Edible Gardening- 05.03.11
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The gardening bug seems to be going around as of late. Especially the trend in edible gardens at home! Regardless of whether you’re in a small apartment or a huge estate, we’ve been seeing windowbox gardens, herbs along the kitchen counter, upside down hanging tomato plants, rooftop gardens, guerilla gardens, community gardens, and full blown vegetable gardens fit to rival a farm. The daunting part perhaps is starting one…so Tasteologie Editor, Jackson, took on the task a few months ago in addition to working with friends on a few other vegetable gardens! On the next page you can see fun seedling growing options, and how they evolve into a full on vegetable garden!
Some seedling planting options are - making your own pots out of newspaper (you can even use a handy mold) or biodegradable fiber pots…
… for this run we used a a greenhouse tray with peat pellets!
Just add water and they poof up right in front of your eyes ready to nurture your seeds.
Here’s a sped up video - it originally took about 2 min
Drop the seeds in, and away they go!
The greenhouse tray does a good job of keeping the germinating seeds moist and warm. It really speeds things up and these started to sprout in just a few days.
Radishes are a great for the impatient.. they can go from seed to harvest in about a month. The roots can penetrate the netting on the peat pods, so they are easy to transplant into larger containers.
With so many seeds to choose from, it’s hard to know where to start! Here is some Oregano growing nicely…
…and Zucchini! Just about anything is possible in the right climate, so be sure to check what grows well where you are.
As for what to do with these seedlings as they outgrow the pop up peet pots, time to plan your garden! Be it a windowbox, a planter, or a designated vegetable garden section, time to get more soil, mulch, compost, and get planting! While these are still growing up and getting ready to be transplanted, take a peek at our friend’s garden at the historical John B. Kane Residence. It’s hard to believe that just a year ago there was nothing here, and now there is a lush vegetable garden, ready for your kitchen!
This garden has everything from mustard greens to collard greens, broccoli, peas, grapes, chard, green onions, and more!
Ready to start your vegetable garden? All you need is time, energy, and water to transform the barren to the lush! To learn even more about the importance of vegetable gardens and some groups working to encourage more home vegetable gardens ~ check out this mini documentary Jackson recently made:
