Starting early

Yesterday I started 300 seeds in 6 trays: One tray is full of petunia seeds, but the rest are tomato and pepper seeds. In Texas, one reason for starting tomato plants early is that the tomatoes stop bearing in summer because of the heat.
I started Brandywine, Sungold, Principe Borghese and Better Boy for tomatoes. Why, do you ask, would one person need all those tomatoes? I dunno, it is a tomato thing, when you begin earnestly growing tomatoes you have to grow different kinds. And, perhaps this year I may actually use the canner I bought several years ago that has been sitting on a shelf.
For peppers, I received the 'Pepper Gal' catalog and chose about 6 different varieties. They range from the hot Canary Rocoto and supposedly one of the hottest peppers in the world, the Caribbean Habanero, to a mild pepper I chose for its name only: who could resist a pepper named 'Sheepnose Pimento' lol.
Who else starts veggies early in the spring?

Mainly because the weather here is predictably unpredictable. Starting early I have a better chance if there is some adverse weather after they are outside.

We have to here, because by June everything will be dessicated from the heat...have corn, watermelon, swiss chard, peppers (jabanero), and sunflowers in the ground already !

I've started some habanero seeds, and some coleus seeds. Here's a picture of some coleus in case you don't know what they are.

http://www.gardenguides.com/flowers/annuals/coleus.htm

I haven't tried those before, just thought they were pretty! I would grow more peppers, I just have very limited sun where we are, so I try a new type each year. My husband really wanted the habs, so we're trying them this year.

Habaneros are EXTREMELY hot peppers, but yesterday afternoon I talked to some of the people I worked with and they also had grown habs. Texas has brave souls.....

My husband loves the habs. I've been buying them at the grocery when I can find them, but I like growing things, this way I know where they've been!! I do have 'surgical' gloves that I wear when cutting them up though!! The caspasin stays on your fingers for hours even after lots of washings!

Yes, capsaicin, the substance that gives 'hotness' to hot peppers, is an oil. Habs in particular have LOTS of capsaicin. As a public service announcement: wash you hands WITH SOAP, well, before touching your eyes, going to the restroom, or fooling around; after you have been working with hot peppers. This sage advice comes from some stories I have heard from people involving peppers, one or two of them very funny (to me, not to them).

Yaaay! they're up!!! The tomato plants are now a whopping 2" tall!!!!