So what's next?

I want to start some seeds.

1. Weed aloe.
2. Take a count of how many "plants" there are. This is to assess number and manner of giveaways.
3. Give away as much aloe as possible. Subtly suggest to Mom the concept of an aloe grove in their back or side yard (might make a nice selling point when she's trying to unload the house!)
4. Purchase decent almanac. Can anyone tell me if that yellow paperback is still the end-all, be-all of almanacs for gardening, knowing moon phases, etc.?
5. Look online for suggestions on Zone 9 planting schedules.
6. Retrieve supplies from plastic bin on porch, and throw out plastic bin (passed its usefulness point awhile ago).
7. Take a count of your planting containers. Categorize them, measuring their depths. Based on those categorizations, make a list of what seeds you'd like to start.
8. I'm working mainly with plastics here, so irrigation holes are needed in the bottoms of the vessels, as well as some kind of tray set-up for underneath them, so I'm not always dealing with water spillage (especially since I'll be moving them so much, at least in the beginning).
9. Bright idea where irrigation/ventilation is concerned: a plastic grate of some kind inside the container, separating roots from bottom...the roots won't drown, and I won't be creating leaky containers with lots of holes (maybe just a side hole for if the plants get flooded by accident?)

I'm thinking a container for herbs, one for lettuce...still deciding what else. Since lighting is fairly limited in our apartment, I'm thinking of putting the plants under mesh out on the porch during the day (weather permitting), and bringing them in at night. Not ideal, I know, but hey, I'm just starting out and you learn by doing. I'm thinking of keeping the plants on the worktable at night, and covering them with a box setup to keep the cat out. She'll tear up or eat anything before it has a chance to grow, if given the opportunity. Love her to death, but she is NOT the poster kitty for low-maintenance critters. Maybe if I grew her some catnip, she'd leave the other stuff alone? Hey, I can dream...