A new season

Spring officially begins at the end of the week and we already moved the clocks forward yesterday.  I have begun my vegetable gardening experiment by planting seeds indoors for Butterhead Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), Chile Peppers (Capsicum annuum) and Italian Roma Tomatos (Lycopersicon lycopersicum).  This was done last Thursday evening, 4 full days ago, and I am beginning to see sprouts (cotyledons, technically) for the lettuce.

Any plant will encounter several crucial stages during its life and sprouting from seed is obviously critical.  The lettuce seems to be well on its way, so I am now hoping to see something from the chilis and tomatos.  Yesterday I added a flourescent light for several more hours of light to encourage growth.  The seed trays (ice trays) are in an east facing window and we currently get about 12 hours of daylight.  I have the bulb set on a timer for a few additional hours (3:30am to 7:30 am).  If all goes well, the plants will reach full maturity in ~65 to 80 days, but I will move them outside within the next few weeks.