Start a victory garden indoors
Forced to shelter in place, most of us are coming down with a bad case of cabin fever. Instead of worrying about the future and whether that scratchy throat you woke up with this morning is something serious, plant a victory garden.
During World War II, those on the home front were dealing with food shortages and rationing, as well as fear and anxiety. George Washington Carver promoted the idea of what he called victory gardens, urging people to grow their own food, mostly as a way of supplementing their rations, but also as a way to boost morale.
The common enemy this time is not fascism, of course. But a Victory Garden 2.0 could help.
N. Astrid Hoffman with The Living Seed Co., a family-owned organic and heirloom seed company based in Point Reyes Station, Calif., says we’re in a difficult time, but growing a garden shows resilience.
“The act of planting a seed is an act of faith in tomorrow,” she says. “During this time of limited movement, a garden is a place to find solace, joy and wonder, and hopefully some great things to eat.”
Don’t know how to get started? Here are some basics. And while it’s too early to plant most things in the ground, we promise that when things start to sprout and you get out into the sunshine of a warm spring day, you’re going to feel a lot better about life.
As COVID-19 restrictions started, many of us stocked up on fresh vegetables. In the days to come, it might be difficult to eat them all before they start to rot. No worries. Use them to grow more. Here are some favorites that are easy to grow indoors:
• Lettuce: Put lettuce leaves in a bowl with a little water, and set the bowl in an area that gets good sunlight. Mist the leaves a couple of times a week and once roots appear, transplant the rooted leaves in soil.
• Celery: Cut the bottom of the stalk off and put it in a bowl with a little warm water in direct sunlight. In a week or two, you’ll see leaves start to grow along the base. Transplant it into a pot of soil. You can continue to grow it indoors, or set the pot outside in a sunny spot.
• Onions and green onions: Cut onion about an inch above the root base (that’s the fuzzy end of the onion), put it in a pot of soil, root end down, and cover lightly with soil. Place the pot in a sunny spot and wait for the onion to sprout and produce a bulb. For green onions, cut off the root ends and put them in a glass with just enough water to cover them. Change the water every few days. In about a week, you’ll see new green onions appear. Snip off what you need and keep the others growing.
• Ginger: Ginger is one of the easiest plants to grow from scraps. Plant a piece of ginger root in potting soil, making sure
the buds are facing up. New shoots and roots will appear soon and you can use them for cooking. The ginger will continue to grow for quite some time.
• Basil: Some people can’t live without a fresh supply of basil. Take one stem, at least 4 inches tall, and put it in a glass of water, keeping the leaves above the waterline. Put the glass in bright light, but not direct sun. Once the plant has developed a couple of inches of roots, you can plant it in soil.
• Potatoes: You don’t even need whole potatoes to grow your own. You can cut up potatoes that are sprouting, making sure each chunk has one eye (sprout). However, you can also grow potatoes from peeling. Cut peels into 2-inch pieces, making sure there are two to three eyes on each piece. Let them sit overnight to dry out a bit and then plant about 4 inches deep. Make sure the eyes are facing upward, and in a few weeks, you should see leaves emerging from the soil.
• Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes can be planted the same way regular potatoes are or you can turn them into houseplants. Suspend a sweet potato in shallow water using toothpicks. Roots will appear and then foliage. You can transplant the potato or keep it in water and watch how quickly the greenery grows. Add water as needed.
• Pineapple: Always longed for your own pineapple plant? It’s easier than you think. Take the top of a pineapple and use toothpicks to suspend it slightly in a container of water. Keep the container in direct sunlight or put it in a sunny spot on the deck, remembering to bring it in at night and to change the water every other day. Roots should form in about a week and at that time, you can transplant it into a pot of soil.
• Peppers: Collect seeds from peppers and plant them in potting soil. Keep moist and in direct sun until the seeds germinate. When the weather is warmer, plant in your garden. You can continue the crop year after year by saving some seeds from each harvest.