It may be the middle of winter, but gardeners have to think a season or two ahead. January is the time to start seeds indoors for long growing, heat loving veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.

Lil Turnip is helping me scoop potting mix into my starter containers. Gardening with a two year old is fun, but requires a lot of guidance to make sure everything eds up where it’s supposed to.

We planted six varieties of tomatoes, two kinds of peppers, and one giant Iraqi eggplant. I was tired of having to pick 10 eggplants to make a meal. I wanted something hefty where one eggplant is big enough to really make something out of.

And now they are just starting to come up! Sprouts are so exciting! Another month or so and they will be in the ground!