Last spring I decided we should grow some of our own veggies. Since we don't have a house and yard right now, I did it all in containers. One problem was that I didn't do a lot of research, and our harvest was fairly pathetic. We had a few cucumbers and tomatoes, and I made a bunch of pickles, so it was still a good start.
Well this year I will do better!! Due to some health problems, I've spent a lot of time sitting around being fairly useless, so I've read up on everything to do with vegetable container gardening. I am far from being an expert, but I've learned enough to see the MANY mistakes I made last year. My excitement has been contagious though, and in the last month or so my dad has surprised me with my very own little portable greenhouse, my husband made a "castoff seedling shelter" on his desk, taking care of all the seedlings that I was going to get rid of. It's become a bit of a contest, to see whose plants are happier ;) Also, 2 of my good friends, and fellow "special moms" have accepted the seeds I have to share, and will also start their own vegetable gardens this year. What a great start!!
What am I planting you ask? A whole lot (remember that 150% thing?). So far, I plan to grow a few types of tomatoes (yellow, red, large and small), peppers (hot and mild), cucumbers (regular and for pickles), lettuce, onions, herbs, carrots (round little ones and rainbow colored), cabbage, broccoli, and green beans. I think that's it, but who knows what I'll suddenly need!
I plan to can and make my own homegrown tomato sauce in the fall (homegrown tomatoes and herbs), homegrown salsa, pickles and sour kraut. My mother has promised me a food saver, so I also hope to freeze whatever veggies we don't use.
Aside from ordering some fun seeds, I haven't had to put a lot of money into my little indoor grow station. We bought a 3 tier "greenhouse shelf" last year, and I've parked it inside with a couple of strong CFL lights. In stead of buying pots, I've used styrofoam and Solo cups (with holes poked in them for drainage). My seedlings seem perfectly happy growing in my cheap cups.
So far I've planted a bunch of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers. I've since realized that I've probably planted the cucumber seeds way too early, but we'll try to keep them happy until spring - but if they don't make it, I still have plenty of seeds to plant again. Live and learn :) I have also planted some herb seeds, spring onions and some lettuce.
Here's a couple of great things I've learned from asking people, watching videos and generally browsing the internet.
1. Go Organic!
Since I am going through the trouble of growing my own food, it makes sense to not spray it down or water it with chemicals, so I have decided to be fully organic in growing all my veggies. For now I have some store bought organic fertilizer to feed my plants with, but once they move outside, I will make "compost tea", and use that to feed my vegetables. I am sure there will be a post about it once I get there.
2. Peppers often take a long time to germinate, while cucumbers and lettuce take no time at all. If you were to pick something to plant first, I'd go with peppers and tomatoes, as they seem to grow a lot slower than my crazy cucumber plants.
3. Get some good quality lights - especially if you live in the north. The sun up here is just not enough, though I am thinking seedlings in the south would be happy in a sunny window. I got 2 of these, and things have been growing well :)
4. Start off with good soil. To make my potting soil, I got a basic bag of "potting mix", and added a brick of coco peat (shredded up pieces of coconut shells). It makes the soil nice and fluffy, and it cost me $2.50. I also made sure to go through with my hands and break up all the bigger lumps of soil, which left me with what felt like a luxurious soil. When I plant them outside, I will mix this soil with compost (I'll have to buy mine), in order to give a good amount of nutrients. The good thing about this is that I can also use the compost I buy to make the compost tea fertilizer, which means my plants will be happy, and I won't have to go to much trouble to keep them that way. Last year I just used basic potting soil, and didn't fertilize or use compost, and the outcome was not impressive.
Here is my two shelves in my "grow area". I added dollar-store oven-liners to reflect light, in order to make the lights I have as effective as they can be.
And last, but not least - getting my hands dirty, while learning about all things gardening has been a hidden blessing as I've gone from recovering from surgery to right now being in the process of getting a new diagnosis that explains why I've felt so badly for so long. I've been having pain, causing me to be unable to do any of my crafts, so I was very lucky to have something else to keep me interested and occupied!!
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