Gardening and Plant Tips

Are you a salad lover? What if you’ll have a fresh produce just right in your kitchen? Don’t you think that’s cool? That’s great! You can have an indoor salad garden whatever the season may be. Since you’re the one who’s going to plant and take care of it, you’re sure that you’ll get an organic salad for your meal one day. How exciting!

Eating organic vegetables contributes a lot to our health. This means you are not taking in chemicals that are absorbed by the plant. The greens that are easy to grow indoors are arugula, chives, Bibb lettuce, loose leaf, cos lettuce, snap peas, radish, mustard green, and spinach.

Here are the Steps on How to Plant an Organic Indoor Salad Garden:

1. Get a seeding tray, fill it up with soil (seeding mix or less potting soil) and then pre-moisten it.

2. Check the proper depth when you sow seeds in the tray. The depth varies depending on what kind of seed you are planting. You should read the packets carefully about this information.

3. Place the tray facing a window in a south or west direction that will make it warm enough. It should not have a cold-air draft. For the seeds to germinate it needs enough warm or else you will have to place them on a seeding mat to get the correct temperature which is 61 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Be sure to moisten the soil and label the seeds.

5. Once the seeds have germinated, you have to thin out the plants and place them in a bigger pot. This will give them room to grow. A 4-inch pot is just right.

6. To prevent leggy growth, you must maintain a grow light on your young plants. You’ll have spindly plants when they don’t get enough light or the light source doesn’t reach them enough.  Make sure the grow light is close to but should not touch the young plants. It’s a bonus when you get those with adjustable heights.

7. Bear in your mind that your plants need 12 to 14 hours of light every day.

8. Since you want an organic indoor salad garden, make sure to use an organic fertilizer.

9. When it’s ready for harvest time, pinch off the leaves only when you need them. This will promote new growth. You need to do this because lettuce becomes bitter when it reaches its complete growing cycle. To have a continuous supply, replant as you harvest.

Now that you know how to plant an indoor salad garden, you will have fresh greens just when you need them. You’ll not have a medical assistant salary to do this but it’s so nice to eat something healthy and you know where it came from. Continue living green!

Most plants die during winter time because they are not given the proper care they need. If their roots are locked in cold and wet soil in winter, they cannot survive the weather.

Here are some tips for you to follow to help you protect your Garden Pots during winter:

Tender Plants should be brought inside

Your tender plants need a frost-free minimum winter temperature to a cool room in your house, mildly heated greenhouse or conservatory before the bad weather sets in. Water these plants occasionally.

Wrap up Delicate Pots

Most ornamental pots are not designed to stand in freezing temperatures. They need winter protection. Try to wrap then up in burlap in two layers if possible. Make it sure it’s tight at the top and bottom with a garden string.

Tender Plants

Before the freezing strikes, wrap your potted plants in layers of horticultural fleece. Move the pot to a shed to avoid flaying winds. You can remove the fleece when the weather improves.

Lining Clay Pots

A bubble wrap is a good idea to insert inside your clay pots as early as spring. This will minimize the moisture evaporation and helps the roots snug in winter when the temperature strikes.

Exotic plants from warm places need extra protection from the winter. Some may survive the cold weather but some won’t make it. Try to do your best to help them stay warm. Then your flowers will be safe for your child’s gift to his elementary school teacher.

If you’re planning to have a beautiful garden, it is wise to start making a compost pile. For those who are new to gardening, a compost pile is a large quantity of different layers of plant remains and soil with a mixture of animal manure or fertilizer.

Why do you need this?

Well, those scraps from plants and the animal manure have nutrients and when added to the soil will make the soil perfect for gardening. When you will have healthy soil, you’ll have healthy plants.

Here is how you’ll make a Perfect Composite Pile:

1. Dig a shallow hole about 4” x 4” x 2’. For safety purposes, surround it with chicken wire or cinder blocks. You can also use a compost bin if you’re not comfortable digging a hole. Layer twigs, leaves, brunches, and plant clippings.
2. Cut big brunches into small pieces for faster break down.
3. Don’t put diseased foliage because it will kill the plants. Put enough water and mix them all together. Make sure it is not soaked.
4. Seeds don’t break down, don’t add them.
5. Throw in your vegetable and fruit peels.
6. Don’t include animal by-products because it will attract pests.
7. Moisture in the compost is very important. Mix with a pitchfork weekly when the weather permits it.
8. 100 degrees Fahrenheit should be observed for the soil temperature. You should check it with your hands or you can use a compost thermometer. If it’s not warm enough, add greens into your compost pile.

Now that you know how to make a compost pile, you can be sure to have a healthy soil ready for planting. Once you’ll be an expert in this, you can be a special education teacher for gardening and plant matters and share your knowledge to those who need it. Happy gardening!