!  I pulled the rest of the Purple Plum Radishes to give the new plants some room.

      I had a few huge radishes, like this one!

We're off and running, or growing, really.  I have one spot open in the garden box, which will be filled sooner than later.  I hope everyone else's garden is doing well.  Lets hope for a better summer this year. Last year was too dry and hot!  

Adios!

Last Weekend of April

Last weekend of April and I did a little yard work.

Miss 38th Street and I had an Engagement Party last night and we were a little...  slow, today.  That said, I tackled the rain barrel installation.  Miss 38th Street's parents got us a rain barrel, which is very cool.  We painted it the same color as the house and I finally got the diverter in the mail.  I got it installed, except the adaptor that connects the tube to the barrel.  The kit didn't have one!

So I have to go pick one up somewhere.  joy.  I tore out a bush that was at the front corner of the house.  It was nice, but we were just tired of it.  It was a Crimson Pygmy Barberry.  The bush was replaced by the Light Pink Peonies that we got at the plant auction.

I also planted a Pink Hyacinth that I bought Miss 38th Street last week as well as the two Asiatic Lilies we picked up at the plant auction, too.  Very nice.

We picked some of the Purple Plum Radishes today!  First harvest from garden!  I'm having a salad tomorrow.  Look at these radish plants in the garden!  They are huge!  They tasted good, as well.

 And the Garlic is looking fantastic!

If all goes well, I'll have some tomatoes and peppers in the garden by wednesday.  I'm hardening off the plants now.  YES!

And now I'm going to bed.  and probably play Bejeweled for about five or so minutes before my farting dog jumps on the bed and smokes me out the house.  Man, he is not smelling good today.

Peace.

IOGA Plant Auction!

Hey, Hey!

Saturday, Miss 38th Street and I went to this year's Indiana Organic Gardeners Association's Plant Auction!  It was at the Zionsville Public Library.  You know, Miss 38th Street and I have never driven through downtown Zionsville.  It was nice!  It had a great look and a lot of great places to spend money.  Anyway, we started with a pitch-in lunch, which was tasty.  I brought a Chicken Verde Bean Dip.  I think people liked it.  We did a little QnA and business, then on to the real fun: The Plant Auction.  I went to this event last year and I was way into it.  This year, Miss 38th Street came with me to check it out.

I donated six plants, which is a lot less than I wanted.  My seedlings aren't doing as well as I hoped.  My plants were two Roma Tomatoes, two Black Krim Tomatoes and two Tomatillos.  I don't know if they all were sold, but I hope they did!  They had some nice plants up for auction.  We scoped out a few items that were must haves.  I talked to Claudia Clark (her and her husband are the auctioneers) about starting with a certain plant first.  She did.  Thanks, Claudia!  I really wanted to get it for Miss 38th Street.

Miss 38th Street wasn't quite into it at first, but once it got going, she started to get focused.  She liked it.  She'll be back next year, for sure.  Unfortunately, we had to leave early to get to my nephews birthday party (which was great), but we still got some nice plants.  Plus, all the money goes to IOGA, which is fantastic.

Speaking of fantastic, here's what we got:

First off, I was the high bidder for the first item of the day (the plant I really wanted), the Light Pink Peony.  We got two.

Then Miss 38th Street got two Asiatic Lilies.  Actually, I'm not sure what color they'll be.  We'll see!

Then we got a fern, which I didn't catch the name, but it looks like this.  We got one of those.  We have lots of shade, so it should work well in that area.

Finally, we picked up one little Black Cherry Tomato plant.  I have a bunch of tomato seedlings in the basement growing, but hey, I couldn't resist.

Man, I'm so ready to get these plants in the ground, as well as my seedlings.  I think I'll have to wait till this weekend.  Still a little too cold in the evenings.  I have to say thanks to everyone at IOGA for planning the plant auction and the monthly meeting.  It was great.  I can't wait for the next one!  Oh, their link is over here on the right.  Check it out.  

Till next time!

Rafael

Thoughts of Concern

Hello, again.

It's been like... a little over an hour since my last entry but I had another thought.

Ms 38th Street and I were out shopping in the garden shops yesterday.  I was looking at all these nice, healthy looking seedlings and small to medium sized tomato, pepper and herb plants at these places.  Then I thought of mine products.  It was disheartening.

Then I was poking around craigslist on garden items for sale and I found someone in Shellyville selling his seedlings and plants.  He had a good sized green house and his plants looked great.  I'm not feeling too good about all this.  I realize my set up is not ideal by any means, but I was hoping for better results.  I have plants but most are not looking good or healthy.  A lot have died.  Some just are growing anymore.  Ah, then the higher electric bill to boot.  Man, it's not a great feeling.  I know it's easier and cheaper to just go to the store and buy what you need each season.  It's smarter, budget-wise.  I want to be great at growing plants and creating a beautiful, healthy and bountiful garden that is organic and healthy for my loved ones.  Man, it's just frustrating to see the difference between what I have, and what they have.  Sucks.  Hey, I'll keep trucking.  I'll figure it out.

One day.

Everyone have a good day!

Rafael

Please Summer, Hurry Up And Get Here!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and got a little outdoor time.  I got some yard time in this Sunday with Miss 38th Street.  A few drinks and a little cornhole action in the yard.  Does that sound dirty?

We made a few trips around town to get some supplies, like more potting soil, fertilizer, some stone squares for the rain barrel to sit on and a few other things.  I picked up a set of 4 Romaine Lettuce plants.  I did this because the Purple Orach seeds from Nature's Crossroads did not germinate.  3 weeks and nothing.  Disappointing.  So, I now have 3 Romaine Lettuce in the garden.  Miss 38th Street is happy about that.

Ms 38th Street also planted some seed in her flower boxes on the south side of the house.  She mixed Bachelor Buttons, Pacific Beauty Calendulas and Bee Balm.  I hope they sprout.  I planted a hole bunch of Black Eyed Susans seeds, and they are not doing well.  Not a lot of action from those.  Anyway, I had to cover the flower boxes with chicken wire so Mimi and the squirrels don't destroy them.  I had to add chicken wire around the garden to stop Mimi from prancing through the garden box, too.  She had a path worn in the soil!  Which reminds me, I planted carrot seeds two Saturdays ago, and I still have nothing!  Of course, Mimi did tromp on that section, but still, there should be something popping up.

I also re-potted my Kumquat Tree, too. I hope I did it right.  I'm a bit concerned.  I'm not sure if I made the right soil mixture.  It needs to be well draining soil.  I mixed potting soil with sand and peat moss.  My tree was really dropping leaves the past couple days, but it had some new growth.  We'll see.  I hit it with some 3-10-3 to help the root growth.  We'll see.

Alright

Weekend Update with 38th St Gardener

Hello Again,

I wanted to let you know that my seedlings have stabilized and are doing better.  I have made a hand full of actions that have helped.  Most of which I mentioned in the last entry.    Here's the scene in "The Blue."

These two flats are the surviving tomatoes and peppers, with a few herbs mixed in the spots that opened up.

 Here's the whole family!

The do have a new problem though.  I now have yellow mold on top of the soil on half of the flats.  Joy.  I don't know how to combat that.  I put the seed flats outside in a mostly shaded part of the back porch before I left for work.  They have been getting more and more outdoor time lately.  Probably not a lot the next two days, though.  We have a freeze warning for the next two nights!  Those of you in the Indy area, be warned!

I have a nice picture of Miss 38th St's Solomon's Seals, which I got last year from the Indiana Organic Gardeners Association's Plant Auction.  It's coming up on April 21st at the Zionsville Library!  You should come check it out!  We'll be there.

Enjoy!

Working Those Seedlings

Good morning from Indy!

I am working to make my little seedling survive and get stronger.  I did a little research the past couple days.  I do understand that I'm missing a few steps or just doing some things wrong, and my reading confirmed that.
I picked up some knowledge from the great Indiana Organic Gardeners Association's quarterly news letter (thank you, fellow IOGA members!) and some Youtube videos.

I was due to give the seedlings a little fertilizer to help with root growth.  So I picked up some water soluble 3-10-3 fertilizer at Habig's on College Ave.  I mixed this up and poured it in the bottom of the seed trays.
I also discovered that I was watering my seedlings wrong.  I was watering them from the top and I should be watering them from the bottom by adding water to the seed flat tray.  I knew this but I just didn't do it.  Doing
it this way will reduce the chances of mold and mildew.  Smart, huh?

I also remembered a tip from my good friend Matt Wellin.  He told me a couple months ago to put a fan on the seedlings.  It will help strengthen the plants.  So I added an oscillating fan at the lowest speed in "The Blue."

Saturday, I started bring the flats outside late in the day.  I am starting to harden off these little guys, well the ones that survive.  I left them out overnight last night.  I won't leave them out overnight again the rest of the week, though.  It's supposed to get down in the low 40's or high 30's the rest of the week.  They are back down in the basement now, doing well, I hope.

I hope these steps will help my tomatoes, peppers and herbs get bigger and stronger!

Back to work!

Another Busy Weekend at the 38th St. Homestead.

Hey,

Sorry for the long delay, but I work too much.  So here's what I've got going on!

I'm having mixed results with the seedlings.  Alot have died!  It's heart breaking, to be honest.  I'm doing something wrong, or several things wrong.  I'll have to study.  But this is a picture of "The Blue."  This is the entrance to the seed area.  I hope to start some cucumbers and melons this week.

I did some chores for Ms 38th Street.  I planted her four azalea bushes in the back of the house.  I had to scooch my compost box over.

I had to move the Solomon Seals up so I could put the azaleas in that back row.  I grouped them together.  Very nice.

By the way, the little white fence is up because of a certain Boston Terrier likes to tear ass through the landscaping and kill plants:

MIMI.

I did a little landscaping.  We bought some edgers for the front yard.  It looks sooooo much better!  Ms 38th Street installed the edgers around the tree and I did the section in front of the porch.  I put four coral bells in between the unknown green bushes.  I do like the blue dog bone in there.  Nice touch.  Actually, there is one by the tree, as well.

Hey! Check out those radishes!  I thinned them out a couple days ago.  The spinach and lettuces are up and are doing well, which makes us happy.

I completed three more flower boxes for Ms 38th Street on the south side of the house.  I only had one bag of garden soil, so back to the store!

The blueberries are doing good.  I see flowers!  I don't know if I'll get berries this year, but let's hope!

So, after all this, I'm tired.  The water was brown in the shower as I cleaned up.  Pretty awesome. If anyone had some advice on seedlings, please tell me.  Like a reference book or a "How to" book.  I am not doing it right, that's all I know.  I need help, people.  I have killed so many things.  I can start the seedlings just fine.  After I transplant them to some potting soil, some really don't like it.  The tomatoes are not doing well.  I have lost 2/3 of them.  SOS!