Just because you don’t have an inch of earth where you live doesn’t mean you can’t have a productive and yummy garden. There is always the glass jar sprouting method described early in March. But I’ve learned a new way to make a garden happen indoors, and FAST!
I took some pint-sized plastic to-go food containers and poked a knife through the bottoms in several places. I filled them with potting soil and watered well first so as not to upset the seeds.
I added a pretty thick layer of seeds, both mustard greens, and cabbage, and then sprinkled a thin blanket of dirt on top. You’ll want to only use seeds that produce a leaf that is eaten; in other words, don’t grow tomatoes or squash for sprouts.
I set the tubs on their lids and placed them in a south-facing window. To ensure they didn’t dry out, I covered them with another plastic lid, but be sure to remove the lid just as soon as you detect sprouting. Now, there was nothing to do but wait for my salad.
It was only a matter of days before I noticed some bright green pushing up through the brown earth.
By March 7th, my mustards and cabbages were peeking over the tops. I was anxious and might have eaten them then, but thought better of it and let them keep going.
By March 10th, the growth was really thickening and the leaves were growing larger. This kind of planting would never work if I were waiting on them to mature, but I’ll eat these as sprouts. They won’t get a chance to become overcrowded.
On the 19th, I decided it was time to harvest. I cut back about half of them, added some of my jar-grown clover spouts, an organic tomato, and a few toasted pumpkin seeds. I sprinkled a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top and violà! Homegrown salad. I even had enough left over that continued to grow for an additional salad a few days later.
I’ll not use this method again until the spring and summer growing seasons are over, but it is nice to have this in my back pocket. Come winter, I’ll keep the scurvy at bay and be sprouting while I await spring gardening.
And if I ever find myself in a high-rise without a bit of good, rich earth, I’ll have my hero, Alys Fowler to thank for this awesome suggestion!