They're in!

We spent the weekend cutting, painting, and pounding dahlia stakes at two foot intervals along both sides of a central path on the east side of the garden. The stakes look like soldiers standing in formation, but will disappear into the lush foliage once the plants become established and start to grow. There are still more tubers "eyeing up" in the poly house, but I will resist the temptation to squeeze more into the bed and will instead pot up the extras to and give away or sell to unsuspecting friends and neighbors.  I have worked hard nurturing the dahlias. By July they will begin a spectacular three month display of color that will continue until the first frost. I am ready to be dazzled.  

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out what is going on with my tomato seedlings. I seeded both of the above trays on the same day. The tomatoes in the tray on the right are thriving where those on the left seem to be languishing. All of the growing conditions were identical except one. The trays are different. The tall, healthy green plants are in black plastic trays whereas the small, skinny, weak ones are in the white styrofoam, the same trays that I use to plant almost everything else. The black plastic trays are slightly larger which may be making a difference. Or, perhaps the black is holding the heat better. I'm really not sure. But, today I transplanted a lot of the weaker looking tomatoes out of the styrofoam and into 3 1/2 inch pots which should help. I probably could have skipped this step as it is almost time to move the tomatoes outside, but I want the plants to be a good size with nice strong stems when I plant them in the garden. This will help to prevent transplant shock and increase the chances that I will have a good harvest later this season.