Indoor garden gets head start on spring
March 9, 2009
By David Hayes
A display at Squak Mt. Green Houses & Nursery shows many of the supplies needed to start your own indoor garden. By David Hayes
For those amateur gardeners who can’t wait for the permafrost to melt, the solution is simple — grow a garden indoors.
Whether the goal is to grow vegetables, herbs or flowers, there are many hardy genera that can get a jumpstart indoors while the weather is still disagreeable. They can later be transferred outside when the garden is more accommodating.
Master gardener Chris Diggs, with Squak Mt. Greenhouses & Nursery, helped outline what to plant indoors and how, starting with vegetables.
“You can start with your cauliflower, broccoli and cabbages,” she said. “Kale, peas and lettuce are also good at transplanting.”
Diggs added it’s probably still a little too early to attempt squashes and tomatoes. April is better for them.According to organicgardening.com, the top 10 herbs to grow indoors are basil, bay, chervil, chives, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. Diggs said late in April is a better time to plant them, so they’re ready to move out to the garden by May or June.
Diggs recommends plants for an indoor garden to include zinnias, snapdragons, cleome, sunflowers and nasturtium.
Diggs said there’s one key to whatever kicks off your indoor garden.
“Know the last frost date for your area,” she said. “The date varies by region. For example, Seattle is typically warmer than Issaquah, so the last frost date is earlier than here.”
Typically, the back of the seed pack will help determine the date and so will geological surveys performed by each state. Typically, for Issaquah, it’s from May 1-9; for Seattle, it’s April 15.
The next step is planting in the appropriate container. Diggs recommends starting with something larger if you want to avoid replanting indoors before heading outside as the plant grows. A milk carton is an ideal starting container. But a good standard, she said, is something that’s 2-by-2-by-2 inches.
Then, determine what to pack around the burgeoning plant.
“Don’t use garden dirt,” she said. “You need a starting mix that is fluffy, that the roots can sprout through well.”
For this, Diggs recommends a potting mix of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite to create a light texture that won’t compact after a couple of waterings.
Lighting is the next important step. Diggs said nothing fancy is needed; a simple shop light will suffice. As they grow, plants need exposure to the light source, placed between 2 and 4 inches away, between 14-16 hours a day. And they’ll need dark at night. So, don’t forget to turn the light off.
Finally, provide a light breeze or run your hand lightly through the leaves to build up the plant’s hardiness.
Diggs said that even with all of this care, don’t simply perform the transplant without a transitional period.
“I like to get them used to the outdoors before transplanting them to the garden for good,” she said. “I place the plants for a couple hours a day in the shade as a good start.”
She then gradually leaves them outside longer, including overnight stays, until they’re ready for the final move.
“Just read the back of seed packets or use Google, which outlines most of these steps to get a good jumpstart on the season,” she suggested. “If you provide a nice, controlled environment, you can get your indoor garden off to a good start.”
Reach Reporter David Hayes at 392-6434, ext. 237, or dhayes@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.
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the effectiveness or not of the LED lights to grow our indoor plants, one area
I am particular about is on the issue of its being environmental friendly.