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Growing Food Indoors, Part One

© Bob Ewing

It is snowing here in Thunder Bay, snowing with some thunder and lightening tossed in, a truly interesting St. Patrick's Day. Yesterday it was Spring, you could almost feel the green. Today all is white again. Time to turn my thoughts from the backyard toward my indoor garden.

It is possible to create an indoor vegetable garden that is not hydroponic, nor requires any artifical lighting, difficult but possible. The first step is to determine which room or rooms in your home get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. If you want strong healthy plants, you will need all this time. This week we will focus on vegetables, next, herbs. Once you know the amount of space you have you can begin to design your indoor garden.

It doesn't have to be expensive, if you don't want to buy containers, you can recycle, your ice cream or margarine tubs. Punch a couple of holes in the bottom and use the lid as an overflow tray and you are set. You will need to get the seeds you have selected started. This is a crucial stage and will determine how succesful your garden will be. You choice of potting soil is important. The container will be the plant's home and if it is to be a happy home, then the soil needs to nurture the plant. I, always add a little bone meal to the mix.

You may find that starting your seeds in peat pellets and then transplanting them to the containers is the safest way to go. The seedling is minimally disturbed this way. I find that tomatoes thrive on this gentle treatment. Select a variety that has been bred to grow in a container as this will increase your success considerably. The determinate varieties work best as their growth is limited and if you have a tight space then this may matter. You could also consider growing tomatoes, the small ones, cherry types, for example, in a hanging basket, as long as they get sufficient light.

Lettuce will do well indoors. One head per large ice cream container. If you understand how plants propogate then you have begun to gain the knowledge that enables you to garden with success indoors. You may not grow, a lot of food, but you will be able to add to your table fresh food that may have travelled as litle as 3 feet. Indoor gardening requires your constant attention, both tomatoes and lettuce, love water, but if you overwater, they may rot. Get to know your space where the garden will be and then get to know the plants. Kids love to garden, you could give them a little space for their own.

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