Thanks, everyone, for the various posts.

I think it has finally dawned upon me that you reply to a blog by simply posting another one yourself - duh! So maybe I'll reply a bit more now

Well, (almost) all the veggies are doing fine! We've had such a mild winter, I have set just about everything out. Still lack the cucumbers, squash and a couple others. I've been a bit surprized at how quickly seeds germinate when started in pure vermiculite - just a few days for almost all of them! Of course, starting them indoors, even under what seems like very intense flourscent lighting leaves much to be desired in terms of sufficient light, so they all get very leggy. I just buried them all the deeper, being mindful of not burying the crown of the plant.

One plant that has been tough since day 1 is Black-seeded Simpson lettuce. Only about 30% germinate, and by the time they have put out the first set of true leaves (not the seed leaves), they are so weakly-looking. I'm not sure if I need to try something other than the vermiculite for sprouting, or if I just got a bad batch; everything else from the two mail-order vendors was top-notch.

I'll post a photo or two here in a couple of days. Oh, our backyard now puts Fort Knox to shame for all the four-legged pest security. Lots of wire all over the place! You should see all the deer tracks around the fenced garden, including so many pokes into the ground with their hooves that it has about messed up the grass! I had a roll of bird netting; I got stuck in it so much, I have just left it out on the ground in hopes that the deer will also get tired of getting stuck in it.