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I think it’s safe to say we’ve entered winter where I live. In Montana, the snow can stick around until May, and it can start getting frosty in September. And while it’s not a shock to me that our summers are short (I’ve lived here a while), it takes on a whole new level of shortness when looking at it through garden-tinted glasses. There really isn’t much time to do everything I would hope to accomplish in a given season, namely vegetable gardening. At least, not without a little planning. This year has been especially frustrating for me because just as I was gaining some great gardening knowledge towards the end of the season, it was time to go inside. Boo!
So I’ve been thinking a lot about growing vegetables. I didn’t get a chance to tackle that outdoors this summer for a whole host of reasons. Our winters are long, and I’m not sure I’m going to be satisfied sitting around impatiently waiting for spring. Enter indoor gardening! Can it be done? Absolutely. Can I do it? That remains to be seen.
Indoor Vegetable Gardening Project
I’m quite proud of myself for resisting the urge to plant my seed packets all at once. (Way to show restraint, Alice! You’re learning!) For now, I’m working on growing two plants: basil and beans. Basil, because I love me some fresh basil, and I am going to get good at growing it year round dammit! And beans, because they’re pretty easy to grow and require relatively little maintenance or fuss involved. Only two plants may seem like a very slow start. Because it is! But this is about practice and fine tuning. Once I get comfortable with these two plants, I’ll probably try my hand at others.
Right away, I knew my biggest challenge with growing indoors was going to be providing enough light for the plants. I don’t have any windows in my house that bring in enough light for the length of time they need during the day. And even if I did, my windows, because they are not great at being windows, would give off way too much cold air (my second concern). These plants don’t want to be cold. I don’t blame them!
I bought this pretty inexpensive grow light from Unifun, and it’s doing its job so well that I just might have to get a couple more for future projects. It puts out quite a bit of light to a large area. The light is also giving off just enough heat that there’s not much issue placing the beans this close to the window. I will need to move them when the temperature drops to super low levels. As you can see from the picture to the left, the light is currently hanging from a microphone stand which is a temporary solution until I can build a permanent setup. Anyhoo, the plan as the plant gets taller will be to eventually move it off that box and continue to adjust the distance of the light accordingly.
The beans took a little longer to germinate than I expected…like 9 days, which is pretty typical actually! I can be a bit impatient sometimes. But once they sprouted, the took off! They continue to grow by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. And they’re now at a size that makes me think I overcrowded the container… But maybe not? We’ll see what happens.
That basil is starting to look like basil. Last time I tried growing it, I fussed way too much. This time around is a daily practice in self-restraint-less watering, less touching, no fertilizer (yet). I just need to let them do their thang! They seem much happier for it. If I can keep up my less hands approach, it’ll only be a matter of time before I start harvesting basil. Yum!
But for as well as the beans and basil are growing, of course there are issues too…
I assumed that with wintertime, bugs wouldn’t be an issue. I was looking forward to that. I WAS SO WRONG! I have severely downplayed the survivability of fungus gnats because they have taken a real liking to the soil for my beans. I suspect these little guys were partly responsible for my basil failure this summer (the larvae like to eat away at the plant roots), and I’m so nervous that my beans are doomed to suffer the same fate if I don’t get this under control. Plus, it’s just icky to have these guys buzzing around my house. So I have a burning desire to eradicate these little bastards using whatever method I can.
Fortunately this is a super common problem for indoor growers, so there is plenty of advice out there. Here’s a rundown of what I’m currently doing to combat the issue (I’ve included some product links if you’re interested):
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- Stop watering the plants. More specifically the soil. Fungus gnats love a moist environment. They lay their eggs in the top couple inches of soil, so I’m working on drying the top layer out a bit. Which is hard for me, because my worst habit is over-watering (which probably helped bring this problem on in the first place). I am keeping an eye on the plants to make sure they don’t completely dry out though.
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- Deploying the yellow sticky tape. These work so great for capturing the adults buzzing around. I guess a fungus gnat’s favorite color is yellow? Don’t know why, but I don’t care right now because it’s working. Highly recommended if you’re dealing with fungus gnats or if you want to set them up in your houseplants to help alert you to potential infestations.
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- Spray them with Earth Tone! When I first noticed the gnats buzzing around, I sprayed the soil and plants with Espoma’s Earth Tone Insect Control spray. It contains pyrethrins which is supposed to attack adults and eggs alike. It seemed to help cut down on the initial swarm, and I’m ramping up efforts as I think the eggs are starting to hatch.
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- Apple cider vinegar and dish soap pool. This is a recommendation from the internet that kept popping up over and over. Traditionally, I haven’t had much luck with “natural” solutions, at least with fungus gnats (not to mention fungus gnats aren’t really lovers of fruit and fermented things). I’m skeptical, but also desperate and open-minded, so I’ll give it a shot. I set up a small pool of the mixture in a ramekin. We’ll see if it works.
- Coming soon: Bti! I ordered a jar of Summit Mosquito Bits because it contains Bti (Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis) which specifically targets the larvae in the soil, which is really what keeps the problem going. (In case you’re wondering, Bti is safe for humans and pets, but you should still mind any warning labels you come across on products.)
So the learning continues. I haven’t given up on these two projects, but it’s going to require a bit of course correcting before I add to the indoor garden. I have a few ideas for the next indoor growing project for initial setup, especially with regards to watering and top dressing. Here’s hoping I’m bug free real soon! Let me know below if you have any questions or suggestion for me (I’m always ready to hear suggestions!!!).
Other Projects
Keeping with the theme of indoor gardening, I’m thinking about ways to create a countertop garden setup to grow cool temp loving plants like lettuce. My idea is to fix some grow lights under a cabinet with a planter below it. But I definitely don’t want to start that one until I get the gnat problem under control. Stay tuned!
Even in winter, I’m still composting! (You didn’t really think I’d take a break, did you?) Though the piles aren’t doing much right now due to the low temperatures, I’m still adding to them from my kitchen scraps and recycled browns. They’ll turn to foodsicles over winter and resume composting as the weather starts to warm up.
I’m also forcing myself out of the dreaming phase and into the planning phase for next year’s vegetable garden and landscaping. I purchased a whole bunch of seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for my vegetable garden. And it’d be nice if I didn’t immediately kill them once they start growing. So I’ll be spending some time this winter researching how to grow each vegetable and see if I can come up with a grow and care system I can use for years to come.
And lastly, I can’t forget about the blog. This has been a wonderful way to keep me accountable to myself, and it forces me to slow down and think before I grow all the things. I have quite a few posts in the works, but being an unseasoned writer means they’re taking longer to put together than I would like. It’s plenty of hard work, but I’m still having fun learning through teaching. Even if my mother is my only reader/pupil right now (love you, mom!). Leave a comment down below if you have a topic or idea you’d like me to explore.
Thank you so much for reading along!