Friday, March 26, 2010

Garden Plan: The Kitchen Garden and the Bedroom Annex


I was unable to find a convenient space outside--so I'm growing my food within my fourth floor apartment.  I'm calling it the "Kitchen Garden," and I plan to install 6-10 window box-shaped planters on top of my kitchen shelf and refrigerator.  I'm going to hang two grow lights from the ceiling to supplement to daylight in that room.  As my roommate said: "It's not going to look at all like we're growing weed in here."

What I'm growing: the first box will have rhubarb early on, them I'm going to switch it out for salad greens/spring mix (question: when should I plant greens? late june?). I'm going to have another box of mixed greens including chard, arugula, and spinach; two boxes of bush beans, including kidney beans and soybeans; two boxes of summer squash; one of zucchinis and cucumbers; one of eggplants; one of a "space saving" melon mixture.

In my bedroom, there will be two hanging planters in front of the window.  Out the bottom, I'm going to grow a tomato plant and a pepper.  On top, I'm going to plant strawberries.  I'm also going to grow 2-3 kinds of sprouts, and a mushroom kit.  In my windowbox, I already have mint growing, and chives (which I planted last year and grew pathetically; this spring they have BURST from the soil and are growing like maniacs).  I'm also going to plant parsley and cilantro.

That's all!  What do you think? Suggestions? Where am I going wrong? 

And it's already foraging season!  The wild garlic/onions are sprouting...

2 comments:

  1. You should grow your greens now :o) They like the little cooler weather, and will most likely not grow well for you in the heat of mid summer, though if you can find a little cooler spot for them you might be able to get away with it. (we are planting some lettuces on the north side of the spiral gardens when the weather gets hotter in the hopes that the shady north side will give them enough cool-ness to make them happy.) Best of luck with the plan! Todd has some plans for a pvc grow light hanger he picked up at home depot that might be helpful to you. We tried a basement garden this year-- it didn't work out really well though because I think it was too cold and didn't get enough real light down there; you'll have to let me know how a kitchen garden goes with real light and summer warmth! How exciting!

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  2. Thanks! I picked up two of those topsy-turvy planters on sale at Home depot yesterday. The are essentially hanging vertical gardens. Now I just need some dirt and plants to put in them.

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