Getting a big jump on spring!

Nice! I predict many of us will have small indoor grow-gardens before too long! LOL…

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

never seen one of those before.
let us know how you like it.

a ginkgo tree… can you put it outside in zone 5b?

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I’m told there’s at least two others in NH – one at UNH, and one at Keene State College… The website says ok in 2-9!

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

I had a ginkgo outside my house growing up. Beautiful, and the leaves all fell within perhaps 24-48 hours. Right in the old zone 5a/b.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Pretty easy to set up the indoor garden – come to find out, I can harvest these herbs (weekly) for 4-6 months! If all goes well, I may have to get another one, otherwise I’ll never get the chance to try something else.

Other kits can be harvested for up to 10 months! Just think Almost a years worth of Lettuce and even strawberries, fresh IN the dining room, and out of reach from all those pesky chipmunks!
This thing’ll pay for itself in reduced grocery bills for sure! So far I really like this set up.

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

strawberries?? strawberries? holy moly…

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Mmmmm, strawberries. Never thought to grow them indoors!

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Day two, and the basil has just broken ground!... err… sponge!
I”ll post pictures in the coming week once everything has popped up.

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

fascinating.
I checked out the system online… too much $$ for me… but I would if I could, I think…

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Yeah, I want to get another one, but that’ll wait. Of course, I still think I’ll be saving more than enough $$ of the grocery bill to justify it.

...And there’s the consideration that commercially grown strawberries are one of the four most chemically sprayed crops (as are cotton, apples and ???). I’ll only by organic strawberries.

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

Organically grown is a good step, but don’t forget to reduce those food-miles! Buy locally grown fruit and veg wherever possible, and support local farmers. Do y’all have a good farmer’s market locally? Excellent food, good prices, and I get a warm feeling of not having eaten a grape that’s seen more of the world than myself.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

have you seen the stats on the nutritional value of the foods we are eating today vs. those of yester-years? The lovely plump red strawberries in the stores have next to “0” nutrients, because we have grown them to be big, red, and plump and pick them to travel zillions of miles before they make it to a table, we’ve edited out all the nutrients!

Now, how do you pollinate these strawberries indoors?

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I think you can get some mechanical bumblebees from the government…j/k

You can actually do it by hand. Just gently rub your finger from one bloom to another. Be sure to put on some funky music and pour yourself an adult cocktail…you may feel dirty after the first time.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Yes, I’m trying to reduce the food miles as well. recently heard an interview with a couple in Canada who wrote about their year long experience living a 100 mile diet. Makes me want to do something similar. I was rejecting the NY apples in season in favor of ones from a town or two away. Not counting having my seeds shipped, I’m hoping to have a very local diet as far as fruits and veg go… if I can find local flour for bread, so much the better.

Local apples and tomatoes are a must! The tomatoes bred for shipping have size, color and durability chosen as top attributes. I prefer taste to come in at #1. I canned a carload of heirlooms and paste tomatoes from a local farm this year… nothing like popping open a quart of “fresh local heirlooms” today for one of the batches of soup I made this weekend!

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.