Am I a Gardening Poser?

Like many others out there attempting to either homestead or produce more home-grown food, I tend to wax poetic about gardening.  "Oh, I can't wait to order my seeds this year!" and "Just look at this lush tomato I grew!"  We've had a garden almost every year we've been married (going on 11), but thus far, my success level has varied greatly.  And truth be told, I don't exactly think I have a green thumb.

Does this make me a gardening poser?  Well, I do actually have a garden, so maybe I'm a gardening numskull.  Or maybe I'm like everyone else.

For the second time, I'm trying to start tomato and basil (and other) plants from seed.  I planted everything back in March, set them up in a sunny spot under a fluorescent light, and anxiously peered at those little stinkers every day to see any signs of green.  Though almost everything grew, not everything grew well.  Especially when I think about the HUGE tomato plants at nurseries right now.  My Rutgers and Bradywine are trying, poor things, but they don't measure up...literally.

Knowing that tomatoes like heat, the other day I devised a little greenhouse with clear plastic and wire hangers.  Totally jimmy-rigged, but I think it's working!

The Dora table was confiscated for plants.  Sorry, kids.

I took this photo two or three days ago, and these tomato plants have grown a lot since!  The parsley seeds, which I thought would never come around, have also since sprouted.  Yes, we've put a greenhouse/hoop house on our overcrowded To Do list.

I began sugar snap peas indoors from seed, too, and couldn't get them in the ground until two weeks ago.  Maybe they need to be sown directly, because these transplants are having serious stem issues, as you can see above.  More than half of them have died already.

Byron spent much of his spring break completing the fence around the garden, so I feel just a tiny bit anxious about producing something edible this year!  Photos of that, and my rain barrel project, to come!