Winter/Early Spring Organic Gardening
Winter and Early Spring Gardening: For City and Country Dwellers
It’s that time of year again. The seed catalogs have started to arrive in the mail with their beautiful images and bounty of possibilities. The problem is that many of them have a limited variety of organic and heirloom seeds. Some may have organic seeds that just are not going to work for your growing zone.
Where to begin?
Here at the zen kitchen we do a lot of container gardening – and in recent years we’ve expanded to a backyard garden as well! Dani uses containers on her back porch and a small, dimly lit plot in the backyard to grow tomatoes, beans and greens, while I turned an eyesore in our backyard (above ground pool) into a organic garden oasis. No matter how much space you have you can grow herbs, veggies, and even fruit from seed.
In the winter the best thing to do is to have a fresh herb window garden! This way you have fresh herbs for cooking during the cold months and you save a bundle on not having to buy herbs at the grocery store. You can find small square window sill sized planters at your local garden store. We love to support local nurseries—but they are often closed for the winter.
What seeds to buy?
If you can purchase seeds from a company near to your home that is fantastic. We have a wonderful seed company based right here in New England called Johnny’s Seeds. Johnny’s has a very nice collection of herb seeds found at http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-3-herbs.aspx
Basil is always easy to grow inside the house! As it turns out basil makes an excellent companion plant to tomatoes. If you do a container garden for outside (to put outside after the danger of frost has passed) it is a nice touch to put tomato and basil together. Just be sure to give the plants plenty of water and light, and pick basil by pinching off the entire head rather than picking off individual leaves; the basil will keep growing, but won’t get “leggy” like it can often get when you pick off the leaves one by one. Dani starts basil in a container on the porch, and brings it in during the winter months.
Our favorite seed catalog of all time is Baker Creek (www.rareseeds.com). Baker has something really amazing out in California—an actual old bank that is now a seed bank! How cool is that? Folks that work in the seed bank even dress in period clothing. If you’re not near CA you can order their seeds online. Baker’s seed catalog is a work of art and is found on our coffee table. The seed packets can even be framed as art—they are that beautiful. All beauty aside, Baker has the most comprehensive rare and heirloom collection of seeds in the world! We’ve had great luck with their cucumbers and melons. This year we’re going to try some of their funky beets and radishes as well.
Why do I order seeds for the summer in the winter?
Well first off it’s a great winter pastime here in New England to dream about growing things when there’s snow outside. You can start your seeds indoors in winter (March). I use one cool florescent bulb and one warm on a timer so that the seedlings get 12 hours of daylight and 12 of darkness. I start the seeds in our basement that is heated—but not too warm. You can get seed starter kits from Garden’s Alive (www.gardensalive.com). The great thing is that Garden’s Alive always sends coupons!
Come late May I put my seedlings in the ground. Cool weather crops can go directly into the ground earlier (check the seed package for instructions).
If you have any questions about organic or heirloom gardening or ideas about future blog topics, please e-mail Leah at leahg@tzk-design.com You can also leave a message here in the blog!
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