Kitchen Gardening

Im doing a little experiment, and seeing just how much I can grow indoors.  I live in a very small apt with an even smaller kitchen.  Its January, and the only outside gardening that could be done would be on the fire escape.

Today I have planted:
Garlic, Shallots, Salad Mix, and Basil.

Garlic - don't be fooled into buying "garlic seeds."  You actually can use the garlic bulb from any store.  Break open the garlic bulb; and break apart the cloves.

  Each clove is a "seed." Be sure to leave the base on the clove.

 Then you want to place the clove base down into a pot; and cover.  Accordingly garlic should germinate in 3months.  We will see how the progress goes.

Shallot planting is the same as garlic.  Break the bulbs apart.  You may have 2-3 bulbs per shallot.  Shallots have an intense flavor, and you do not have to use a lot of them for cooking.  

You can also use decorative pots.  If the pot doesnt have a drain hole; add rocks to the bottom of the pot before adding the soil.  This will create the draining effect in the soil.

Today I also planted Salad mix in a decorative pot.  Just add the seeds, and cover with soil. 

Basil - I planted the seeds in the below plastic container with the holes for draining.  I put the brown plastic container in the white container to ensure the soil doesn't make a mess.  The pot is covered with plastic wrap and held on with a rubber band.  The plastic wrap will help create the greenhouse effect.  The soil has to be moist for this to work.  This will help seeds start to grow in appox 7days.

I placed the pots in my kitchen where they will get some natural light throughout the day.

I will also plant more herbs.  Hopefully I can have a very nice herb garden to brighten up the kitchen as well as to use for fresh cooking.   Im also going to try to grow carrots.