Some Knowledge

If you don’t have a patch of ground outside or the weather is too cold, you might want to try and grow some herbs indoors.  Herbs make a wonderful addition of flavor to many meals, and a little goes a long way.  You can bring some of the freshness of the outside world into your home and enjoy not only fresh herbs, but also a pleasant splash of greenery in your home.

Any plant will need light, water, and soil to grow and be healthy.  It is hard to get enough light for some plants when you grow them indoors.  Natural sunlight is far more powerful than just about any artificial light.  A big window with a southern exposure and no shadows is the perfect place to have your indoor garden.  If you have no suitable windows you will have to go with artificial light.  Full-spectrum fluorescent tubes are the most efficient light source for your garden.  A single four-foot fixture with two bulbs will be sufficient to grow plenty of herbs.  You can buy a rack for your garden or make a simple rack with a chain suspension mechanism for the light fixture from commonly available wood.

Once you have a light source and a rack for your garden you will need to decide what kind of soil system you are going to use.  The easiest is of course simple potting soil.  You can fill clay or plastic pots with clean potting soil, or use longer trays that will fit on your windowsill or light rack.  The important thing to remember is that your plants will need adequate drainage.  Herbs need a mixture of soil, water, and air in which to grow.  If you don’t have drainage holes in your pots the roots will rot and your herbs will be sickly.

Another choice for growing medium is hydroponics.  This is a bit more complicated than soil.  Your plants will be rooted in mineral wool inside plastic tubes, suspended in a tray of water-nutrient solution.  You will need a bucket and a pump to circulate the solution and this will not only add to the expense of your garden it will also add noise and a bit of clumsiness to your system not found with silent soil in pots.  Still, if you want to go scientific, it’s hard to beat a hydro system for productivity.  The herbs I have tasted that were grown hydroponically tended to have a funny taste to them, but this would depend on what kind of nutrient solution you use.

Once you have your pots and lights and rack or windowsill set up it is time to plant your herbs.  What kind of herbs should you plant?  This depends on what kinds of herbs you use.  It would be silly to plant something you never use, unless you just want to watch it grow.  Basil, oregano, parsley, chives, all these are common herbs used in the kitchen.  Herb seeds tend to be really small, so you should be careful when planting them that you do not drop too many seeds in your pots so that you don’t have to go back and thin them out too drastically.  Thinning is not necessarily a waste, as you can use the thinnings in your cooking, but pulling out one plant right next to another can damage the roots of the plant you are trying to grow.

After you plant your seeds, or set out the plants you might have bought from a garden center or grocery store, sit back and wait.  It takes time for plants to grow.  Pay attention to your garden and make sure it gets enough water, but don’t drown it by watering every day.  When your plants start to get tall and look like they can stand a cutting, cut them back and use the trimmings in your cooking.  If you keep your herbs cut they will grow short and stocky and not get too big for your windowsill or rack.  Outside, a single Basil plant can get almost three feet tall and  a yard across.  If your herbs show any sign of flowering cut the flowers back and use them in your kitchen.  When herbs flower they will lose vitality and will eventually die.  You can also tie herbs with string and hang them in a dry place to dry if you have too many of them.

An indoor herb garden can supply flavorful herbs for your cooking and makes a nice addition to your home decor.  With some patience and a little common sense you can grow all the herbs you need in the comfort of your own home.

The tomatoes you buy in a store have almost no flavor and a texture that is much like styrofoam.  All it takes to get good tomatoes is a small patch of sunny ground and some time and effort.  If you want gourmet tomatoes for your salads and sauces, there is no better way to get them than to grow your own.

There are two ways to start tomato plants, from seeds or from sets.  The seed method is less expensive but takes longer.  To start tomatoes from seeds you will need planting cubes, trays or even just empty egg cartons and potting soil.  Plant your seeds in the planting medium and place them in a warm area and keep them watered.   Provide plenty of light so your plants are short and stocky and deep green.  If you buy sets, your plants will be ready to transplant as soon as you bring them home.  This is the simplest way to grow tomatoes.

Something should be said about the types of tomato plants you might want to grow.  If you like salads and snacking on sweet tomatoes try a cherry tomato variety.  Sweet 100s is a popular variety.  If you plan on making a lot of sauces get Roma or San Marzano tomatoes.  These are small oblong tomatoes that are very meaty and cook up well.  If you like sliced tomatoes or general purpose try Better Boy or Early Girl.  Then there are the beefsteak tomatoes.  These huge tomatoes can provide a meal in themselves and are juicy and delicious.  The seed packet or planting stake in the sets you buy will have a short description of the variety you are considering.  You can also get books on tomatoes or look them up online.  There are literally thousands of different varieties available.  There are also many old fashioned tomatoes that you can grow, which are generally labeled as heirloom varieties.

Once you get your tomato sets and all danger of frost is past it is time to work the soil.  If you have a small area you can just clear any sod, then dig over the soil to break it up and incorporate air for good root growth.  If you are planning on a bigger garden you might want to get a rototiller.  When you work the soil incorporate some 5-10-5 fertilizer.  You do not want too much nitrogen or your tomatoes will be very leafy and not have a lot of fruit.  This fertilizer is usually labeled as “garden fertilizer”  in stores.  If you want to grow organic use compost made from fallen leaves and grass clippings as fertilizer.   The important thing to remember is that tomatoes need full sun and will not do well in shade.

Dig holes for your plants and plant them deeply.  You will want to set a good portion of the stem underground.  This is how you plant tomatoes.  The stem will send out roots and you will get lush growth.  Firm the soil around the plants with your hands and make sure the leaves are not touching the ground.  Once you have all your tomatoes planted, water them in well and wait.

Controlling weeds will be your main problem in growing a garden.  Get a pad or a garden stool and sit or kneel and pull the weeds when they are small so they do not become a problem.  You can mulch your plants with clean straw if you want to try to control the weeds this way.  Mulch will also help conserve water and prevents erosion if you get heavy rains.

When your tomatoes start to get big and arch over to touch the ground it is time to stake them up or put them in cages.  You can buy wire tomato cages at the garden center, or cut stakes from two by fours.  Stakes tend to cost less but require more work.  Pound two stakes into the ground on opposite sides of your plant.  With cotton string, strips of cloth, or twine loosely tie the tomato stems so they are suspended above the ground.  If you use tomato cages you will just have to place the cage around the plant and train the plant to stay inside the cage.  Cages and stakes keep the plants and fruit off the ground.  A tomato that sits on the ground is likely to get blossom end rot or be tunneled into by crickets.   Stakes also allow the plants to grow larger and get more sun.

There are only a few pests that will attack your tomatoes.  Hornworm caterpillars are big and green and easy to pull off the plants by hand.  Groundhogs like to eat tomatoes both green and ripe.  Rabbits don’t seem to like tomatoes.  Keep an eye on your garden and you shouldn’t have too many problems.  If insect damage becomes a problem you can spray with a soap-based insecticide or make tea out of chewing tobacco and spray with that to control insects.  Insects don’t bother tomatoes that much because the leaves contain poisonous compounds.

It takes some effort to grow nice tomatoes, but your efforts will be rewarded the first time you taste how good a real tomato can be.  Even a small patch of tomatoes can produce a lot of fruit, so be prepared.

If you want to save some money gardening you can start your own sets indoors.  This will give you a head start on your Spring gardening, and will also bring a bit of summer into your home.

You can buy peat pellets for starting seeds, or you can get little trays to fill with soil, or even peat pots.  My favorite way to start sets is in old egg cartons.  Cut the lid off empty egg cartons.  With a kitchen knife, cut an “X” into the bottom of each egg compartment.  Set the egg carton inside the lid, which is now the drainage tray for your sets.  It’s a very simple and cheap way to start plants.  Fill your trays with clean potting soil.  Potting soil and seeds will be your only expense for this method.

When you have your trays full of dirt, make a small indentation in each compartment with a knife.  Plant your seeds one at a time in the hole you dug for them and firm the soil over the seed with your thumb.  When all your trays are planted, water the trays well and set them on a sunny windowsill so that they get plenty of heat and light.  In a few days the seeds will germinate and your sets will be on their way.

It is important that your sets get plenty of light.  The sun is a strong source of light, but if you don’t have access to a sunny window suspend a fluorescent fixture over a counter and use artificial light.  It is best to hang the light on chains so it can be kept close to your plants and be raised as they grow.

Before transplanting your sets into the garden you will need to harden them off to the night air.  Set the trays out on a porch or on the ground near the house on nights when there is no danger of frost.  It is important to harden plants this way against cool temperatures before you transplant them because they will get some shock from transplanting and the extra stress from cold nights can kill little plants if they are not used to these temperatures.

Growing your own sets can save you a lot of money over buying sets at the garden center.  You will also get the enjoyment of starting early on your summer garden.

Now that Spring is approaching you might want to consider starting a garden.  First, think about what you want to plant.  Seed catalogs are a good place to start, and if you’ve ever ordered from one they come every winter like clockwork.  There are also many places online to order seeds.

When the weather is warm enough and all danger of frost is past, it is time to head to the garden center.  Once there, you can buy seeds or sets for the different plants you want to grow.  There are flowers for ornamental gardens, vegetables for a vegetable garden, or herbs for a herb garden.  Plants that are already growing will fruit or bloom faster in your garden, but they are of course more expensive.  Seeds take longer to grow, but you can start them indoors and get a head start on Spring and save some money over buying sets.  It is of course up to you what you want to plant and how you want to go about planting your garden.

On a nice day when the ground is not too wet begin preparing the soil for your garden.  If you already have a space cleared for a garden just clear out the dead plants from last year and add fertilizer and dig over the soil.  If you are starting a new garden in what used to be grass, remove the sod and then dig over the soil.  If you have a large area to prepare consider using a rototiller, which will save you the trouble of digging by hand.

Mark out rows for your seeds with string and stakes.  Drag a hoe down the rows to make a furrow.  Plant your seeds in the furrow at the proper spacing as stated on the seed packet, then cover the furrow and tamp down the soil with the back of the hoe.  To plant sets, mark rows, dig holes for the plants with a hand shovel, and plant the sets in the holes, firming the soil around the roots with your hands.

After you plant your garden be sure to water it.  Seeds need water to germinate and sets will wilt if they dry out in the sun.  Use a garden hose with a light spray, or set up a sprinkler for larger areas.  Once your seeds and sets are planted there is nothing else to do for your garden until it starts to grow.

As your garden grows, weeds will sprout.  It is important to pull these out or cultivate them under with the hoe when they are small.  If you keep the weeds down by hoeing every week, your garden will grow fast and produce plenty of flowers or healthy vegetables for your table.