Nature is the art of God. ~Thomas Browne
Gardening is my favorite distraction, and the indoor garden is proving to be a wonderful November alternative to its declining outdoor relative. I always intend to check the indoor garden quickly, but ultimately I am drawn in and spend an hour or more puttering around watering, adjusting lights and just looking. Everyday there is something new to see and I am amazed by it all!
Red tinges on a radicchio leaf.
Today offered a reason for spending a while in the garden, the plants needed re-potting. With my assortment of clean saved and salvaged pots and compost mix (as well as our Yorkie, Bogey, to keep me company) I got to work and after an hour I was finished. Transplanting is easy (see here) when the seedlings are still small and roots haven’t intertwined into a tangle.
Bogey, my faithful companion.
I started with the greens. Kailaan, Tatsoi and Wong Bok were planted into a large tub about 2″ apart. The salad greens went into a second tub, the third holds radicchio. The tomatoes are potted separately and planted up to their bottom leaves. New roots will grow along the stem. Vegetables that grow upright (as opposed to growing in rosettes, like lettuce) should be planted the same way.
With true leaves beginning to develop on most of the seedlings, it’s time to begin bottom-watering the pots. The pots sit in trays that will be filled with an inch of water every few minutes until the soil in each pot is moist. The soil is allowed to dry a bit between waterings. When the true leaves have fully emerged, diluted fertilizer will be added to the watering routine every couple of weeks.
With the indoor garden tended to, I had time to bake a two loaves of oatmeal honey wheat bread. I love baking bread and nothing tastes better with dinner. Look for the recipe Wednesday with the other Thanksgiving recipes, the bread is wonderful for making home-made stuffing with fresh herbs!
