Indoor garden Veggies

[Ladyofthelakes]

Hubby is in the basement even as we speak. He is enlarging my growing area, but it will be a veggie room.

I have been reading up on indoor gardening and since I have a good beginning with orchids, and hubby is a elec contractor he can wire up anything I need.

I ordered several kinds of tomatoes, cuke, peppers, lettuce, and one kind of kale, just for a start. Most veggies are ready in 70 days, some tomatoes will be 90. It will be a challenge, I am hoping he will wire up for some ventilation. The pottery side of my basement has a ventilator to rid the noxious gases from that, but only have a small fan in the orchid area.

The room will be 8 x 14, with the under the fireplace area being better utilized. I just spoke with the electrician hubby and mentioned was he sure it will be big enough. He said yes.

Have any one of you used or use a big sodium light? That is another option I am considering. The one I looked at will cover a 16 x 25 area. No idea on the wattage that fixture will use, or if the DEA will come knocking with the jump in kilowatts used.

My purpose in this indoor garden is a necessity as fresh veggies are non existent here on the island. By the time we get produce it is near gone. I love dark green veggies and they are so good for what ails you. Now if I could get a ruby red grapefruit tree and those old fashioned watermelons, that would bring a big



What about you all who have indoor/outdoor g/h's?

[koshki]

Viv, you might like to consider Alaska, a tomato I got last year from Tomatofest.com It's a semi-determinate, early ripening variety. They're small, but larger than cherry tomatoes, and they ripened early, tasted pretty good for a small early tomato, and the plant didn't get too tall.

It is a kind of funny, gnarly type of plant...I made the mistake of planting two in the pot (I use great big ones outdoors), and will only plant one in a pot this summer.

Lettuce is easy to grow. I like to use pelleted seed...makes it easy to sow and keep the planters in order (pelleted carrot seeds, too).

I think you might have trouble with cukes unless you found some type of small variety. Peppers did well for me in pots, but seem to take a really long time to come to fruition.

Keep in mind I grew all these outdoors.

[rcb]

By sodium light do you mean an HPS system? I had one for my orchids before I got the greenhouse - before I moved here. It gives pretty intense light.

I agree with Katherine about the cukes - except they have more bush type varieties now that may work in a pot. Not sure never tried it. Maybe I'll try that this summer.

And kale - I'm glad to see someone else likes kale. I use it quite a lot in cooking. Full of vitamens, and if you chop it up fine, it looks like parsely, and the kids have no idea what good stuff they are getting in their dinner.

I also like to add it to black eyed peas - so good with them.

[Ladyofthelakes]

Katherine
I have a neat little cuke "Lemon Apple" small round 60 days, they are the size and color of a lemon when ready. I am looking forward to those. The other cuke is a muncher, burpless, the long thin cukes, love cukes. I have 4 kinds of tomatoes, small yellow size of grapes and other reds. Green, purple and yellow bell peppers. and lettuce butterhead, small romaine, and the kale.

I was thinking the cukes may need to be supported or staked up. This is a first time trial, I hope with success.

Renee Not sure on the HPS, will have to look that up again. That is sort of hubby's dept.

I love kale, I chop and put it in soups, fav soup is Cannelli beans, clear brothy, Italian saus, and kale addes at the last few minutes. I saute kale with olive oil, very light fresh garlic, s/p maybe butter and serve as side dish to red meat, steak on the grill. I will have to try it chopped very small in salads or my homemade coleslaw, thanks for that.

Well it's awfully cold here today. The fields are white with blowing snow all day, I am freezing.

later......

[koshki]

It's not the size of the cukes, it's the size of the vine I'm concerned about, although yours sound delicious! They grow all over the place, even the bush type I grew a couple summers ago. Definitely need support.

[11Orchid126]

I'm curious as to how you're going to grow warm loving plants like tomatoes and cukes and cold loving plants like lettuce and kale in the same room together.

[Filb]

Oh I'm so glad you started this thread. I've just gotten into the gardening spirit and am trying to start some seeds in this new environment (green beans, wax beans, spinach, carrots, snow peas, lettuce etc).

I am repurposing my orchid growing setup as a seed warming area (my trays are sitting on top of my grow lights, staying warm)!

I was warned against trying to grow tomatoes and peppers and other crops that like it warmer and need a longer growing season up here (I guess they don't ripen).

But growing inside, I can't even begin to imagine how they'd do. I know hot house tomatoes don't taste nearly as good as those grown outside, but hey, it's better than nothing.
I definitely feel you on the fresh veggies thing.. Most of the stuff here is so nasty and expensive to boot, compared to what I'm used to.
:edit:
I forgot to add. There is a variety of tomato that burpee sells called the 4th of July. They are indeterminate and are SUPPOSED to be fully ripe by...the fourth of July. I am game to try them, but the plants are quite expensive to buy ($5 each).

[koshki]

Rachel, I tried the Fourth of Julys a couple years ago, and wouldn't grow them again. They weren't that early, they didn't taste like anything, had very tough skins, and they ended up a waste of a valuable container in my space-constrained garden.

The best early tomato I have tried so far was Alaska...got the seeds on line from Tomatofest.com. I think I had a ripe tomato in June. It was a small grower, kind of gnarly in form, and produced golf-ball sized tomatoes all summer. But once I started getting the other tomatoes, I didn't eat the Alaskas. They were ok, but not great. Far better than the 4th of Julys.

I'm really debating about growing them again this year. I've started a few, mostly to give a couple plants to my dad, who grows in his garden near Cheboygan, where his season is shorter than mine.

I've tried a few different early varieties over the years, and frankly, I'm not sure they're worth growing. They just don't taste good enough to warrant space in a pot.

On the other hand, I have enjoyed several of the Russian varieties I got from Tomatofest. They are short season plants, but aren't early.

[Filb]

Yeah I'm not even sure I'm going to attempt tomatoes..maybe some cherry tomatoes. At least with those, if they don't ripen, I can pickle them.

Glad to hear your input on the 4th of July tomato. I don't want to waste my time on a yucky variety.
I'll look into that website. Maybe I'll have some good luck with some of those varieties.

The good thing about living in the UP: no clay soils here (at least not around Hancock)! It's a nice sandy loam, so I think the veggies that do grow, will grow well.