planning for the summer veggie patch

We've had some very chilly nights to remind me that winter isn't over yet.  But visions of summer vegetables are already dancing in my head.  I'm planning on growing tomatoes, chillies, lettuce and pumpkin again as well as rockmelon (cantaloupe) and maybe soybeans (for edamame, steamed fresh soybeans).  Chillies take a long time to start going (last year I had a lot of jalapenos still green on the bush when it cooled down) so I've decided to start them inside already.

Last year I had woeful luck starting tomatoes and chillies from seed.  I used crap potting mix and didn't water them enough so multiple generations died and I had to go with seedlings.  This year I'm using good quality propagation mix and I know a lot more about how to take care of the sprouts.  Plus I tried a new planting method; I put my seeds between layers of wet paper towel. That way I have better control over planting depth and I don't have to worry as much about the seeds moving around when I water. We'll see if it's a help or a hindrance.

I've planted some marigolds using the same method, half with paper towel and half without. They should germinate quite quickly so I'll soon have an idea if the method is a complete disaster.  In the meantime that hopefully means I'll have marigolds in the garden withing a month or two.  I do love the bright, cheerful marigolds and I was sad when they died off in the cold.  With my luck we'll get another cold snap and the baby marigolds will die off!