Gardening With Alice Mcgowan
One of the problems we all face in spring is that we eventually must limit what we can grow”‘”perhaps nowhere is this worse than inside greenhouses, where the space is confined by four walls. Seedlings have a shocking way of increasing exponentially in their needs–that tiny handful of seeds sprouts into a modest seed flat, then move in a fairly orderly fashion into small cells– but all of a sudden– once plants are ready to move into larger pots, space can disappear fast. And when they go outdoors, you may face new space constraints. So, let”‘””s take a look at some of the new space-conscious vegetable introductions available this spring.
Carrot “‘Round Romeo”‘”” forms petite, spherical roots that don”‘””t require deeply cultivated soil “‘”making them great for containers. Don”‘””t forget that root-crops like carrots and radishes are fun to plant with children; they love harvesting them!
Chard “‘Pot of Gold”‘”” Swiss chard has undergone some amazing transformations lately. Featuring lovely bright colors, many are deliciously mild in flavor too. This one stays compact; an excellent candidate for window boxes and smaller gardens, and its plentiful gold-stemmed leaves provide healthy, delicious eating late into fall.
Cucumber “‘Bush Slicer”‘”” bears 6-8″‘ long cucumbers in 55 days on disease resistant, dwarf bushes perfectly sized for small spaces and containers. If you”‘””re really cramped for space, consider growing cucumbers or tomatoes in the Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Planter,”‘ available from the National Gardening Association. (www.garden.org)
Eggplant “‘Little Prince”‘”” I grew this eggplant in large pots last year, and was completely charmed. An attractive, relatively compact plant with handsome felted leaves and lavender flowers, its abundant 4″‘ eggplants are a perfect size to split in half and throw on the grill.
Lettuce “‘Garden Babies”‘”” is a butterhead lettuce that forms cute little heads of tender green leaves, making them ideal for containers.
Scallion “‘Delicious Duo”‘”” combines two different scallion varieties, one purple and one green. In a small amount of space”‘”how about a window box?”‘”you can grow scallions to enjoy all summer, thinning as you harvest.
Tomato “‘Tomaccio”‘”” is an exciting new introduction I”‘””m trying in my sunniest window. Its being advertised as early-fruiting, with exceptionally sweet, cherry size tomatoes bred specifically for drying; harvest whole stems and just hand them up to dry ( inside your Hartley Botanic house would be ideal).
And don”‘””t forget that edible flowers, like nasturtiums, and culinary herbs, such as parsley, basil, and thyme can be tucked into small spaces around your vegetables. Just make sure to give them plenty of sun.
Herb Garden Kits – A ”out Of The Box Simple Gardening Experience
I can remember at being very excited about a new project I was starting. At first I had already foreseen a long stimulating future at enjoying this hobby. I bought all what deemed to me as necessary to start digging in this new adventure. Unfortunately after a while I slowly varied my activities, the latter ending up occupying more and more of my time than my beloved pastime until I went on to new points of interest . A lot of the material is still in the garage, certain items still in their unopened packaging.
The same can be applied to gardening, especially if it is a new found interest or a lack of experience. It could be wise to begin this hobby with a miniature version and give you the opportunity to test how much you enjoy this activity and how well it may blend in your day-to-day routine.
Happily herb garden kits are a simple solution to get you up and running in a very short time and let you set the limits to how much time and efforts you are willing to devote yourself to this past time. Here are some instances when these ”kits” comes in handy.
Time
People are busy rushing from home to their jobs and everything in between. It is a great idea to cultivate herbs for whatever reason it is appealing to you and it is also fairly simple. How much time do you have to keep you herbs happy and healthy. Any herb that you plant has to be tended to, from beginning to end including harvesting. Does your time frame permit outdoor gardening or will it be more convenient and time saving if you choose the indoors gardening option?
Space
Another factor that can greatly influence your choice is space. City dwellers might not have a large space for gardening and are often limited to the confines of a small apartment, or perhaps outside temperatures would not be very friendly to the young plants. A small kit can be composed of a set of 3-4 plants of different herbs that can set on that sunny windowsill in the kitchen. You will find one plant of an herb is enough to fulfill the need. Know your herbs and how to tend to them because some plants can start spreading from a single sprout when out of control.
Commodity
Herb garden kits comes complete with everything you need except for the water and sunshine. Some kits might even contain grow lights that control photosynthesis. You can even get a kit with plants that grows submerged in water, this solution even eliminate the possibility of dirt spilling and creating a mess in your home.
All kits include step-by-step instructions on how to set-up everything, how to plant and care of the herbs, harvesting, characteristics of each individual plants and tips for best results.
Choice
Another pleasant aspect of buying a kit is that there is a tremendous amount of variation offered. You need to choose which category of herbs you plan on growing. Will the harvested leaves be used for culinary reason or, perhaps, you tend more towards medicinal herbs?
The quantity that you will need depends largely on the usage you are aiming for. Remember that with herbs 1 plant will go a long way.
Prices is also a factor but it should not be exclusive. Seed-based kits are less expensive than the sprout version but can be a bit more time consuming and even fragile. Also some herbs can be quite a challenge to a beginner when started from seeds.
Overall, available space and the time you can devote to its care are deciding factor for a kit that is best for you. A small kit containing 4-5 herbs that can grow on your windowsill and may require only simple occasional watering. A large kit offers all that you need to cultivate a 10×10 feet garden.
Take the time you need to plan your garden whatever the size, you will be happy that you did later. List the herbs that you wish to grow and visit a few places to compare prices and options that may suit you best. There is a herb garden kit waiting for you that thoroughly meet your need.
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