Three Ways to Grow Nutritious Greens Indoors - Ep. 224

[00:00:00] It is November, which means we are firmly seated in fall, and many of us have seen the total demise of our gardens. In fact, some of us have had several weeks since we saw anything green out there, and it's kind of depressing. Have no fear, there is a way to get a fresh green pick-me-up in the kitchen, even when the outside seems bleary. Three ways, in fact.

[00:00:20] Today on Just Grow Something, we're going to cover three ways to grow nutritious greens indoors. This can absolutely be done year-round, but it's especially poignant in the late fall and through the winter. Especially if you live somewhere like I do, where it's a bit bleak and dreary outside, and your body is just craving something fresh. Let's dig in.

[00:00:42] Hey, I'm Karen. I started gardening in a small corner of my suburban backyard, and now 18 years later, I've got a degree in horticulture and operate a 40-acre market farm. I believe there is power in food, and that everyone should know how to grow at least a little bit of their own. On this podcast, I share evidence-based techniques to help you plant, grow, harvest, and store all your family's favorites. Consider me your friend in the garden. So, grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to Just Grow Something.

[00:01:19] Brauchen wir wirklich noch einen Computer? Alle wahrscheinlich nicht. Aber wenn du Musik mit der Power eines Neuralprozessors neu erfindest oder unterwegs Migrationsmuster mit einem ganztägigen Akku analysierst oder deine Ideen mit dem KI-gesteuerten Co-Creator zum Leben erwächst, dann kann ein Co-Pilot-Plus-PC einen Unterschied machen. Nicht alle brauchen einen leistungsstärkeren KI-Computer. Aber wenn du versuchst, die Welt zu verändern, auch wenn es nur deine eigene ist, haben wir einen für dich entwickelt. Microsoft Co-Pilot-Plus-PC mit Snapdragon. Die bisher schnellsten und intelligentesten Windows-PCs. Die Akkulaufzeit variiert hier nach Nutzung und Einstellungen.

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[00:02:36] And there are all kinds of ways there to do that as well. I truly, truly appreciate anything you throw my way for the effort that I put out and the information that I offer to you.

[00:02:46] So, quick shout out also to Heather, whose answer to the October question of the month got left off the episode last week. I am so sorry about that, Heather.

[00:02:56] Heather had said, my biggest fail this year was my tomatoes. I'm in zone 9B. I had several mature plants full of blooms, but even with hand pollinating and bees, I still only got about three tomatoes.

[00:03:10] We had a short spring and it got very hot, very fast. I've heard the pollen gets sticky in the heat.

[00:03:17] This is absolutely true, and it's not just with tomatoes, although it can be more of a problem with self-pollinating fruits like tomatoes,

[00:03:25] because they rely on just a little bit of motion from the wind to transfer their pollen rather than an insect moving it for them.

[00:03:35] Heat and, to an even greater extent, humidity can make pollen very sticky.

[00:03:41] This means it is much harder for the pollen to get moved where it needs to go.

[00:03:47] So, if we're talking wind pollination, this stickiness means that the pollen just never really leaves the stamen or the anthers of the stamen, technically.

[00:03:56] And if they are mechanically removed by either an insect or by a hand pollinating tool like a paintbrush or a cotton swab,

[00:04:04] the pollen doesn't tend to transfer very easily from that tool to the pistil or the stigma of the pistil where it needs to be.

[00:04:13] The other problem with excessive heat, though, is that it can cause blossom drop even if the blossoms are pollinated.

[00:04:22] This is simply an energy preservation method on the part of the plant.

[00:04:28] In times of stress, which excessive heat causes stress on the plant,

[00:04:33] the plant needs to focus on maintaining its leaf cover and its stem strength.

[00:04:38] So, flower and fruit production basically takes a back seat.

[00:04:42] So, if there's not enough energy to do everything it needs to do and still fight against the heat stress,

[00:04:48] the flowers and the fruits are just simply going to drop off the plant.

[00:04:51] So, the only solution to this is to provide some shade cover in the hottest parts of the day,

[00:04:58] maintain regular moisture, and use good amounts of mulch to help keep the soil cool.

[00:05:05] So, thank you for your response, Heather, and I am so sorry that I missed you last week.

[00:05:13] All right, if you are really craving something fresh in the kitchen right now and you didn't prep your gardens to be able to grow anything outdoors in the winter,

[00:05:21] or, like me, you had a complete and total failure of your fall crops, have no fear.

[00:05:26] There are several ways that we can get that fresh flavor of greens right now with very little setup and very little effort.

[00:05:34] None of what I'm going to talk about requires a whole lot of special fancy equipment,

[00:05:40] although you could absolutely use purchased solutions for this and just make your life easier,

[00:05:44] and we'll talk about those sort of as a bonus at the end.

[00:05:48] We're talking greens because they are the easiest to do in lower light conditions and in confined spaces.

[00:05:57] So, if you are lucky enough to have a very sunny room or even an orange area or green room in your home,

[00:06:04] then you can absolutely grow more than greens.

[00:06:07] Ditto if you have a fancy hydroponic setup.

[00:06:10] But if you don't have any of those, greens are still a cheap and easy way to get some freshness and some nutrition

[00:06:18] into your kitchen during the times when outside gardening maybe isn't an option.

[00:06:23] Same goes for you if you are an urban gardener that has very limited space to garden throughout the growing season.

[00:06:31] You can save your precious outdoor square footage on your patio or your balcony for the things that really need that full sunlight

[00:06:40] and utilize your indoor spaces for the greens that are happy to be in those maybe less than ideal conditions.

[00:06:47] And when I say greens, I mean pretty much anything leafy that you can throw into a salad, a smoothie, or on a sandwich, okay?

[00:06:56] We think about basic things like leaf lettuce, but kale, arugula, chard, spinach, even baby bok choy,

[00:07:03] and some of the more leafy herbs like basil can all be grown indoors relatively quickly and relatively simply

[00:07:10] without anything special, just a fairly sunny window.

[00:07:14] You can get all of these guys to baby leaf stage.

[00:07:18] And if you add a little something to your setup like a cheap grow lamp or even just a fluorescent bulb,

[00:07:23] you can get them to grow even longer and bigger.

[00:07:26] You're not likely going to be able to grow like full-sized heads of romaine lettuce

[00:07:31] or really large chard or bok choy without a little bit more of an investment,

[00:07:36] but you can grow enough to get you plenty of nutritional bang for your gardening buck.

[00:07:41] So we will start with the basic setup of a window garden using actual just potting soil, right?

[00:07:49] So all you need is a sunny window and of course a container of some sort.

[00:07:54] So small pots, trays, you can repurpose containers like yogurt cups or like cottage cheese containers.

[00:08:02] Any of those types of things work well.

[00:08:04] You just want to make sure that they are about four to six inches deep so that we have enough room for root growth

[00:08:10] and you want to pop some drain holes in the bottom because we don't want root rot.

[00:08:14] And then just grab a light, well-draining potting mix.

[00:08:19] This works best for things that are kind of formulated for container plants.

[00:08:23] So something that's got like some added perlite or vermiculite in it for aeration is going to be best,

[00:08:28] but whatever you normally use for potting up your plants outside is going to work here too.

[00:08:32] And then you just need your seeds.

[00:08:36] Leafy greens that do well in low light and small spaces are things like lettuce and spinach,

[00:08:42] arugula, kale, mustard greens.

[00:08:45] Dwarf or baby leaf varieties are a good choice here.

[00:08:49] They mature very quickly and they stay compact,

[00:08:51] but you can absolutely use the full-sized versions,

[00:08:54] just whatever you happen to have on hand and harvest it early.

[00:08:58] If you are using a potting mix or a potting soil that has some fertilizer or nutrients in it already,

[00:09:07] you may not necessarily need to add anything in terms of a fertilizer.

[00:09:12] A lot of what we're talking about here is only going to be growing for a matter of maybe six to eight weeks until you harvest it.

[00:09:19] You can also do sort of that cut and come again type of harvest where you're just harvesting the larger outer leaves and let the center continue to grow.

[00:09:27] In that instance,

[00:09:28] if they're going to be in the container for longer,

[00:09:30] I would recognize some sort of a liquid plant food of some sort that you can apply lightly every few weeks.

[00:09:38] One with a little bit of nitrogen because we want that,

[00:09:41] you know,

[00:09:41] the lush leaves,

[00:09:43] but something as simple,

[00:09:44] you know,

[00:09:44] elm dirt's plant juice is what I use in the house and it's perfectly fine for this application.

[00:09:50] You don't want to over fertilize,

[00:09:51] right?

[00:09:51] You get too much nitrogen and you start to get leggy plants and you get these weird nutrient imbalances.

[00:09:56] So anything that's a balanced fertilizer is going to work just fine.

[00:09:59] And again,

[00:10:00] this is probably only necessary either A,

[00:10:03] if you're using a potting mix that doesn't already have nutrients in it,

[00:10:06] or B,

[00:10:07] you're going to be harvesting off of these for longer than about six to eight weeks,

[00:10:11] in which case you're going to want to have to feed them somewhere along the way.

[00:10:15] In terms of lighting,

[00:10:18] a sunny windowsill really is ideally going to have a minimum of four to six hours of indirect sunlight.

[00:10:26] Okay,

[00:10:26] so a south facing window,

[00:10:27] if you're here in the Northern Hemisphere,

[00:10:29] is going to provide the best light.

[00:10:32] Ideally,

[00:10:33] a lot of these plants though are going to prefer closer to 10 hours.

[00:10:37] So they will grow in that four to six hours.

[00:10:40] They're just going to grow more slowly.

[00:10:41] So if you want them to grow more quickly,

[00:10:44] or if your natural sunlight is limited,

[00:10:47] then you may want to consider some sort of supplemental light.

[00:10:51] What I use,

[00:10:53] for example,

[00:10:53] is my kitchen window,

[00:10:55] which is actually facing west.

[00:10:56] And so it gets a little bit of sunlight in the morning.

[00:11:01] And then I have a fluorescent light that is attached to the frame around the window.

[00:11:07] And I just flick that on.

[00:11:09] And that just kind of stays on all day just to provide some supplemental light.

[00:11:12] And that is all I need.

[00:11:14] I have more than just my greens in that window.

[00:11:16] I have house plants that stay there year round.

[00:11:19] And this is plenty of light for them.

[00:11:21] So something that simple is perfectly fine.

[00:11:23] You can also find,

[00:11:24] you know,

[00:11:24] small LED grow lights that have their own little stand that can go over top,

[00:11:29] or that can stick into the soil and light those up.

[00:11:32] So,

[00:11:33] you know,

[00:11:33] you don't have to get super fancy with it.

[00:11:35] Just use whatever you have available.

[00:11:37] If you don't have something available,

[00:11:39] it doesn't have to be fancy and it doesn't have to be expensive.

[00:11:42] Okay.

[00:11:43] If your home is very dry,

[00:11:47] which happens to a lot of us in the wintertime,

[00:11:49] we have the heat running constantly,

[00:11:50] or especially if you're using like a wood burning stove or something,

[00:11:53] the air is going to get dry in the house.

[00:11:56] If you can provide like a shallow tray filled with water,

[00:12:00] or even pebbles in the bottom that you can fit on top,

[00:12:03] not only will you be watering from the bottom that way,

[00:12:06] but also it can add humidity.

[00:12:07] If your house is really dry and that's going to be especially beneficial to a

[00:12:11] leafy green.

[00:12:13] So when you're doing this,

[00:12:15] essentially,

[00:12:16] I mean,

[00:12:16] this is just the same as when you would be planting something directly

[00:12:18] outside,

[00:12:19] right?

[00:12:19] Just fill the container with potting mix,

[00:12:21] leave about a half an inch from the rim.

[00:12:23] So you have,

[00:12:23] you know,

[00:12:24] some place to water it and then just lightly press the soil to settle it

[00:12:28] down.

[00:12:28] So your seeds cover them lightly with about,

[00:12:31] you know,

[00:12:31] a little bit of soil,

[00:12:33] miss the surface,

[00:12:34] you know,

[00:12:34] use a spray bottle if you can,

[00:12:35] but you don't want it waterlogged.

[00:12:36] And then stick them in the windowsill and let them do their thing.

[00:12:40] Right?

[00:12:42] Once the seedlings reach about one or two inches,

[00:12:46] depending on how many seeds you sprinkled in there,

[00:12:48] you may want to thin them out.

[00:12:50] So just snip those off,

[00:12:51] toss them into your salads or whatever.

[00:12:53] We don't want these overcrowded,

[00:12:55] especially since we're in an indoor situation where the airflow isn't quite like it would be

[00:13:02] outside.

[00:13:02] So unless you have a fan going in your kitchen or wherever your gardening space is all the time,

[00:13:09] if you have those plants too close together and there's not enough airflow,

[00:13:13] that's just a,

[00:13:14] you know,

[00:13:14] breeding ground for,

[00:13:15] you know,

[00:13:16] kind of mildewy moldy,

[00:13:17] you know,

[00:13:17] stuff on the,

[00:13:18] on the soil.

[00:13:19] So we don't,

[00:13:19] we don't want to do that.

[00:13:20] So make sure that you're thinning them out properly.

[00:13:23] And then after about the first three to four weeks,

[00:13:25] um,

[00:13:26] they're going to be pretty close to harvesting.

[00:13:28] Okay.

[00:13:29] So six weeks,

[00:13:30] probably for like baby greens and stuff.

[00:13:32] If you want to cut the entire thing,

[00:13:34] you can just snip the whole thing off and there you're done.

[00:13:37] If you are going to do the cut and come again type thing.

[00:13:40] So lettuces and spinach are really good for this.

[00:13:43] baby bok choy also,

[00:13:44] like I'll pull the outer leaves off and let the bok choy to continue to grow in the center.

[00:13:49] Um,

[00:13:50] you are going to want to start fertilizing them or feeding them at about that three to four week

[00:13:55] stage.

[00:13:55] If you're planning on just cutting it all and then replanting,

[00:13:58] then you don't have to worry about that.

[00:14:00] Um,

[00:14:01] the one thing that you do want to do though,

[00:14:03] you want to rotate the containers every few days.

[00:14:06] You don't want your greens to start leaning one direction or the other.

[00:14:11] So,

[00:14:12] um,

[00:14:12] and you'll,

[00:14:12] you'll see them start to do that.

[00:14:13] They'll all start leaning toward the light source.

[00:14:16] So especially if you don't have,

[00:14:18] an overhead light source of some sort.

[00:14:20] So if it's in a window,

[00:14:21] you're going to want to kind of rotate them every few days.

[00:14:23] Just whenever you remember it,

[00:14:25] it doesn't have to be on a specific schedule.

[00:14:26] Just happen to remember,

[00:14:27] Oh,

[00:14:27] I should turn the plants and it's fine.

[00:14:29] The only other thing I would say would be watch out for pests,

[00:14:33] right?

[00:14:33] We don't want aphids.

[00:14:34] We don't want fungus gnats.

[00:14:36] Um,

[00:14:36] and then also avoid overwatering because that overwatering number one is not great for

[00:14:41] the plants,

[00:14:42] but number two is also more attractive to those aphids and those fungus gnats.

[00:14:46] So let's,

[00:14:47] let's keep the overwatering to a minimum,

[00:14:49] please.

[00:14:50] Um,

[00:14:51] in terms of temperature,

[00:14:53] leafy greens generally prefer temperatures between about 60 and 70 Fahrenheit.

[00:14:58] So if you're not doing this,

[00:15:01] like in a sunny window,

[00:15:03] like in your kitchen or something,

[00:15:04] if it's someplace maybe in another room,

[00:15:07] try to avoid putting them in a window that is too close to like a heater.

[00:15:12] Um,

[00:15:13] I have several,

[00:15:14] I don't know why you would put heating vents directly underneath a window,

[00:15:18] but I have several of those in my house.

[00:15:20] It doesn't make any sense.

[00:15:21] Um,

[00:15:22] but that's where it is.

[00:15:23] And so I have like hanging plants in some of those windows that will tend to dry out in

[00:15:29] the winter time because that vent is right there.

[00:15:33] So if you can avoid that,

[00:15:35] that's going to help your leafy greens be a little bit happier.

[00:15:37] And then just know we're in that time of year in most areas where the natural light is going to

[00:15:44] decrease in the winter.

[00:15:46] So we're going to get down below 10 hours a day of sunlight here fairly quickly.

[00:15:50] So supplementing with some sort of a grow light,

[00:15:53] um,

[00:15:54] might actually be a good idea.

[00:15:56] And then,

[00:15:57] like I said,

[00:15:57] to keep them just sort of growing steadily,

[00:16:01] um,

[00:16:01] you can do the cut and come again,

[00:16:03] avoid taking more than a third of the leaves at one time,

[00:16:06] and just make sure that you are harvesting that center part of the plant,

[00:16:10] or you're not harvesting,

[00:16:11] sorry,

[00:16:11] the center part of that plant.

[00:16:13] Allow that to continue growing and just harvest the leaves from the outside.

[00:16:17] I am pretty persistent when it comes to making sure that I have some sort of greens in the house at all times,

[00:16:25] whether it's using them in salads or on sandwiches or tossing them in smoothies.

[00:16:30] I feel like I need that fresh component,

[00:16:32] especially when most of the other veggies in the winter are something that I have canned,

[00:16:37] or that are coming from the freezer.

[00:16:40] That is another reason why my Magic Mind subscription is so helpful.

[00:16:47] It's a fresh little green shot first thing in the morning with my coffee,

[00:16:50] with all of the helpful adaptogens and the nootropics that I need to just kind of soar through my day.

[00:16:55] And the subscription makes it a complete no-brainer.

[00:17:00] If I'm taking the time and effort to can up or freeze my veggies from the garden to have on hand at all times,

[00:17:07] I don't want to have to think about reordering my mental performance shot so that I don't run out.

[00:17:11] I just want it to come automatically.

[00:17:14] The shipping is free with a subscription in addition to the super easy cancellation process.

[00:17:20] There are no questions asked.

[00:17:21] It can just be done by a simple click in their portal,

[00:17:24] or you can even just text message them to cancel it.

[00:17:27] You don't have to get on the phone and call anybody.

[00:17:29] And they have a money-back guarantee.

[00:17:31] 100% money-back guarantee for the first purchase.

[00:17:35] No questions asked.

[00:17:36] They don't expect you to send the bottles back.

[00:17:38] Nothing.

[00:17:38] But that was never a problem for me.

[00:17:40] I felt the effects right away, and I have been using it ever since.

[00:17:44] And of course, the subscription is already discounted over the single purchase price,

[00:17:49] and they're giving you an additional 20% because you are a gardening friend.

[00:17:54] Go to magicmind.com slash growsomething20 and use code GROWSOMETHING20 at checkout to get your own Magic Mind subscription.

[00:18:03] You've got no risk, but absolutely all the rewards.

[00:18:06] The link will be in the show notes.

[00:18:09] Now, if my Magic Mind is like my liquid greens, what about greens in liquid?

[00:18:15] That is option number two.

[00:18:18] Homemade hydroponics.

[00:18:20] And don't freak out.

[00:18:21] I'm not talking about some big old system where you have a tent and a flood table and a reservoir and all that kinds of stuff.

[00:18:27] This is hydroponics that you can do in a windowsill or on a corner of your kitchen table,

[00:18:34] and you can scale it up or down depending on how many greens you need.

[00:18:41] Creating this sort of system as a homemade system can be very simple, and it can be very low cost,

[00:18:48] and it's still going to provide you with those fresh greens in a very small space.

[00:18:52] You just need a little bit more going into it in terms of supplies than you would with the simple system that's sitting on your counter in soil, right?

[00:19:02] So the first thing to consider is the container that you're going to use.

[00:19:06] If you want to grow more than, you know, one or two plants at a time,

[00:19:11] you're going to want something that's more akin to, say, a storage bin.

[00:19:15] You want something that's shallow.

[00:19:17] We're looking at about four to six inches deep because that's what we need to hold the water and the nutrient solution.

[00:19:22] But something that has a lid because that's what's going to support the plants.

[00:19:28] So if you are thinking about doing maybe two plants at a time, you could use a bin similar to one of those plastic shoe boxes, right?

[00:19:39] That's going to hold a couple of plants.

[00:19:41] If you're only going to do one plant, you can just do literally a mason jar with the lid, and you can cut the hole for the net pot.

[00:19:48] We'll talk about that here in a second.

[00:19:49] The one thing that I would say is whatever you use as your container, I would say a food-safe plastic container that doesn't allow exposure to the light is actually a better idea.

[00:20:04] If you're going to use glass, clear glass, then you're going to want to be able to cover that up in some way.

[00:20:08] So with the mason jar example, you might wrap a paper bag around the outside of it.

[00:20:14] The reason we don't want it to be see-through is the nutrients that we're going to add to the water combined with exposure to light can actually provide the perfect conditions for algae to grow.

[00:20:26] And so not only is that going to get kind of funky in the water, but algae is also going to feed off of those nutrients, which is also taking them away from your plant, and it's going to cause problems with the growth.

[00:20:36] We don't want that, okay?

[00:20:37] So if we can keep that water that is in the hydroponic system from being exposed to light, the better off we are.

[00:20:44] The second thing that you're going to get is net pots.

[00:20:48] So these are about, you know, two to three inches in diameter, and they're exactly what they sound like.

[00:20:54] They're little pots that look like a plastic net of some sort.

[00:20:56] You can find these at the gardening center.

[00:20:59] You can order them online.

[00:21:01] You can also just make your own by cutting holes in little plastic cups, depending on the size of your setup.

[00:21:08] In fact, I've seen, you know the little, I guess they would be considered guest cups that you used to see in people's homes, like in their bathrooms, that you could pop out of the little dispenser.

[00:21:21] They're, they're like a little bit bigger than the size of like a shot glass.

[00:21:24] Those are perfect if they're the plastic ones, but you can use, you know, something a little bit bigger than that.

[00:21:30] No big deal.

[00:21:30] You're just going to cut holes in the bottom of it to allow the roots to come out and to allow the water to go in.

[00:21:36] We'll talk about that here in a second when we talk about the setup.

[00:21:38] The other thing that you're going to need is some sort of a growing medium that is soilless.

[00:21:44] So when you're looking at like the really big professional sort of hydroponic setups, oftentimes they're using rock wool.

[00:21:52] I don't prefer rock wool.

[00:21:54] I don't choose to use it.

[00:21:55] To me, it's kind of akin to like fiberglass, and I just don't want my food in that.

[00:22:01] So, um, cocoa coir or clay pebbles are also really good options.

[00:22:07] Those are the two options that I have used in my own little hydroponics setups.

[00:22:11] You just need something that's going to sit down in the net pot that doesn't have any like nutrients or anything to it that has a neutral pH.

[00:22:20] And that's going to be able to hold those seedlings in place without breaking down.

[00:22:24] So coconut coir and clay pebbles, these are perfect for that.

[00:22:27] The one thing that sort of trips people up when it comes to hydroponic setups is the nutrient solution.

[00:22:34] There are a lot of nutrient mixes out there that are specifically formulated for hydroponics, and some of them will say on there that they are specifically for leafy greens.

[00:22:45] And those are going to contain sort of the ideal balance of nutrients.

[00:22:50] If you are just growing a couple of plants and you are just starting out with this and testing the waters, no pun intended, testing the waters to see if this is something that you're interested in doing, don't run out and buy a bunch of bottles of hydroponic nutrient solution or whatever, okay?

[00:23:07] Your liquid plant foods, generally speaking, are going to be okay.

[00:23:12] You just have to make sure that they are diluted properly to be used in a hydroponic situation.

[00:23:19] So I have used Elm Dirt's plant juice as my hydroponic solution for indoor stuff for leafy greens.

[00:23:26] I have used all kinds of different solutions and stuff that maybe weren't specifically for hydroponics.

[00:23:33] But you will find that if you continue to do it more frequently, then you might just want to go ahead and buy one that is specific to hydroponics because then you know you're getting exactly the ideal balance.

[00:23:44] So when you're starting out, something that has just got a balanced level of nutrients, 5-5-5, 10-10-10, whatever it is, and just make sure that you are looking at the dilution instructions on there to make sure that you're not going to cause either a nutrient burn or a deficiency when it gets mixed into your water, okay?

[00:24:01] If we're doing this very short term, it's likely not going to be necessary for you to be testing the pH of the water.

[00:24:08] If you're doing this for longer than six or eight weeks, though, and you're not changing the water super frequently, then a pH testing kit of some sort is probably going to be a good idea.

[00:24:18] Hydroponic systems, then the plants in them are sensitive to pH.

[00:24:23] So you're going to want a testing kit or some sort of pH strip to help ensure that the solution, the water solution, is in the optimal range for leafy greens.

[00:24:33] And that is 5.5 to 6.5.

[00:24:37] So you can just get little test strips.

[00:24:39] It doesn't have to be anything fancy.

[00:24:40] But again, don't go rushing out to buy this stuff until you really think that you're actually going to be doing this more frequently.

[00:24:47] The plant is going to tell you if something is wrong.

[00:24:49] So if you have your plants in the hydroponic system and it's been about eight weeks and you're harvesting off of them but they're starting to look a little weird or, you know, they're wilting over or they don't have much in the way of roots, then it might be time to start testing things, okay?

[00:25:03] Something else that is optional would be an air pump and air stone.

[00:25:08] So this is going to help keep that nutrient solution oxygenated, which helps to prevent root rot and also promotes healthy root growth.

[00:25:18] Aquarium air pumps are typically, you know, pretty affordable.

[00:25:22] They're easy to find.

[00:25:23] You get the little air stones that drop on the bottom of the container and you keep that air moving.

[00:25:28] But again, if you're only doing a couple of plants and you're just trying this out, this is not necessary.

[00:25:34] The alternative to this is doing something which is called the Kratky method.

[00:25:37] And this is a passive hydroponic technique.

[00:25:40] It was developed by Dr. B.A. Kratky at the University of Hawaii.

[00:25:45] It doesn't involve any pumps or electricity.

[00:25:47] It is super easy to do if you do it right.

[00:25:50] So when you're just starting out, we can start with the Kratky method and not worry about using an air pump or air stone.

[00:25:56] But again, if you decide to kind of upgrade your system and make it larger, then that might be something you consider at that time.

[00:26:01] Okay?

[00:26:01] And then if you need it, again, an LED grow light of some sort, you know, your leafy greens are going to do okay in that four to six hours of light.

[00:26:10] But they're going to do much better if they get at least 10.

[00:26:13] So if your natural light is limited, a small LED grow light is going to help to maintain that growth.

[00:26:20] So how do we set up our little homemade hydroponic system?

[00:26:25] Regardless of what it is that you are using, the size of the container and the lid, you're going to cut holes in the lid of the container to hold the net pots.

[00:26:36] And then you want to space them.

[00:26:38] If you're doing more than one plant at a time, you want to space them at least four to six inches apart because you want room for those leafy greens to grow.

[00:26:44] The holes that you cut should be just large enough to fit the net pots without them falling through.

[00:26:51] So you are going to suspend these pots in the lid of whatever container you are using.

[00:26:57] And then you are going to fill your container with water and your hydroponic nutrient solution according to the product's instructions, please.

[00:27:06] And then if you're using a pH tester, you want to test the pH to make sure that it is where it needs to be.

[00:27:12] Again, if this is your first time, don't really worry about it.

[00:27:15] Get used to the setup first and then worry about all this nitty-gritty stuff later.

[00:27:18] Okay?

[00:27:19] And this is also the time, if you are going to set up an air pump, that you would set the air pump up as well.

[00:27:25] With the Kratky method, what is going to happen is rather than oxygenating the water with an air pump,

[00:27:32] as the water level drops in your container, the roots of the plant are going to continue to grow down to follow that water level.

[00:27:41] And then that air gap that happens between the water and the lid is actually going to be where that oxygenation occurs,

[00:27:49] which is the beauty of the Kratky method.

[00:27:52] You literally are just filling up the water and then letting the water be utilized by the plant and the nutrients at the same time.

[00:28:00] And it's getting the oxygen as it uses the water.

[00:28:03] So you just always have to make sure that it's topped up to reach the roots.

[00:28:07] So again, super simple.

[00:28:08] No air pump required, right?

[00:28:11] So when you're ready to start your seeds, you're going to put your growing medium inside each of the net pots and then put your seeds in there and then just moisten them really well.

[00:28:21] Pop them into the little hole in the lid.

[00:28:24] And that's it.

[00:28:25] You're done.

[00:28:25] Okay.

[00:28:26] Just make sure that they stay moistened while you wait for them to sprout.

[00:28:30] Alternatively to this, you can set up a separate system where you actually like sprout the seedlings in another container and then pop them into the net.

[00:28:40] And that's just, you know, I mean, again, a more advanced technique if you're doing a lot more plants.

[00:28:44] So I would just start by sprouting them in place in your little container.

[00:28:49] This is when you want to go ahead and pop them under your light or in your window or wherever it is that you're going to do.

[00:28:55] The only thing that you need to do to maintain this system is just to make sure that the nutrient solution is topped off as needed, right?

[00:29:06] So if you're using a bubbler or an air stone, you will notice that the water level will start to drop just a little bit.

[00:29:14] You want to go ahead and top that off with water.

[00:29:16] You might need to add more nutrients possibly depending on how long you're doing this for.

[00:29:21] Usually you're only going to need to replace that whole solution about every two to three weeks.

[00:29:28] That is if you are using a bubbler.

[00:29:30] If you are using the Kratky method, you just want to monitor that water level.

[00:29:35] Okay.

[00:29:35] So this method doesn't require the water to be refilled very frequently.

[00:29:40] As that plant absorbs the water, it's forming that gap.

[00:29:43] It's allowing the access to the oxygen.

[00:29:45] You just have to make sure that those roots can still reach the nutrient solution.

[00:29:50] So if you notice like nutrient deficiency symptoms, so maybe they're getting pale leaves, then you may need to add some fresh nutrient solution.

[00:29:58] Otherwise, lettuce is going to grow to maturity without needing a whole bunch of nutrient changes.

[00:30:03] So see how easy that is?

[00:30:04] I always love the easy solution.

[00:30:07] So again, here, if you're talking leafy greens, you want to make sure that you're maintaining the temperature, keeping the system away from any, you know, real hot areas or real drafty areas.

[00:30:18] 60, 65, 70 degrees Fahrenheit is perfect for these leafy greens.

[00:30:22] And this is a great system also for the cut and come again method.

[00:30:28] So trimming those outer leaves when they're about four to six inches tall and then just leaving that central growth point to allow a continuous harvest.

[00:30:36] So that is a basic hydroponic system for leafy greens.

[00:30:41] It's super easy to maintain.

[00:30:42] It is very space efficient because you can make it as small or as big as you want to.

[00:30:48] And the setup is adaptable for all different types of leafy greens.

[00:30:54] And so it can be expanded with more containers or more lighting if you want to.

[00:30:58] Or you can just keep it really simple and just have one or two bunches of leafy greens that you are picking off of for several weeks.

[00:31:05] And then you kind of reset the whole system and start all over again.

[00:31:09] Very, very simple and completely flexible for what you need.

[00:31:14] Option number three for growing greens indoors is microgreens.

[00:31:20] Okay, super easy, super affordable, doesn't require a lot of space or equipment.

[00:31:26] Microgreens grow really quickly.

[00:31:28] They are very nutrient dense and they can be harvested in just like a week depending on what you're growing.

[00:31:34] Maybe as long as three weeks if you're growing something that's a little bit bigger.

[00:31:37] But they are a great choice for really fresh homemade greens with very minimal effort.

[00:31:44] If you have not eaten microgreens before and you are kind of just thinking about like alfalfa sprouts, it's not quite like that.

[00:31:54] The flavor profiles are really, really diverse.

[00:31:57] So you can do radishes if you want something that's got a little kick to it.

[00:32:01] You can do broccoli microgreens and they taste like broccoli, but they don't have that broccoli texture if you're averse to that or if anybody in your family is averse to that.

[00:32:11] One of my favorites is pea shoots.

[00:32:15] Fabulous.

[00:32:15] They taste like peas, but they are slightly succulent.

[00:32:18] And sunflower, sunflower microgreens are absolutely fabulous.

[00:32:22] They taste like a sunflower seed.

[00:32:24] They're lovely.

[00:32:25] I did a full episode on microgreens.

[00:32:28] I will link to that in the show notes, but let's do a quick rundown of what you might need to grow some microgreens and how to set it up.

[00:32:34] So the first thing that we need to grow microgreens is some sort of a shallow tray.

[00:32:38] So seedling trays are fantastic for this.

[00:32:41] You can use takeout containers.

[00:32:42] You can use a baking tray.

[00:32:43] You can use almost anything.

[00:32:45] They don't necessarily need to have drainage holes in them.

[00:32:49] We can sort of adjust the amount of water that we're using based on whether or not they have drainage holes or not.

[00:32:56] But if they do have drainage holes, then you're going to want to have some sort of a second tray underneath them just to catch the water.

[00:33:01] Okay.

[00:33:02] The next thing is your growing medium.

[00:33:05] So a seed starting soil mix is perfectly fine.

[00:33:08] You could do coconut coir if you want to.

[00:33:11] You can actually do this without any kind of soil and just do it in a glass jar if necessary.

[00:33:17] I have seen people just do them in moistened paper towels.

[00:33:21] So I prefer the seed starting mix.

[00:33:24] It has some basic nutrients, but soilless options like coconut coir also work depending on, you know, how big you want the sprouts to grow and how much you want to mess with the soil.

[00:33:34] So play around with it and decide what's best for you.

[00:33:36] I will say that you can do almost anything as a microgreens, but I would be careful in using just whatever you happen to have on hand.

[00:33:48] But especially when you're first starting to do this, you might want to choose seeds that are specifically labeled for microgreens because you're going to be sure that they are untreated and that they are safe for this sort of quick sprouting.

[00:34:01] We don't want to be eating anything in this little baby plant stage that has been treated with a pesticide or herbicide or anything.

[00:34:08] So if you are absolutely sure that your, you know, your radish seeds don't contain anything that is, you know, that you wouldn't want to eat, then fine.

[00:34:17] That's up to you.

[00:34:18] But just know that there are mixes out there or seeds out there that are specifically used for microgreens if that worries you.

[00:34:26] And like I said, you can grow just about anything.

[00:34:28] So radishes, arugula, sunflower, broccoli, mustard, kale, pea, one of my favorites.

[00:34:35] You can also look for organic versions of these if possible to avoid any kind of pesticide residues too.

[00:34:41] So after you figure out what seeds you're going to grow, you are going to want to have a spray bottle that makes it much easier to kind of keep the soil moist pretty evenly.

[00:34:52] And it's also going to help prevent overwatering.

[00:34:55] It's also going to prevent us shifting those seeds around by running them underwater or trying to pour water over top of them.

[00:35:03] So remember, I mean, we're literally going to be eating the seedlings of these plants.

[00:35:08] And we know what seedlings are like when they first pop up.

[00:35:10] They can be kind of delicate.

[00:35:11] So a spray bottle is usually the best way to mist the soil and just kind of keep the seeds evenly moist.

[00:35:19] And then, again, your light source, a bright sunny windowsill is usually plenty.

[00:35:25] Like four to six hours of indirect sunlight is perfectly fine.

[00:35:29] But again, if your natural light is limited, then a simple LED grow light or a fluorescent light of some sort is going to be just fine for this.

[00:35:38] Essentially, to grow your microgreens, all you're going to do is just fill your tray with about an inch of whatever you have chosen to grow them in.

[00:35:45] And if you're using soil, make sure you kind of moisten it lightly before planting.

[00:35:50] We don't want it waterlogged.

[00:35:52] Same thing if you're using like paper towels or something.

[00:35:54] Just layer a few sheets together and then spray them with the water until they're damp.

[00:35:58] We don't want them soggy.

[00:35:59] Make sure that your medium is spread evenly across the tray and just kind of press it down gently to create a nice flat, even surface.

[00:36:06] And then just take your seeds and scatter them evenly across the surface of your growing medium.

[00:36:12] This is probably the most important step because we want good coverage of the soil, but we don't want them overcrowded.

[00:36:21] So I kind of base the spacing on the size of the seed.

[00:36:29] So I feel like the smaller the seed, the closer together they can be.

[00:36:34] The larger the seed, the more space they need in between them because obviously that means a larger seedling, right?

[00:36:41] So just kind of spread it out evenly, leaving a little bit of space between them and then just press the seeds kind of down into the soil.

[00:36:48] But we don't want to bury them.

[00:36:50] We just want to press them into the top and then you can just mist them again with the spray bottle just to make sure that the soil surface is kind of thoroughly wet.

[00:36:58] It should be evenly moist but not waterlogged.

[00:37:01] This is the important step is to cover the tray with like a lid or some plastic wrap or something, even another tray flipped over on it to create a human environment.

[00:37:15] And we want to block the light for like the first two to three days.

[00:37:21] This is going to help the seeds germinate more evenly.

[00:37:25] And a lot of seeds actually need the darkness in order to be able to sprout.

[00:37:29] That's kind of why they get covered with the soil.

[00:37:31] But since we're not covering them in the soil we are leaving on top, we want, you know, to block that light out.

[00:37:38] So about two or three days and then we're going to uncover it and we're going to provide that light.

[00:37:43] You can just kind of peek underneath there to see whether or not they have started to germinate.

[00:37:47] Once they have germinated, you can go ahead and remove them.

[00:37:49] I kind of wait until I see that the majority of them have started to come up and then I pull the cover off.

[00:37:56] And that's when I put them like in the windowsill or, you know, under a grow light or something.

[00:38:02] You will notice that they will be very, very pale when you first take that cover off because they've been in the complete dark.

[00:38:09] But almost immediately, like you'll come back later and all of a sudden they will have greened up because now they're photosynthesizing.

[00:38:16] It's actually really cool to watch.

[00:38:17] It's great for kids too, by the way.

[00:38:20] So just continue to mist those microgreens once or twice a day just to keep the soil surface moist.

[00:38:25] Especially, again, if it's dry in your house because it's wintertime or if it's underneath a light that might grow, make them dry out a little bit more quickly.

[00:38:34] Depending on what it is that you're growing, they should be ready to harvest within about a week or so.

[00:38:39] Sometimes up to two weeks depending on the variety.

[00:38:42] Usually when they develop their first true leaves, that's when it's time to go ahead and harvest them and they're ready to eat.

[00:38:51] Okay?

[00:38:51] Usually they're about one to three inches tall at this point.

[00:38:54] They've got their first set of true leaves.

[00:38:56] The easiest thing to do is just to take a pair of scissors and cut them just above the soil or whatever growing medium you're using.

[00:39:05] So that you're not getting whatever the soil or the growing medium is onto the part that you're eating.

[00:39:12] So if it's a really thick mat and they've grown nice roots, I actually have been able to just kind of grab a handful and it lifts up to where I can just cut them above the soil line, which is really cool.

[00:39:23] But if that's not working for you, just go along just above the soil and grab them as you go and put them into a container.

[00:39:31] And then once you've got them harvested, I use them right away.

[00:39:35] Like I will just let them grow in their container and then I use them as they come ready.

[00:39:40] I'm clipping them and I'm tossing them into my salads or I'm putting them on my pizza or on my sandwiches or in my smoothies or whatever.

[00:39:46] But if they're getting too big and they need to be harvested, you can go ahead and cut them all and you can store them in the refrigerator.

[00:39:53] Usually you want to put them in somewhere like a container or a bag with a paper towel to absorb any of that excess moisture.

[00:40:00] But you really want to eat them within a couple of days because that's when they're like at their best and they're going to have their sort of maximum freshness and maximum nutrition value or nutrient value at that point.

[00:40:12] Like I said, almost anything can be grown as a microgreen.

[00:40:16] Obviously, other than the nightshades, we're not going to grow tomatoes and eat those as microgreens.

[00:40:21] But certain of them are super easy if it's your first time.

[00:40:26] I would absolutely recommend radish.

[00:40:28] They're so fast and they're so easy.

[00:40:31] Sunflowers and peas take a little bit longer.

[00:40:35] But again, they're super easy to do and they are really, really good.

[00:40:40] But also baby brassicas, you know, kale, broccoli, those are also very good.

[00:40:46] They just take a little bit longer to germinate sometimes.

[00:40:48] Sometimes the the only thing that I would say would be to watch out for overwatering.

[00:40:53] OK, too much water is going to lead to mold growth, especially when the microgreens are kind of tightly packed together.

[00:41:00] So if you notice mold the next time you plant, then you want to space them out a little bit further because, again, air circulation is an issue here.

[00:41:09] And then you may want to reduce watering just ever so slightly.

[00:41:14] But, you know, grow a bunch of different varieties.

[00:41:16] Try different ones.

[00:41:17] You can do some spicy, you know, mustard greens and then add those to your sweet pea shoots or whatever.

[00:41:22] And you get these different textures and different flavors.

[00:41:24] They are super fun to play around with.

[00:41:26] It's a very simple setup.

[00:41:27] But you can continue that setup like every few days and have all of these different containers of microgreens growing if you really want to.

[00:41:36] They are all flavorful.

[00:41:37] They are all really nutritious and they take very little space and very little effort.

[00:41:41] So once you get the hang of it, you can expand into multiple trays or try all kinds of different new varieties just to keep things interesting.

[00:41:52] So I said, you know, that we were going to talk about all of our DIY sort of situations and we did.

[00:41:58] But the bonus option to this would be those sort of indoor garden systems, usually the indoor hydroponic systems.

[00:42:06] There's tabletop models.

[00:42:08] There's floor models.

[00:42:09] There's wall systems.

[00:42:10] There's all kinds of stuff.

[00:42:11] These are a little bit of an investment.

[00:42:13] But I will say that in a lot of circumstances, the investment is worth it.

[00:42:20] I use a small tabletop AeroGarden in the winter in addition to the microgreens that are in my window cell.

[00:42:29] Last year was my first year doing this and I absolutely loved it.

[00:42:34] I kind of did it as an experiment because I wanted to see if it would be good for me to use through the summertime

[00:42:41] when maybe I don't have as much access to the greens in the heat of the summer.

[00:42:46] It's like perfect time for the tomatoes to be ready.

[00:42:48] But then the lettuce is too, you know, wilty or it's too hot because it's gone over.

[00:42:53] So it'd be nice to have some lettuces in the summertime.

[00:42:57] So I experimented with it in the winter just to see what I could grow and what I couldn't grow.

[00:43:01] And what I will say is in the small setup that I have, I think it's got six holes in it.

[00:43:10] And if I wanted something to grow continuously for a while, I definitely had to space it further away and not utilize all of those spaces.

[00:43:20] So I had some basil in there.

[00:43:23] I had some romaine lettuce.

[00:43:24] I had thyme and parsley.

[00:43:27] And then I had bok choy.

[00:43:29] The lettuce did great.

[00:43:30] The basil did fantastic.

[00:43:33] The thyme didn't do anything.

[00:43:35] The parsley didn't do anything.

[00:43:37] Whatever the other thing was that I had in there didn't do anything.

[00:43:40] The bok choy, however, I actually managed to get a full-sized bok choy to grow.

[00:43:48] And I was just harvesting the outer leaves.

[00:43:51] In fact, it was growing so well that I couldn't keep up with using it.

[00:43:55] I could have just harvested the entire thing probably and just thrown it in the refrigerator.

[00:43:59] And that would have given me more space because this thing basically took over a whole half of my little setup.

[00:44:05] So I experimented with it a little bit last year.

[00:44:08] I was very impressed, actually.

[00:44:09] And it was such a no-brainer.

[00:44:13] I mean, the light comes on to tell you when you need to add water.

[00:44:15] The light comes on to remind you when it's time to add nutrients.

[00:44:19] The little pump automatically kicks on.

[00:44:21] The light is on a timer.

[00:44:22] Like, they couldn't have made it any easier.

[00:44:26] So I will leave a link to the one that I got in the show notes.

[00:44:30] I will say I think I got it on a Black Friday deal, maybe.

[00:44:36] But it's usually, I think, about $85 or so.

[00:44:39] Sometimes you can get it on super sale.

[00:44:41] But even if I, if I probably wouldn't have bought it.

[00:44:45] I will say this.

[00:44:45] I probably wouldn't have bought it if it hadn't been on sale because I really wasn't sure whether or not it was something that I would really utilize.

[00:44:54] But knowing now what I know, I actually would pay full price for it.

[00:44:59] So if that tells you anything.

[00:45:00] I'm actually in the process of getting it set up for this year and planning out what I'm going to grow through the wintertime.

[00:45:07] Because just the convenience of being able to have something right there in the kitchen that I can just harvest and toss immediately into my salads.

[00:45:17] And I don't have to worry about going outside or going into the greenhouse or uncovering, you know, something.

[00:45:23] It was just, it was just super easy.

[00:45:25] So I will give a thumbs up to those types of systems.

[00:45:29] There are obviously much larger options for like serious indoor gardens.

[00:45:33] They've got these huge tower systems and floor systems and with trellises and all kinds of stuff.

[00:45:37] But if you're just looking for something that's simple for the leafy greens, a simple tabletop unit will work just fine.

[00:45:44] Whatever method you choose, whether it's any of the DIY options we talked about today or, you know, something like the AeroGarden.

[00:45:51] Just start small and get good at like one or two plants.

[00:45:56] Practice the method that you're using.

[00:45:57] Kind of tweak your system.

[00:45:59] You know, practice the harvesting a couple of times just to kind of get the hang of it.

[00:46:02] And then add to the system as needed.

[00:46:05] Like I said, don't buy a bunch of stuff right away.

[00:46:08] Try, you know, the minimalist approach at first.

[00:46:11] And then once you get the hang of it and you're going to see, you know, there's that ease of harvesting salad greens right there in your kitchen while you're making your meals.

[00:46:18] You might actually decide that it's the easiest way to grow greens and decide to reserve that space outside for something else.

[00:46:26] Until next time, my gardening friends.

[00:46:28] Keep on cultivating that dream garden.

[00:46:29] We'll talk again soon.

[00:46:31] Thanks for listening to another episode of the Just Grow Something podcast.

[00:46:34] For more information about today's topic and to find all the ways you can get in touch with me or support the show, go to JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com.

[00:46:43] Until next time, my gardening friends.

[00:46:44] Keep learning and keep growing.

[00:46:46] Thank you.