do it yourself
It's never too cold to grow Indoor vegetable and herb gardens can thrive inside. BY ERICA BRITTAIN
Super Chile Pepper plant is one of many in-home growing options. Indoor gardening is a great option to continue growing your own food during the cold Kansas winter.
Erica Brittain/Kansan
Just because the temperature outside is dropping doesn't mean you can't turn your thumb green. Indoor gardens are the solution to growing your own vegetables and herbs during the winter season.
The first step in creating your indoor garden is choosing what items you want to grow. The easiest vegetables to plant and raise are radishes, tomatoes, carrots lettuce and peppers. Herbs that work best for indoor gardens are mint, thyme chives, oregano, rosemary and bay leaf.
After choosing what you are going to plant, you must decide the how you are going to cultivate the items. For vegetables, there are two options, either purchase seeds or paper seed strips. Paper seed strips allow for quicker planting and you will avoid having to deal with each little, individual seed. As the seeds sprout, the paper will decompose without affecting the growth of your veggies. You can buy herbs as seeds or small transplants. For an indoor garden, it works best to simply buy the plants because they will be placed in individual containers.
When planting your vegetables and herbs, there are details to follow that can ensure the success of the garden. The most important factor is the type of container you plant your items in. All containers should have holes in the bottom and a saucer to catch the excess water that isn't collected in the soil. Darrel Helling, manager at Earl May Nursery and Garden Center, 3200 S. Iowa St., says using peat-moss based soil that contains water-holding polymers is best for indoor gardens because it contains nutrients not found in soil from the ground.
For vegetables, when using a paper seed strip, the most effective planter to use is a window box. These are both functional and inexpensive and can be purchased at any home improvement store
for as little as $5.47, which includes the saucer. After the plant grows to a height of six inches or more, it may need to be transferred into a planter with a larger diameter. For tomatoes and peppers, a pot with an 8-inch diameter works best.
Herbs can be placed in anything from a milk jug to a 2-liter bottle with the top cut
off. Make sure the plant has enough room to grow, as overcrowding can cause it to die. Thyme and oregano are both small-growing herbs, as they only require a planter with a 6-inch diameter. Chives, mint, rosemary and bay leaf are all large-growing herbs and must have a planter with at least a 12-inch diameter. Planters
for these herbs can be purchased in the form of a 12-inch round pot for $4.96 at Home Depot, 1910 W.31st St.
Water can either make your plant live well, or it can be a deadly weapon. Overwatering is the number one reason that houseplants don't thrive. When watering, the soil in the planter should be moist,
8 jayplay
thursday. november 6. 2003