Sunday, November 25, 2007

Windowsill Gardening

In my previous post "Garden Thoughts and Garden Talks" gardening celebrity P. Allen Smith shared some ideas about protecting evergreens. Well, the irrespresible Mr. Smith is back a fantastic gardening idea for the upcoming winter season: Windowsill Gardening!

Because lettuce and other salad greens germinate so quickly, it’s easy to grow a salad garden inside on a sunny windowsill. What I like to do is grow a mix of “baby greens,” which means I harvest the leaves before the plant matures. I mix these baby greens in with store bought lettuce for a flavorful salad or snip off a few leaves to top off sandwiches.

Good Choices for Baby Greens: Lettuce, arugula, basil, spinach, chard, red mustard
Good Choices for Micro Greens: Radish, broccoli, lettuce, mustard greens, peas, sunflowers.

To learn more about these seed varieties visit http://www.botanicalinterests.com/. We feature Botanical Interest seeds right here at Skillin's.

Micro greens are another way to enjoy fresh lettuce during the winter months. Micro greens are harvested when they have about 4 leaves. They may be small, but they are very flavorful.

Growing baby salad greens and micro greens couldn’t be easier. Simply sow the seeds in sterile potting soil, cover them with a dusting of soil and keep the seeds moist by lightly misting them with water daily. Keep the pots in a warm location until they begin to sprout and then move them to a sunny window. If the plants look spindly or anemic, they need more light. The baby salad greens may require as much as 12 hours of light for healthy growth. A grow light is an easy remedy for this problem. Hang the lights about 6 to 12 inches above the plants.

Micro greens are ready to harvest in about 14 days. Clip the seedlings off close to the soil. Baby salad greens will be ready in about 3 to 4 weeks. Trim them off at the base, starting with the outside leaves first.

Product Guide:Jiffy Windowsill GreenhouseIndividual peat pots and a clear, plastic lid make starting seeds a snap. It’s a great system for growing baby and micro greens.

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