My Indoor Victory Garden

I have done it.  Last week I planted my first victory garden.  Being that I live in a studio apartment and will possibly be moving cities at the end of August… I decided to see what will grow inside.

I started out by going to the store to get two window boxes that I could place on my radiators (now that it has been so unseasonably warm) and grow lettuce and spinach.  My grandfather was a great farmer and also grew many plants in a greenhouse each year.  That skill, the green thumb, passed on to my mother.  Each year we would plant a huge garden that took up over half of the back yard.  Somehow - that skill of a green thumb did not pass on to me.

The last plant that did very well was this beautiful Ivy that I grew in college.  It didn’t die when I forgot to water it, it just continued to flourish.  It did so well - that it was out growing its pot when I packed it up and brought it home for winter break.  I never knew what happened to it – after it road home in the trunk of my car for a two hour trip in subzero weather, it never grew leaves again.  I watered it for two months after that faithful ride in the car… but it never came back.

What I Planted...

Knowing that- I was at a loss in the store as I looked at dirt and pots.  I asked this kind lady, who was also shopping in the store, what she thought about growing things inside.  Well, she took me by the hand and picked out my dirt, my seeds, and also convinced me to try other vegetables besides greens…

I think that is the Tomato plant in the center

So now I have four pots.  In the more shallow pots – I planted lettuce greens, spinach greens and some type of broccoli.  In the deeper pots, I planted carrots, radishes, a tomato plant, and one beet.  I also started some green onions around the edges of the plants.

My hope is to harvest some of the vegetables and then plant more seeds – so the garden will be producing throughout the summer.  I can’t wait to taste the fresh greens and carrots….  What has really amazed me is how much the plants grow in the night time.  That is something I didn’t see when they were planted outside.

I could not see spending so much money on a watering can… so I made my own out of a old milk container with holes punched in the top.  It works pretty good – and helps me measure out how much water is being put on the garden.  I did buy a shelf to put pots on… and the legs were not tall enough- so I took some of my spools of thread, taped them together, and they work great to heighten the shelf (I don’t believe they are earthquake proof J). 

So join me in watching this garden grow… I can’t wait to start eating victory vegetable soup!