"Here Comes The Sun!"

I've had the subject of light in mind for the last few days.  Maybe because we just turned the clocks back, maybe because having the sun out on these fall mornings is particularly magnificent.  So many uses of the word light! One can see it - like an epiphany - or let it shine, turn it on, measure it, hide it. But we all need it to thrive. Which brings me to indoor gardening. What kind of light for our indoor gardens?  And where do we find it?


Home Depot has AISLES of halogen lumen daylight compact fluorescent incandescent T12 watts LED HID lights.  HUNDREDS of lights.  I'll resist making the pun and shed some on the subject of indoor growing.  

The first picture shows the full spectrum of color in sunlight.  The second shows what plants need for proper growth and development.

Most grow lights are either "full-spectrum" or "daylight" with a broad spectrum range like real sunlight.  Other lights have more blue frequencies ("cool") or more red frequencies ("warm"). 

Plants use either blue or red light at different stages of their development.  Seedlings and leafy parts use the blue and violet range, while flowering or fruiting stages use more red/orange light. 

Happy November 1st - Plant A Garden!

I'm starting out my indoor garden with the easiest things to grow:  leaf lettuce, greens (love the mild Tendergreen mustard), carrots (short or dwarf works best), spinach, beets, spring kale, radishes. There are more but these are both fast-maturing and easy. 

We'll be eating fresh, crisp home-grown salads before Christmas! Growing indoors is such a delight in winter - when the first tiny little green seedlings begin poking up from the soil it's like spring again. Here are some basic steps to begin growing vegetables indoors:

Choose your vegetables.  I'm starting with mesclun (a mix of leaf lettuces - 30 days to mature), Tendergreen mustard (30 days to mature) and spinach (Bloomsdale - 48 days but I pick 'em early to go with the others. Sweet!)  These cool season crops prefer less intense light.

Choose your location.  A sunny, south facing window is ideal. You can grow lettuce and greens there with little or no additional light.  I don't have a south facing window so I'm going to grow in the living room (it's cool in there) and on my kitchen counter.  Bookshelves, hanging baskets, wall shelves, low shelves along a wall. Lots of options.  I'll also need additional lighting.

A simple flourescent shop light works, but a T8 full spectrum (daylight) flourescent light for general growing emulates sunlight better than the shop light, it's inexpensive and you can use it for alot more vegetables. They come in either 4-foot or 2-foot lengths, or in light bulb form, for a smaller growing area.  Hang it 4 - 6 inches above the plants.  If I use a bookshelf, I'll paint it white to reflect more light onto the plants.  The fixture should have some sort of reflective top on it which will also direct more of the lights downward.

Soil and container(s).  A good do-it-yourself mix is:
                                     4 parts regular garden soil
                                     2 parts compost
                                     2 parts peat
                                     1 part coarse bagged sand

Potting soil especially for containers works well too.  

The container should be 4 - 6 inches deep.  Put a few drainage holes, stones in the bottom along with the soil and you're good to go.  I don't like using anything plastic so I use either terra cotta pots or wood (untreated cedar fencing or pine - cheap and easy to make a box).

CAN WE PLANT NOW?  Yes!! Happy Gardening, think green and dream. More to come.

Thanks to all who visited us at the Mighty Kindness Harvest Hootenanny

In the midst of music, food, crafts and kindness there were plenty of folks who stopped by to ask about growing. What an inspiration! So in addition to my planned posts, I'll be giving you the specifics on starting an indoor garden, using a cold frame, simple composting techniques (your own compost is the BEST!) and how we can get back into growing our own food.

There's alot of information out there. Is it all reliable? Please know that anything on this blog comes from direct experience and/or proven techniques.  Truth abounds! And it's fun!

So one of my first thoughts about getting back into growing is: why NOT start a garden? Right now. Seems that not enough space is a frequent comment. Not enough time is a close second.  I'm not going to try to convince otherwise, but simply say that once (no, many times) I thought the same thing. Today it's the end of October and I'm going to pick a fresh organic salad of leaf lettuce, mild mustard greens and crunchy fresh spinach from my 2' by 4' garden box just outside my side door.  I was wrong.  Ah, thank goodness I was wrong!

More to come.  For now - stay positive and think green.  And dream...a gardener's way of saying start planning to grow your garden - anywhere!

MORE TO COME...

This new blog is currently under construction - please check back for your complete guide to Indoor Vegetable Gardening and Spring Vegetable Gardening. I'll be posting all of the information displayed at the Mighty Kindness Hootenanny too.  Thanks for checking in!