One Hundred Dollars a Month

Yesterday I pulled out one of my sets of grow lights so I could get a start on winter gardening. Yep, this year I’m going to try to continue gardening during the winter months. This is kind of a new adventure for me so I’m pretty excited.

Last month I planted fava beans {for a cover crop} and carrot seeds in the garden. I already have broccoli, beets, kale, cabbage, Swiss chard and leeks planted in the garden boxes, and lettuce and peas in the greenhouse.

But the lettuce will be ready to harvest soon so I thought it was time to get another crop growing before it gets too cold.

I selected 2 kinds of lettuce: Mesclun Sassy Salad Blend  and Mesclun Valentine Blend. Once the seeds sprout and reach about 3 inches high, I’ll re-pot the seedlings and place them in the greenhouse where they’ll be protected a wee bit.

So far our greenhouse is unheated, so it won’t be too much warmer than if I had them planted outside in the garden boxes, but it should help just enough to allow the lettuce to mature.

I planted two trays of beet seeds as well. I’ve never tried growing beets during the winter months before but I’m going to give it a go this year. I figure if I can give them a headstart under the grow lights, and then move them outside and under a row cover, they’ll have a pretty good shot in the garden this winter. We’ll see. I figure if I can grow winter carrots, I should be able to grow winter beets as well.

I also planted a packet of Dolce Vita Basil. If you’ve never grown basil indoors during the winter months before, give it a try. It’s super easy. You can get one packet of seeds for less than a package of basil at the grocery store and you can grow it organically on your own.  Plus, if you have kids, they love to watch plants grow and help out with the watering.

This is what my grow light set up looked like earlier this spring. I won’t be growing as many plants this winter, but it gives me something to look forward to during the dark and gloomy months of winter. And, it keeps my thumbs green too. 😉

How about YOU?

Will you be growing anything this winter? If so, what.

Mavis wants to know.