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.