Dear Kitty,
I caught the gardening bug this past summer and I can’t wait to have a garden again. I said to my children, “Let’s plan our garden for this coming summer!” My son said, “Mom, ask Kitty what we can grow now.”
So here’s the question — what can we grow now?
Thanks,
New-family-of-growers
Dear New-family-of-growers,
Great question! Thank you to your son for thinking of asking me. Here, my new growers, is the answer:
Let’s do a little winter gardening, inside!
Here’s what you will need:
- good potting soil
- containers (can even be empty cans or jars)
- seeds
- a sunny spot in your house
The sunny spot is best in a south facing window, but any window that gets at least six hours of sunlight per day will work.
Here’s my suggestions for what to grow:
- Lettuce: Easy to grow and will sprout in about a week.
- Kale: Make sure to leave space for them to grow in the containers. One plant per container is best.
- Arugula: A spicy, easy-to-grow salad green that can be clipped close to the ground and it will keep coming back like your lettuce.
- Beans: Easiest to grow and they can be a lovely house plant while you wait for it to bloom and get beans. You will need string or small sticks for the bean plants as they tend to get leggy (tall and thin) when grown indoors.
- Tomatoes: They come up fast but grow a little slower. Choose a seed that is an early harvest variety — Early Girl, Early Roma, and Tiny Tims are all good choices.
- Spring or green onions: These grow pretty fast and are great for cutting and putting in your salad or on potatoes.
- Herbs: They do take a while to come up. They love to grow indoors. I suggest basil, cilantro, and chives.
The list is small but you can add other things if you have space, such as green peppers or early head cabbage. These are the fastest and easiest to grow. My new family of growers, I wish you lots of fun and much success as you take on the joy of indoor winter gardening!
Happy growing,
Kitty
