Play in the Dirt - Indoors!

Maybe you just can't stand it - you have to get something planted NOW! You are not alone, all avid gardeners are at that point right about now (unless you live in one of those climates that you have a year-round growing season - if you do, just let us know and we'll all move in with you for the winter!).

There are so many new products that have come out in the last few years that let you accomplish that, to grow plants inside your house. If you are not lucky (or prepared) enough to have a heated greenhouse to tend, there are options that you can use to nip a little bit of the gardening withdrawals in the bud. There are lights, grow beds, plant holders, and complete gardening centers that you can fit into your house and satiate that need for gardening, and provide healthy eating as an extra benefit!

Most of these are fairly small, but there are larger tiered grow beds that , if you have the room, you can grow some of the essentials, like lettuces and other shallow rooted crops to tide you over until the planting season can actually begin. Just think how good a fresh herbed pesto would be for Valentine's Day! Or fresh chives for the stuffed baked potato skins for Super Bowl Sunday!

I actually love repurposing things, reusing those leftover pieces of furniture and plastics and light fixtures.  I have found that a plastic shelf unit, when turned upside down, makes a great starter bed for my cups of dirt with seeds (that eventually become my seedlings to plant outdoors).

This beautiful, sunny window is actually the sliding doors onto my deck in the alcove (indoor garden) in my bedroom.  The sun is warm coming into these windows all year long, so it is the perfect place to start my indoor garden.  If you will notice the tomato plants are a little leggy (you can see the lights stacked in the corner that I have yet to put over them!), but I don't mind because I like to plant my tomatoes deep in the dirt outside so they are really stable for the spring storm winds.

Having vegetables to get into the ground - without having to wait until the garden centers to have your favorites in stock - would be priceless!

So what are you waiting for - you could have your garden started by this time next week, and have some great salads by Easter! If you are not still in the planning stage for your outside garden you should be in the planting stage for your indoor garden!