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February is the Time to Start-Off Your Indoor Green House For Springtime Planting from the Professionals at Malone Home Center

Do you like it when someone gives you fresh tomatoes and more? There are heaps of benefits to developing and growing your own food. Maybe you are a landscaper with appreciation for the land, but just can’t get outdoors in the savage cold? Your outdoor garden can start surprisingly indoors in the winter. Having organic veggies and herbs is a great way to supplement your diet and the gardening process can also turn to learning time for the little ones. All you need are some starter plants or seeds, soil, pots, a growing light or sun, and lots of love! There are a lot of ways Malone Home Center can support you in getting your indoor garden or green house started in Greenville. We offer goods like garden supplies, lawn supplies, and lawn tools.

Superb planning is the key to success when it comes to your indoor herb and vegetable garden. Starting a seed-starting schedule usually helps. Also, drawing up your garden bed so you can know how many seeds to start growing. After that, to startoff, you will need acceptable size pots with adequate drainage. A 4” pot is commonly enough for greens, and herbs on the other hand you will need 1-2 gallon pots for plants like cherry tomatoes. Anything greater in size you will need a 5 gallon pot. Some people start growing with starter plants, others start from seeds. Buying peat pots, peat pellets, and seed starter kits will help in this process.

Some Simple Plants to Start With:

 

  1. Herbs
  2. Greens
  3. Cherry Tomatoes
  4. Spouts and Micro greens

If Planting Seeds:

  1. Plant the seeds at the depth the seed pack recommends
  2. Cover the soil with plastic to keep it from drying out
  3. Place it in a warm window or where there is some warmth
  4. They don’t initially need sun to germinate
  5. After they germinate, remove the plastic
  6. Place in a sunny area that faces south or under grow lights
  7. Once they reach 2-3 inches and have some leavers, transplant them to their own separate containers
  8. Plants should be watered regularly in the winter
  9. Pick a place that is cool such as a basement or spare room
  10. Harvest your vegetables and herbs throughout winter

 

As soon as warmer weather comes you shall have a good size plant that you can now take to your outdoor garden and re-plant into a larger size pot or into the garden. Acclimate your plants and seedlings to the outdoors for several weeks before moving them to your garden or outdoor pot. This rule is called hardening off. The hardening off duration permits your seedlings to changeover from convenient growing conditions under lights to the ordinary weather conditions they will experience in the garden or outdoor area. It can be a process, but you will be rewarded in the end.

About a week or two before re-planting, put your plants outside in a protected place under an table or back porch that is shielded from the sun, rain, and wind. Leave the veggie and herbs out there for only a couple hours, then bring back inside.

Follow this by advancing the exposure to the outside a hint more each day. Do this, by adding hours and altering if they are in the shade or sun, since the springtime is sometimes wacky weather. Be sure to look for drops in temperature. And also check them routinely for dry soil, since they will be in the sun more often. You surely do not want your plants soil to get too dry, thus malnourishing your plants of needed vitamins and nutrients.

  

Sooner than later you will be able to leave your plants outdoors over night and in the full sun, wind, and rain. Watch for 32 degree or below temperatures, as you would want to bring them back to the indoors. Since your herbs and veggies are now hardened off they can be moved and transplanted to their more fixed location in the outdoor area you plan on moving too. You should water your plants well after transplanting. This process is so essential and pays off at the end with robust hardy plants that can withstand a lot of the elements!

Cold-harded plants and veggies can be planted in the winter and fall months, if you pick the right ones, see below. Make sure whatever plants you choose, that you look at the recommendations on the container or seed packet. The recommendations will warn you to the particular variety that is best for the area and temperatures. Take note and pay attention especially to the frost dates and what the plant can live with.

Vegetables that are cold-hardy and mature in 100 days

 
  1. Beets
  2. Brussel Sprouts
  3. Cabbage
  4. Carrots
  5. Onions 
  6. Parsnip

Veggies that are middle maturing and cold-hardy and mature in 55-70 days.

 

  1. Kale
  2. Radish
  3. Turnips
  4. Collards
  5. Chard
  6. Leeks
  7. Kohlrabi
  8. Scallions

 Vegetables that are quickly maturing and cold-hardy and mature in 40 days.

 

  1. Salad greens
  2. Bok choi
  3. Lettuce
  4. Spinach
  5. Chicory
  6. Arugula
  7. Endive

That should be it! Surely you are closer to getting your indoor garden started. If you have questions or need some fertilizer, tools, or gardening supplies; the professionals at Malone Home Center in Greenville can help you get started on the right path to gardening happiness. Please don’t hesitate to call us at (270) 338-3252 or swing by the store. 
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204 W. Depot St.Greenville, KY 42345
(270) 338-3252
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