When fresh produce is at a premium during the winter growing season, take a page from professional chef’s book and grow your own microgreens indoors.

During the winter we all crave fresh produce, but it can be expensive, not to mention eating outside your foodshed to purchase those succulent microgreens for topping avocado toast and soup bowls. Do not despair, you can grow easily grow fresh and healthy microgreens right in the comfort of your own home. All you need is a sunny window and a few simple materials. Depending on which greens you decide to grow, you could end up enjoying microgreens weekly or biweekly.

Step-by-Step Guide for Growing Microgreens Indoors

Materials

• Upcycled Clamshell produce container with lid
• Potting soil
• Seeds (see note below)
• Spray bottle
• Scissors
• Screwdriver or awl
• Hammer

Directions

Step 1. Make some drainage holes in the plastic clamshell container.  Place the container on a safe surface (like an old wooden cutting board). Using an awl or small screwdriver, tap it lightly with the hammer and make 5 or 6 holes in the bottom of the container. These are for water drainage.

Step 2. Add dirt to the container. You can use any potting soil you have on hand— just make sure it is potting soil and not topsoil or something else. Potting soils have the correct nutrient balance for starting seeds and they won’t retain too much water. Fill the container about ¾ of the way full, and tap to level the dirt.

Step 3. Sprinkle the seeds as densely as you can in a single layer across the top of the soil.  You can use seeds for whatever greens you like, such as mustard, mesclun, arugula, kale, herbs, spinach and more. I buy seeds from High Mowing Seeds, which is a great source for organic, non-GMO seeds.

Step 4. Cover the seeds with soil according to the seed package planting depth instructions.

Step 5. Place the container in a sunny window with the lid underneath to catch any water drainage.

Step 6. Water your seeds just until the soil is moist — you don’t want to flood them — and water anytime you see the soil drying out. The best way to water is with a spray bottle.

Step 7. Wait for your seeds to grow! Depending on what you grow, most seeds will germinate in about 3-7 days. Harvest when the seeds get your desired maturity, for most seeds 7 or 10 days is a good rule of thumb.

Step 8. Use scissors to harvest your microgreens and rinse them gently in a small strainer to eat. Enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon
4 Indoor Growing Gadgets For Lazy Gardeners
7 Delicious Fruits and Vegetables You Can Grow Indoors
17 Clever Repurposed Garden Planters to Add More Plants to Your Space

The post How to Grow Fresh Microgreens Indoors appeared first on EcoSalon.

Want to enjoy yummy fruits and vegetables all year round? By growing them indoors, you can eat fresh home-grown produce regardless of the season.

Maybe you’ve given up the idea of growing your own fruits and vegetables because your tiny apartment lacks a yard, the weather in your area is just too harsh, or you’re like me and can never remember to water your garden. Fortunately, these challenges don’t have to be deal breakers, because you can actually grow a variety of fruits and veggies indoors. If you have a bright area that’s naturally-lit, an enclosed patio, or a sunroom, then the likelihood of successful, fresh, and delicious little crops is very high—even during the winter!

Indoor produce choices are actually quite vast, as are the ways you can choose to plant them. A simple terracotta pot is a great way to begin, or you can plan to yield lots of goodies and use hanging pots, mason jar wall planters, or a free-standing vertical box garden to cultivate your fruits and vegetables indoors. Whatever you decide, they’re sure to be delicious! Before you begin, let’s take a look at some of the options and some tips on how to make your garden grow.

1. Carrots

Yes, these crunchy veggies favored by cartoon rabbits are usually quite long and need a planter to match, but if you grow the dwarf or round varieties instead, then your pot only needs to be around 8 inches deep with soil filled to about an inch from the top. Some experts recommend planting seeds ¼ inch into the soil, while others say you just need to sprinkle the seeds over the soil’s surface. Either way, in about 60 or so says, you’ll have a handful of fully grown carrots to munch on.

2. Figs

The most common indoor fig tree is Negro Largo. It will yield fruit in around one to two years and is a great decorative addition to your home. Although fig trees can grow quite tall, pruning will keep the height at a reasonable level, allowing this particular plant to stay indoors. Cat and dog lovers should take caution, however, because this plant is known to be poisonous to pets.

3. Beets

A yummy veggie that can be grown indoors, beets require space, regulated watering, and plenty of sunlight. You can eat the plant and the root of the beet, and it is sometimes pickled or roasted. The seeds need to be planted about a foot apart, or in individual containers, and will take anywhere from 40 to 80 days before fully mature and ready to eat.

4. Strawberries

Slightly more challenging, but worth the effort nonetheless, strawberries can be successfully grown indoors. These require pH balanced and moist soil, peat moss, and direct sunlight in a seed tray to start, but once germination (about two to three weeks) can be transferred to pots. After that they require about six hours of sunlight a day, monthly fertilizing, and initial pruning of blossoms during the first six weeks. A basket of strawberries done right can produce fruit for up to three years.

5. Potatoes

“Seed potatoes” are recommended because they are designed to be grown indoors and are more disease resistant. Germinate the potatoes by using the instructions found here. The more eyes they have, they better the results will be. Start with a deep pot that has drainage holes. Cover the bottom with stones to aid in drainage and fill with soil until it’s ⅔ of the way full. Place the sprouted potatoes on the soil root side down and then cover with another two to three inches of soil. They require “deep” watering and additional soil after they greens have grown about six inches above the surface.

6. Apricots

Apricots can be grown by using the seed from its own pit, so next time you’re indulging, save the center and extract the seeds. Use a hammer to crack the pit and stratify the seeds by following the instructions here. Once you see roots emerge, pot the sprouting seeds in a container that’s about four inches and filled with potting soil. This can be placed in a sunny window to encourage growth, but may take two to three years to bear fruit. There is also a dwarf variety available, so that the plant can remain indoors.   

7. Tomatoes

Florida Basket and Micro Tom are two varieties of tomatoes that were designed to be grown indoors in unglazed pots or hanging baskets. They require lots of sunlight—at least eight hours a day—and are said to be heavy eaters, requiring lots of fertilization. Tomatoes require a germination period of about five to ten days before transferring to a sunny spot. When seedlings are around three inches tall, transfer them to larger pots.

This list only just scratches the surface, so do some research and start experimenting on growing fruits and vegetables indoors. And if at first you don’t succeed, then try, try again. Share your thoughts with us on the EcoSalon Facebook page!

Related on EcoSalon

6 New Year’s Resolutions Better for You and the Planet
The Shocking Attribute that Most Influences Eco-Friendly Behavior
Donate, Toss, or Repurpose Leather and Fur: The Herbivore’s Dilemma

The post 7 Delicious Fruits and Vegetables You Can Grow Indoors appeared first on EcoSalon.

This week’s Link Love gets to the heart of the Super Bowl commercials, inspires with some V-day love, an indoor garden and a chef who knows what’s up.

Are you in the mood yet for Valentine’s Day? Let the Healthy Valentine’s Day Sex and Beauty edition help you out. [via Well and Good NYC]

The game was horrible. The commercials were slightly better than horrible. But this take on the Super Bowl commercials makes it all worth it. [via the Atlantic]

Can’t wait for spring to start your garden? Get a jump with your own indoor herb garden. [via Eat Drink Better]

What’s cuter than animals? Animals in slow motion, of course. [via the Huffington Post]

Something good out of our food porn obsession: Top chef judge Tom Colicchio is actually advocating for a healthier food system and ending hunger. Delicious. [via Grist]

Related on EcoSalon

Link Love: An Ode to Toast + Scarlett Johannson in Hot Bubbles + Top Albums of 2013

Link Love: Winter Tea from Trees + Love Hacking + The Best Detox Books

Link Love: DIY Wintery Lotion + A Pay-By-The-Minute Café + Seinfeld’s Return

Image via the Atlantic

The post Link Love: Super Bowl Commercials + Indoor Gardening + Slo-Mo Animals appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Biome allows you to grow exotic plants in a carefully controlled atmosphere.

Biome is a flora terrarium with a delicate balance moderated by you: its climate, water level and nutrients are managed via smartphone or iPad. The idea promotes “digital downtime” – steering the owners of 21st-century, 24-hour gadgets towards a slower life.

The control and nurturing of a real eco-system takes patience and care. This smart garden has low-energy lighting to replicate sunlight and contains sensors on the dome’s conditions that link back to the device when connected; air and moisture levels are controlled by the hole in the pointy top.

Choose your landscape – tropical, desert, herb garden – and then control it using an app on your device, which displays a readout of conditions. The Biome, by London-based designer Samuel Wilkinson, was designed for an exhibition; hopefully it will be available to buy.

(Take the hint, Wilkinson.)

The post A Dome for The Home: The Biome Terrarium appeared first on EcoSalon.

Gardening stories that had us wanting to intensify our green thumb.

The urban homesteading movement gained serious speed this year, proving that you don’t need to move to the suburbs to enjoy the simple pleasures of growing your own vegetables, raising your own chickens, and starting your own bee colony. And despite some groups’ best efforts to kill the momentum, it doesn’t look like the trend is disappearing anytime soon.

One great offshoot of the urban homesteading movement is the spread of new, innovative ways to grow things indoors. Forget standard windowsill planters; this is the 21st century. Here, a sampling of Shelter’s favorite herb kits, terrariums, and other gravity-defying, thought-provoking indoor gardening objects from the past year.

It’s a very small world after all in these mini moss terrariums made from vintage glass and upcycled objects. Michelle Inciarrano and Katy Maslow specialize in miniaturizing scenes, and they take custom orders.

The Plantable concept table/planter from JAILmake reflects on “the distance we place between ourselves and the processes involved in making our food.”

These gravity-defying ceramic sky planters use Slo-flo irrigation technology to minimize water use.

It’s a greeting card! It’s a garden! The City Postcarden is both, with a little water and tending, of course.

The Eco Orb Terrarium kit from Tend Living lets you build your own miniature glass orb garden from a Tilliandis plant, reindeer moss, sand, and accents.

The Zozio from Pousse Créative might look like a “standard windowsill planter,” but it is so much more. This eco-friendly planter doubles as a bird feeder and is ideal for vertical gardens.

The Miroir en Herbe from h2O Architects blurs the boundaries between nature and culture.

Grow your own herbs from the comfort of your kitchen with a selection of indoor herb garden kits and accessories.

Wine bottles get a second life with these Growbottle Upcycled Hydrogardens from Potting Shed Creations, available in Oregano, Chives, Basil, Parsley, and Mint.

And finally, with the addition of Mike Lieberman’s 2012 series on Urban Gardening, expect good harvesting ahead and get your garden planned out now.

The post 2011 in Review: A Good Year for Gardening appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you love gardening, and would like to include your child in your hobby, you’re more than likely to find an eager and enthusiastic teammate! Children have an inherent love and awe of nature and the outdoors, and gardening affords them the miraculous opportunity of watching amazing fruits, vegetables and flowers sprout from tiny seeds, right before their very eyes. I was overjoyed to learn that my two and a half year-old daughter would happily spend hours on end tending to our garden. Yes, there’s an unlikely green gardening tool that captivates her attention and keeps our flowers blooming.

1. Hand a young child a spray bottle filled with water, and watch them excitedly go to work spraying everything green in sight. You can thoroughly wash and re-use any household spray bottle and turn it into your toddler’s most treasured gardening tool. (This is my daughter’s favorite outdoor toy!) Using a spray bottle also alleviates a little one’s unintentional drowning of plants and flowers with hoses and watering cans, and it also helps conserve water.

2. Decorate potted plants with handcrafted pet rocks that your child brings to life with paint, felt and googly eyes!

3. Have your children help you feed your plants with breakfast scraps. Let them scatter eggshells and coffee grounds into the soil to help make plants grow.

4. Spend an afternoon decoupaging terracotta flower pots with your kids. The one-of-a-kind flower pots will add instant flair and originality to your garden.

5. Equip your budding gardener with a cute and compact matchstick garden, and let them grow their choice of herbs, flowers or mixed greens.

6. Short on outdoor space? Your child can still reap what she sows inside the house with Green Toys’ Indoor Gardening Kit. The kit includes everything you need to help your child’s love of gardening blossom: a peapod shaped planter tray and three planting pots, a trowel, soil, and three packs of organic seeds (Teddy Bear Sunflower, Basil, Zinnia).

7. Make a DIY watering can or plant holder out of an empty plastic milk jug. Simply cut the top off of the carton to make it into a watering can. Do the same to make it a plant holder, but poke holes in the bottom for drainage.

Refer to this helpful Gardening At Every Age guide for more insight into your child’s skill and understanding level when it comes to tending the garden.

Images: Beth Shea, Petite Planet, Green Toys

The post A Green Thumb? Trust Me, Your Kids Have One appeared first on EcoSalon.