Indoor Gardening

Our foretaste of spring flew the coop midweek last week and we returned to winter, complete with wind, subfreezing temperatures, and snow. While the cold frame has stayed above freezing inside thanks to the thermal mass and organic activity of the live soil, the rest of the garden is on hold.

To keep seedlings moving along, I took inside the flat of cold-weather crops I was starting in the cold frame.

• Seeds of Change Red Drumhead cabbage (2006 seed)
• Johnny's Early Green Lynx cabbage
• Pinetree Cheddar cauliflower (2006 seed)
• Pinetree Nutri-Bud broccoli (2006 seed)
• Johnny's De Cicco broccoli

A trick I have learned in our cold house is to put the flats of seeds in the oven with the light bulb on to sprout the seeds. The oven light raises the temperature inside the oven 5-10º over the air inside the house.

Now the seedlings are sitting in a south-facing window sill in a cool, upstairs room (yes, that is snow outside). The forecast calls for warmer temperatures this week, so they should be moving back to the cold frame by midweek.

Of note to Grand Rapids gardeners is my discovery of Growco Indoor Garden Supply, a supplier of hydroponic growing supplies in Grand Rapids. They have a great selection of organic controls, nutrients and growing medium, including great, fortified soil for seed starting. And as you might suspect of one who peddles in grow lights, hydroponics and the like, their main entry door is around back of the building and mail order is sent in plain, unmarked envelopes. For interested locals, they are located on the south side of Michigan Street, across from Rylee's Ace Hardware, just west of Fuller Ave. To the serious organic gardener, their products far exceed what is available from the big box guys and other garden supply stores.