The Chain that Leads to Green Beans

It was a random chain of events yesterday that went like this: It rained all day, so Cubby and I went to a nearby hamlet to visit their library so we could get the hell out of the four rooms for a little while . . .

Then I realized I should go vote on the school budget while I'm there because I was almost across the street from the high school where the voting occurs . . .

Then I saw Andy the Plant Guy while I was waiting to vote . . .

Then he told me that I was welcome to go to the greenhouse and get some more plants . . .

Then I came home with basil, Roma tomatoes, thyme, and . . . wait. Sixteen green bean seedlings? How did that happen?

I had never heard of starting bean seeds indoors; we always direct-sow them after the ground is good and warmed up. But he said his students wanted to try starting the seeds in the greenhouse. Since they had them, and I was curious, I said sure, I would take a few and see what happened. A few, I said. But while I was distracted by Cubby and his determination to eat a rock he found on the floor of the greenhouse, Andy dropped MANY MORE than a "few" of those bean seedlings into the flat and loaded it all into my car.

Sneaky, Andy. Very sneaky.

While I was in the greenhouse, I noted that the seedlings I had given Andy a few weeks ago are about five times the size of the other tomato seedlings in the greenhouse (I WIN!) and about twice the size of the seedlings I kept here (DAMMIT). Okay, so Andy has a slight advantage due to his enormous greenhouse and continually glowing grow lights, but it was still sort of humbling. He asked me if I wanted to take some of them back, but I thought that would be in poor form, so I left them all there for their CSA customers to snap up when they arrive on Friday to choose their tomato plants.

Those people don't know how lucky they are.

My poor, now-stunted-looking tomato seedlings kind of took a beating in the cold frame when they got pounded by the rain pouring off the roof right there. They may be somewhat bedraggled looking now, but at least they're alive. As soon as the ground dries out again, I'll plant them and soon they'll look just as pretty as their greenhoused brethren. (I like to keep their spirits up, you see. Pep talks are important for seedlings; it's so easy for them to get discouraged.)

Now I just have to manufacture another excuse to go back to the high school in a couple of weeks so I can snag some peppers that are as yet too small to take from the greenhouse. Given the prime growing conditions there, it is obviously to my benefit to leave them in there as long as possible. And then I'll have all the plants I need for this year's garden.

Not a bad trade for all those unexpectedly fertile tomato seeds, right? The Tomato Crazy can be useful sometimes.