Urban Gardening for the Green Thumb Impaired

I have a very modest indoor garden which involves the use of a lamp. The lamp has a special bulb in it which allows it to project light similar to that of the sun (and nearly bright enough to pass off as the sun too!). At the moment, the lamp is left on, all day every day. Even though the plants do not seem to be suffering, my question is whether or not they would benefit from the lamp being off during certain periods of the day/night. At the moment, I am growing:

A "spider plant"
An unknown type of cactus (from a cutling)
Peppermint
Cilantro
and a bizarre rock that has plants (unidentified) out of a hole drilled in it.

I do understand that I have a fair amount of unidentified plants, however you must understand that they were acquired when I gardened casually (ie when I remembered to water the plants). Now that I'm into gardening as a serious hobby I'm much more careful in my selection of plants.

Please understand that I am just a beginner and that I am probably doing something wrong or making a mistake!

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:48:19 -0400

I have never used lightbulbs, although with the recent rains that lasted over 40 days practically without sun I’m considering buying some. From my understanding 14 to 18 hours is the norm depending on the intensity.

unconsumption: Via nestfullofeggs: reuse toilet paper tubes...

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 18:11:10 -0400

unconsumption:

Via nestfullofeggs:

reuse toilet paper tubes for seedlings

This is post 1 of 2 of Unconsumption-y garden-related ideas. Post #2 follows.

Shark Pants: Garden Update

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:54:16 -0400

Shark Pants: Garden Update:

sharkpants:

After our ambitious project of building a raised garden bed in mid March, It just sat there for almost 2 months empty. OK, actually not THAT ambitious… it’s a freakin’ box with no bottom, but I digress… Man did those weeds grow!

I battled the weeds one afternoon in April. I was just so sick…

This blog is wonderful! I'm starting an herb garden this summer so I'm really glad I found this (:

Mon, 30 May 2011 09:52:35 -0400

Thanks :) I’ll be happy to answer any questions as you go along with your gardening.

My Garden “Hotties” Hot peppers are easy to grow. I...

Sun, 29 May 2011 21:19:00 -0400

My Garden “Hotties”

Hot peppers are easy to grow. I got mine as a small plant at Home- Depot for .99 cents. I haven’t re-potted it yet but I will soon. It already has lots of little peppers.You can also start some seedlings on jiffy pots or peat pots filled with seed starting mix. After two weeks, plant them in the garden unless you are going to grow them in containers. Then you need to re-pot them. Remember to use rich soil. Make sure your peppers get full sun and have good drainage. I have read that if the peppers are starting to produce flower buds you should pinch them off for 1 to 2 weeks so that they grow better roots and leaves. I plan to grow more of them so I’ll do that to the next batch and blog about the difference.

Since when did you start growing things?
What's the most you've enjoyed grwoing? And the least?

Sat, 21 May 2011 14:37:25 -0400

Besides mold in my refrigerator?? LOL! I started about a month and a half ago. My cherry tomatoes bring me the most joy. Broccoli has been hard to sprout, so I would say the least.

I'm hooked on growing things!

Sat, 21 May 2011 11:11:00 -0400

After I saw my first cherry tomatoes give fruit, I just could not help myself. I guess it might have to do with the fact that I take things a bit to the extreme. Well, nonetheless it is a great challenge and I am doing it with very little expense. As a matter of fact, my latest challenge has been to dry my own seeds and plant in recycled containers. I’ll blog about that later on, since I still have many plants to show you. Ahhh… and yes, I’m doing this all in containers. So if you live in a small apartment you have absolutely no excuse to grow at least some fresh herbs and spices! My starter plants cost 1.00 each. Eventually I went ahead and got soil and bigger .89 cent pots. I got 20/20 fertilizer and some seeds and that was basically it. I’m so exited about watching how they grow that I make sure they have enough water and sun every day.

TOMATO SEEDLINGS

Sweet Peppers

The Wonders of Basil

Fri, 20 May 2011 23:40:00 -0400

Basil is a wonderful herb to grow. It is easy to manage and its benefits are probably more than we expect it to be. Basil comes in several varieties as well as hybrids. I have a seedling of cinnamon basil that just sprouted in this first picture. I have all my basil’s outdoors but it can actually be grown indoors. It definitely likes a lot of water. At one point they wilted but quickly recovered as soon as I watered them. It does like the sun, but with mine I try to have them so they get morning and evening sun.

This is sweet basil. Great for Italian foods.

Lemon basil

This is a ruffled purple variety with some strong flavor.

Recently, there has been much research into the health benefits conferred by the essential oils found in basil. Scientific studies have established that compounds in basil oil have potent , anticancer, antimicrobial and antiviral properties.Basil and oregano contain large amounts of (E)-beta-caryophyllene (BCP), which might have a use in treating inflammatory bowel diseases and arthritis.

I love to go to my little garden and cut fresh basil to cook with. The aroma and the flavor are best when used fresh.

Growing Fresh Oregano

Fri, 20 May 2011 22:38:00 -0400

Oregano is one of those extremely aromatic and flavor infused herbs that make Mediterranean and Hispanic foods exude wholesome goodness. It of the mint family and closely related to marjoram. These are my oregano seedlings.

I bought these other ones below as plants. There are two kinds. The smaller kind, or regular oregano and the thicker leafed one that is much bigger and apparently of a different genus altogether.

My first two cherry tomatoes!

Fri, 20 May 2011 21:35:00 -0400

After waiting for what I thought were regular sized tomatoes, I got a surprise when they turned red at about 2 inches. I was disappointed at first, but after trying them realized they were excellent.

I did start some beef tomato seedlings so that I will have both. Nothing compares to eating something you have grown yourself! Tomatoes are a breeze.. all you need is lots of water and sun. I bought my first ones as small plants which is what I recommend for beginners like me.

If I can grow veggies, anyone can.

Fri, 20 May 2011 18:26:00 -0400

Every plant I got my hands on, even cactus has committed suicide. Thought I needed some special gift from higher source to be able to grow a plant. But guess what? Its just a matter of wanting, trying and learning. I’m now happily growing 50 different types of plants and have gathered fruit, veggies and leaves from at least 5.