Planning and Planting Ahead

This summer, I have had a very nice garden plus my perennial gardens - herbs, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberry. I have had a lot of fresh produce that is only a short walk from my kitchen, and it has been wonderful. The produce is organic, incredibly fresh, a flavor that can't be beat, and free if you don't count the initial $100 in plants and the few hours of labor a week. I've done herbs in flower pots in winters past, and this year I am planning - and planting - ahead, trying some things I've never done before.

I have taken two window planters (the water from the bottom kind, which I love) which I got on clearance last week for $4 each, filled them with organic potting soil (got a 32 cubic foot bag for $3!), and now planted seeds in them. I had planned ahead for this and saved some of my summer seeds. One planter is half spinach and half mesclun mix. The other planter is split into thirds for cilantro, basil, and rosemary. I've also started a cherry tomato plant and a beefsteak tomato plant in little plastic bathroom drinking cups. Those I didn't have seeds saved, so I'm trying it with seeds from tomatoes from my garden. When they are seedling sized (a few inches tall), I will transplant them into upside down planters: http://www.curbly.com/DIY-Maven/posts/1620-how-to-make-an-upside-down-tomato-planter. In the tops of the planters I will sow seeds for chives and parsley, making use of the soil on the top as well as the bottom of the planter.

A is skeptical that this will work since he points out that our good Andersen windows block 80% of UV light, which plants need to thrive. I'm willing to try and then buy a UV light if we need to. The short of it is that in the depths of winter, we will be harvesting cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, salad greens, spinach, and herbs instead of paying a lot of money for the anemic, non-organic, definitely not local version. Not everyone would want to have an upside down tomato plant in the dining room, but why not try it? The beautiful, bright green, spikey leaves with the smooth, brilliant red globes of tomatoes peaking through, topped with the textures and color of herbs or flowers. It sounds wonderful to me!

So plan ahead. Plant ahead. Grow some herbs on your windowsill. Think about growing a dwarf citrus tree, a dwarf banana tree, a graceful pepper plant, some fragrant and feathery fennel, a tomato plant. Why have a lovely houseplant when you could have a distinctive, food producing plant that will feed you while trimming your grocery bill!