While others are waiting to start their gardens this time of year, I feel as though I never stopped. Between the plastic covered hoop tunnels at both home and cottage; and experimenting with microgreens and sprouts with indoor lights, I was able to keep growing through fall and winter, and now into spring.
Curly and Black Lacinato Kale, grown in only a couple of inches of potting soil.
The leaves keep growing, just cut as needed. Regular daylight white fluorescent tubes and organic liquid fertilizers that smell like seaweed and fish, keeps everything growing.
Several flats have been planted so that we get a continual supply to eat and make kale beds with. (We need to get dolly some new clothes!)
Nasturtium grown for the beautiful edible flowers in my salad. It’s also excellent in the garden as a pest magnet, attracting aphids and slugs away from your vegetables.
I think I started these tomatoes a tad too early.
The tomatoes have outgrown the shelves and moved to the basement.
Some have started to flower since the middle of March.
They are now 4 feet tall and moved to the green house. A little big on the leggy side; not sure how many tomatoes they will produce.
Leeks, eggplant and jalapeno pepper waiting to be planted outside. Last year I started too late.
Fast-growing peas for their tender young shoots to be stir fried with garlic.
Gai Lan Choy, also known as Chinese Broccoli, these grew really fast (3 weeks old at time of photo).
Thyme, cilantro, tarragon and basil.
The hens and rabbit also enjoyed their fresh greens over the winter. It only takes a week to grow a tray of wheat grass.
Andrew Patel - Do you keep your rabbit with your chickens? Its looks pretty cool, how the rabbit has a little den above the chicken coop!
AP
Spring Happenings » FreestyleFarm - […] Yu Choy, and Gai Lan Choy have already been harvested and beds are ready for second planting. The indoor lights helped immensely in getting a head start on the growing […]
Victoria - I’m reading this late but I’m very inspired. How did you know what strength lights to get, and is the idea to move everything outside or do year round farming? Also, what percentage of your own home grown food do you think you eat?
Cheers!
Luis Gomez - Certainly a plentiful harvest of kale you got there!
Also, growing wheatgrass indoors in the winter is a great idea as it’s very cheap and fast to grow and it’s highly nutritious.
Good job!