Day 23, Veggies are Quite Robust

So it is waiting time.

Actually, today is April 17 – it is snowing here again.  A month ago the weather lady on the radio said that April 18 would be the last possible day for snow… how could she know?

We are “North of 7″ so the odds are higher so, snow it is for today.

I planted on April 10 and posted the photos on our Facebook page, so you can see the events in picture there.  Link is below.

Planting is not that eventful, however there are some things to consider.

- Soil.  I use potting soil from the garden section and buy a brand I know.  I do not want
any pests (disease / bugs) infesting my plants or home.  I also try to get a brand that has
enriched the soil.  A small bag is all that is needed to fill the pots.

- Pots.  I chose round pots, utilizing pots that came from previous year’s purchases or
from my collection.  I have used clay pots for plants that will not be transplanted.  I decided to use pots instead of cells.  My past experience with cells has the plants tangling with each other and there is no way to separate them or move them out.

- Read the instructions on how deep to plant the seeds.  It will vary for each plant.  I guess
1/8″ / 3mm is almost “spread on surface”.  The first watering will carry them down some.
Try your best to approximate the instruction.

- Once planted, arrange on the trays so that the pots are central.  Once the plants need
the light, it is best they are closest to the source.

- Cover with something clear (I used plastic wrap) to hold in the moisture.

- Start with the light fixture in its highest position.  While the seeds are responding to water first, gravity and light will assist their aim to the world outside.

- When the plants have sprouted and most of them are showing, lower the light to the lowest possible position (for some plants this will be within the first week.  For other, into the second week.  If you have a system with multiple lights, you can rearrange plants as they sprout, and use one level for aggressive and the other(s) for slower starting plants.

- Water Secrets.  I purchased 2 water cans with long spouts from the dollar store.  They
have a good reach and ensure I have enough water prepared.
Prepared?
Two things that will help the plants along – fill the watering cans and leave for 24 hours.  When you finish watering, fill immediately.1.  Reduce the chlorine – letting the water sit overnight assists in the dissipation of the chlorine.  This is the same instruction as given to fish owners…  I guess if the fish are happy, your plants should be too.

2.  Cold Shock.  Water from the tap is cold.  Watering with cold water slows down the growing processes.  Lily growers use cold water, if needed, to control the blooming of their plants so the flowers are ready to open exactly at Easter (which is at best a constant moving target).  Leaving the water to reach room temperature so the seedlings are not shocked into hiding.

- Light.  Maintain light for up to 16 hours per day in the beginning.  This is to simulate the amount of light a May / June day would provide.  Here we are getting about 13 hours of light per day so the plants will receive the same light as when they are transplanted next month.

There are more maintenance tips to come.  These will follow as the plants mature!

So – that is about it for this week.  Photos of progress are being posted on Facebook so
check it out, and sign on for updates and more posts.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Asylum-Resource-Inc/178408255537748

As mentioned at the end of the last discussion, this time I want to talk about lighting.

Once the seeds are planted (in the soil, in the pots, etc.) and the waiting starts, there are two critical tasks that will determine the success of your indoor garden – providing light and watering.  Just try doing without one or the other – you will not have to wait long to see the results.

Let me make a statement here… the following discussion is based on my personal experience.  Not being an expert, my outlook is based on a lot of reading, at home testing, and talking with users at trade shows and such.  If you want a more technical version of lighting – there are some excellent sources on the internet that discuss all the fascinating details.  We have given a more technical version in our “Welcome Guide” to Indoor lighting available for download at: www.asylumresource.com/lightngrow.html – (go to the bottom of this page).

For this discussion I’m going to keep it simple (ha-ha).

Which Light to Use?
For the purposes of this discussion I am going to talk about fluorescent lighting as this is the type of light I use (and promote).

Before using a Light Garden for plants, I was growing everything in our kitchen.  We have 7 – 48” fixtures on the ceiling surrounding the counter-top.  This means 14 lamps at 40 watts each = 560 watts of light.  Plants love the kitchen, but it’s not the place to grow things: the kitchen is for cooking.

I know I want to save money on electricity and the cost of lamps.  When choosing lights, keep in mind you want light – not heat.  Heat is a by-product of the light source and consumes energy.

For the sake of clarity, the word lamp refers to the “light tube” or “light bulb”.

Getting right to the point – the latest fluorescent light fixtures utilize the combination of electronic ballast (the electronics controlling the energy to the lamp) and the lamp itself.  Check to see that the light garden you purchase is using the newest technology.

Being partial to “Light N’Grow™”, I can note here that the use of the newest electronic ballast combined with a T-8 style lamp means they are one of the most energy efficient fluorescent light fixtures available.  Versatility is expanded by the ability of the fixture to use T-8 (32 watt) or if need be, T-12 (40 watt) lamps.  The T-8 lamp at 32 watts with the correct ballast will provide equal light to a 40 watt T-12 – just this factor alone is a 20% savings.  Other benefits of the “electronic ballast” are more consistent light, longer lamp life, no flicker and no hum (vs. conventional magnetic style ballasts).  Old technology vs new technology, when all factors are taken into account, could reduce energy costs by as much as 60% (I’m guessing more).

Knowing at times you may need to run your indoor light garden 16 hours a day, the discussion above could help in the choice of your light system.

Colour Me…Light?
As we all know, light is made up of colours – the light spectrum.  For simplicity, when discussing fluorescent light we have a lot of choices (just go to your local fish store and see the variety of lamp colours they have for fish!).  For this discussion there are 3 fluorescent lamps to consider.  My first consideration being availability, my discussion is based around what can be obtained easily.  Here is my take on the choices:

Cool White:
Use for: Green leaves.  Use for vegetables and starting plants that will flower later outside.
Availability: Broad, easy to obtain.  Look for colour temperature 3,000 – 3,500K.
Cost: Least expensive of fluorescent tubes.  The 48” T-8 is the most economical buy and can be purchased through your local hardware / house-ware store.  A pack of 2 x 48” T-8 CW lamps appear to be the best buy in all the fluorescent lamp choices!

These are fluorescent tubes that cast a blue-white colour.  They deliver mainly light from the blue end of the spectrum.  This is what green leaves need and prosper on.

Warm White:
Use for: Flowing plants, to promote colour and health.
Availability: Reasonable, should be easy to obtain.  They are sometimes referred to as Bath and Kitchen.  Look for colour temperature 4,000 – 4,500K.
Cost: More expensive than cool white, but still a good buy considering other choices.  I suggest using 1-warm with and 1-cool white in each fixture.  It keeps the cost down, and the extra blue spectrum is really a bonus.

Warm white are fluorescent lamps that cast a gold-like colour.  They deliver light from the blue + red part of the spectrum.  This assists flowering plants.  The blending of cool-white and warm-white is a great way to go.  I use the CW + WW in 2 fixtures and CW only in 1 fixture (for vegetables/herbs).

Full Spectrum:
Use for: All plants, to promote colour and health.
Availability: Limited. You may need to mail order or order on-line.  There is a variety available under different names and claims.  Look for colour temperature 6,000 – 6,500K.
Cost: Most expensive.  Many are only available in T-12 size.  Claims about their abilities vary so ensure you purchase something that will give you value for the price you have paid (i.e. – research the claim).

These fluorescent lamps provide the full spectrum of colour.  Visibly viewing things under full spectrum light provides life-like and more brilliant colour than utilizing cool-white or warm-white.  The sun provides full spectrum colour, however what a plant needs to grow satisfactorily and what spectrum the sun provides may be different.  With my own experience, the cool-white lamps have grown plants beyond my expectation.  If you have exotics or plants that require the full-spectrum, these lamps may be necessary.  If you are growing flowers with beautiful colours and want to have the complete colour in the light garden, then full spectrum lamps will give you the best visual experience, however they may not be necessary to provide the light needs of your plants.

Turning Off
So that is my light discussion.  Some opinions and some food for thought.  What it really gets down to is to decide your direction, do some quick research, get going and then do more research.  You cannot go wrong starting with cool-white and moving up if necessary.  The cost is minimal and the lamps are re-usable if you decide to go with a different light colour.

Today, I start planting – a great subject for the next post.  See you then!

Seeds for My Indoor Garden 2011

Thanks for coming back…

I have been getting hungry thinking about the basil infused olive oil with nice warm crusty bread… dipping and enjoying the fresh basil flavour of the oil (best of all it’s good to eat… really!).

So, let’s get growing…

I left off with the need to secure a supply of seeds.  My aim is to start the seeds indoors, then move the plants outdoors to complete their journey to maturity.

I have obtained various seeds over the last week… some from my cache of gardening items from last year (are they fresh you say?).  Well, that depends I guess on how they are stored and if you have past experience with keeping seeds.  I have had good fortune with using the same seed pack for more than one year.  Others may not have such luck… so I would recommend if you are starting out; buy new seeds from a reputable seed supplier.  Your time and effort are worth it.  Also, the seed pack contains many seeds and the cost is low if you can use them wisely.  For storage I would suggest very dry conditions, cool and dark.  This has worked fine for me.

The seeds I have chosen are:

Basil, Sweet: ocimum basilicum.  From the package, normally needs 12 weeks to mature… however needs even warmth day-night.   So start mid-April indoors and plant 3rd week of May.  The light garden will speed up the early growth so I should have reasonable plants when starting.

Parsley, Curled Moss:  From the package, normally needs 10 weeks to mature.   So start mid-April indoors and plant 3rd week of May.  Again, the light garden will speed up the early growth so I should have reasonable plants when starting.

Mint: Hmmm… I wanted mint… y’know… mint.  I found spearmint, apple mint, peppermint, ginger mint… I just want mint.  I did find it is also called “mentha” and it a perennial.  There are more varieties – marsh, corn, Japanese, Australian, Asian, ad infinitum, perhaps.  So after further research and a talk with my mother, we narrowed it down to spearmint or peppermint… so the first of the two that I find at the store will be the one I use.  (Mom also recommended planting it in a container and not let it out… it will spread over years and be hard to control; a wandering perennial).

Tomatoes – I have grown tomatoes almost every year that I can remember (except the ’60′s – who can remember anything from then – am I aging myself?).  I stay away from beefsteak as they usually split or fall down.  I like Roma as they seem easy and produce excellent tomato sauce.  I like to have something early, something for late, something small, something medium and something versatile:

… Tomato 1 – Roma – for sauce.  10 – 11 weeks to maturity.  Plant end of May.  Start inside mid-April.
… Tomato 2 – Early Girl – 7 – 8 weeks to maturity.  Plant end of May.  Start inside mid-April.
… Tomato 3 – Sub-Artic Plenty – 8 – 9 weeks to maturity.  Plant second week of June.  Start inside early May.
… Tomato 4 – Tiny Tim – Small cherry-like Tomatoes – 7 – 8 weeks to maturity.  Plant end of May.  Start inside mid-April.

Cucumber:  Still working on this one.  I will use English cucumbers if possible – reducing the need to repeat myself.

Pepper – The strain I grow is called Early California Wonder.  This type of pepper seems to like me so I will retain for yet another year.  10 weeks to harvest.  I’ll start indoors mid-April and plant end of May.

Garlic – I will grow this fabulous spice from cloves.  This is my first attempt at garlic so my direction will be to find domestically grown garlic (so I know what it looks like mature) and break it up into cloves, plant them and see what happens.  We’ll discuss this one separately as we go along.  I should be able to start the garlic anytime as it can be put in the garden regardless of size.

So that is the list I prepared last week.  I now have set in my mind what I need to do.

My Indoor Light Garden is up and running.  Currently I am light nourishing some houseplants that withered a little during our dark, dull, Canadian winter.

But Wait!  Lettuce Not Forget!

I really want some lettuce; however lettuce and our local rabbit population do not get along well.  I enjoy the local rabbits (light brown bunnies) hopping around.   Other than stripping all the bark off my Burning Bush, they are an enjoyable addition to our avian friends enjoying the seed spilled from the feeders.

I have had experience growing leaf lettuce indoors and plan to start a tray in late May.  By adding new trays every 2 – 3 weeks, I should be able to harvest small lettuces each week just to say I’ve had some of my own.  I was amazed at how quickly and how lush the vegetable grew.  So we’ll see.

Watch for the next post – it will be an excerpt on seeds and how to choose and use for indoor gardening.

Cheers!

Garden 2009

As I noted in my last post, it is always good to have a plan.  In trying to decide how to go about planting the garden this year, I have decided to plan a small variety of dishes that can utilize what is grown.

48" Wide x 3 Tiers Indoor Light Garden

It is time to start thinking about Spring and what to do about plants for the new garden.

Perhaps this is the year for a nice herb garden along with the usual lot of tomatoes and cucumbers.

Maybe it is time to experiment with some different types of tomato. Roma for sauce, Early Girl for early harvest, Better Boy for late harvest.  Aside from being the ideal fruit-vegetable, fresh Tomatoes from your own backyard are the BEST!

How about growing some Basil. A great herb that can be used to make Pesto.  Use to prepare your own tasty Bruschetta – dice your own tomatoes and use your home made pesto sauce on garlic-buttered bread – a unique taste!

…or add another herb, Parsley. Other than a garnish, parsley can be used (along with those great tomatoes) to make Tabouli salad;  you’ll need Italian or flat leaf Parsley.  This is unique salad – delightful taste – using Bulgar wheat as the base along with mint and cucumber (you can grow these as well).

It’s easy to grow great dishes – just plan the dishes first, and grow the vegetables and herbs to enjoy.

All this is great, but in order to ensure you have the best seedlings to start your garden, getting the starter plants right is of utmost importance.

“Light N’Grow(TM)” is an indoor gardening system that provides controlled, adjustable light in the right volume and quantity to ensure your starter-plants get going right.  Using your choice of quality seeds, a disease free growing medium, the right amount of water and properly metering the light you will create strong, healthy plants ready for Spring.

Visit our site:
www.asylumresource.com/lightngrow.html

Come back often for more discussions about using the Light N’Grow(TM) Indoor Gardening products.

Cheers!

Neat Little Ideas Become Oak Trees of Accomplishment

As with the acorn, we are sure there are many opportunities to turn a seed of an idea into a well thought out idea-seed and have it evolve into something big, durable, effective and everlasting like the Mighty Oak.