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Recipe for an indoor vegetable garden

Erik instructs on how to have fresh veggies or herbs year round
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The Gardener’s Corner

It was during New Year’s Day supper when I started thinking about what to write about gardening this time of year.

That is a very good question, but as a gardener, it is nearly always on my mind, because the gardening I will be doing on any given day, is not decided at that moment, but planned well in advance.

This day I’m putting my attention on how soon the garden seed supplies get their product on the shelves, because last summer I already made plans for this year.

So what can we think about? How about starting an indoor vegetable garden?

You just need some heating pads, or, especially for this purpose, a heating cable.

If you have a small work bench with a solid top, you can lay the heat pads on top after building a frame of 1X4s or 1X6s, depending on what you like to grow.

On a larger scale, a heating cable would be a cheaper option, as it is regulated by a thermostat, and therefore gives you greater control.

You also need a fluorescent type of light fixture, installed overhead, with grow lights.

The height of the sides depends on what you’re going to grow.

Many people grow herbs and lettuce, and even tomatoes, depending on your taste, and have it all year round.

If you want to try this out, email me regarding the installation.

It is now the middle of January and the time to transplant the mother geranium plants I have had stored in peat moss in the basement, after taking off the cuttings at an earlier time.

I will plant these older plants into four inch pots and keep them in my cold frame, in the unheated spare room, under grow lights. I have a timer set to turn these lights on for three to four hours a day, for now.

These plants will actually bloom much sooner than the plants from the cuttings.

If you have any questions please let me know by email: e.jacobsen85@yahoo.com.