My Trip to Indianapolis

I went to Indianapolis to do some volunteer work and before I left I planted the sunflowers outside (sunflowers do not like to be transplanted apparently so I planted them as soon as the little roots were sticking out of the jiffy pellet). I also planted the peas next to them. My idea is that the peas will climb on the sunflowers. I got this idea last year when I was pulling the ONE sunflower that made it past the slugs up out of my raised vegetable bed. It was a bear to pull up and I thought, "why am I using stakes when I could use one of these plants?" I'm thinking that corn might work too. Anyway, I had been keeping plastic milk jug tops over the plants just to keep the bugs off of them until they got big enough to live on their own. It's also been unseasonally cold here in San Diego, so I wanted to keep them warm at night. I showed my husband how to water the indoor "nursery" and how to take the milk cartons off (and on) the plants without breaking them, and went on my trip. When I came home, I was so proud of my husband because all of the sunflowers had made it! The indoor nursury, however, didn't have as much luck. All of the tomatoes, cucumbers, and pak choy had died, presumably from lack of water. The nursery felt was damp, but not damp enough to support the plants. So I had to start over.