HAs anyone continues their gardens indoors!?

[the1honeycomb]

I love gardening and planting and i spend the winter deciding what to get started in the spring. I am not a good waiter!! Last year I planted Potatoes in bags, and was able to harvest new potatoes in March or april. I plant in succession. I am trying to grow sweet potatoes, carrots, and spinach in a nice decorative planter and hope to harvest some in the spring!

I am not good with starter plants wo I have to plant directly into the soil where I will grow and harvest. So I container plant many things, Beans, tomatoes,

 

[digitS']

The1honeycomb, I think your potatoes in bags is one of the coolest things I've learned about in recent years!

For those joining us late - let me see if I can get this right . . . The1honeycomb starts the potato plants in bags of soil. During the winter months, these plants grow in her basement, which must have some good windows. In the spring ~ her husband ~ lugs these bagged plants outdoors. The1honeycomb, and her loving husband , enjoy a bountiful and early harvest of potatoes. Then she replants those bags with new soil and seed potatoes for the remainder of the outdoor season!

Here I have been trying to make people believe that I can haul a cast iron stove down into my basement! I hope that no power failure will ever force me to try that .

The1honeycomb are you thinking of doing about the same thing with these other vegetables? Well, I think you must be!! You must really have some good light down there .

Here is my winter growing: (TEG link).

I don't know what the miserable angle of the sun is here this morning :/. It is bound to show up sometime as the sky is mostly clear. We have also had some single digitS' wind chills overnight! Those are single digitS' below zero and it is supposed to be worse soon!

Steve

 

[canesisters]

I agree Steve! A very original way to keep a steady supply of fresh potatoes!!

The1honeycomb, I switched to a different feed for the horse JUST so I could get the woven plastic bags. My plan was to use them to make reusable shopping bags.... but I haven't started THAT project yet and now I've gotten probably 2 dozen of the bags folded up and stashed in between the framing in the feed room. Would these bags work for your potato growing method?
Also - I don't have a basement. But I DO have a spare room that has recently been converted from a guest room to a work room. Do your potato bags make much mess? I mean, don't they leak when you water them? And does the bag get moldy/smelly? Since that room is rarely used (yeah... not all that much work going on...) the heat vents are blocked so it is pretty cool - but never COLD.
might be worth a try, huh?

 

[ducks4you]

I've done potatoes indoors before I have some great basement windows for my plants and I've grown them before inside. I'm thinking about growing carrots inside this winter, too. Whatever floats your boat!

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

That's a good idea! We can't do plants inside. Despite how huge our windows are even the south one leaves the plants limp and bending toward the windows. That and the drafts we get blowing in would probably kill them. Sweet taters may be worth a try. Sweet potatoes...

 

[secuono]

Can you use artificial lights on a timer to grow the potatoes??

 

[baymule]

I have a PVC framed, plastic wrapped redneck greenhouse in the front yard. I planted Celebrity tomatoes in the first of September and have clusters of green tomatoes hanging on the vines right now. I also have 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow and 1 red bell pepper that are 2 years old. They are loaded. The tiny electric space heater is humming out there because we are expecting freezing weather tonight and all weekend.

 

[Jared77]

I wish I could do this but our 2 cats are plant extrication & assignation specialists. They are not allowed on the table or the counters and they follow those rules well. However put up something leafy and green.....forget it.

Martial law is declared and they move in with surgical precision to remove the threat.

Thought I was all smart a while ago & put up some cactus figuring that would stop them. Nope they simply tipped the whole pot off the shelf repeatedly to make sure the infidel was "dealt with"

I'd love to have house plants & every Christmas season Im reminded that I really do love the cats when I gaze longingly at the Amaryllis bulbs that are for sale.

Oh well it's probably for the best I've got enough projects going now anyway.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

It is probably for the best. Our old house was overrun with plants, couldn't walk too far without tripping on something. (And that was me that brought the plants in! ) It just gets too be too much of a pain in the neck to water them all.

Artificial lights... that may be an idea!

 

[the1honeycomb]

I agree Steve! A very original way to keep a steady supply of fresh potatoes!!

The1honeycomb, I switched to a different feed for the horse JUST so I could get the woven plastic bags. My plan was to use them to make reusable shopping bags.... but I haven't started THAT project yet and now I've gotten probably 2 dozen of the bags folded up and stashed in between the framing in the feed room. Would these bags work for your potato growing method?
Also - I don't have a basement. But I DO have a spare room that has recently been converted from a guest room to a work room. Do your potato bags make much mess? I mean, don't they leak when you water them? And does the bag get moldy/smelly? Since that room is rarely used (yeah... not all that much work going on...) the heat vents are blocked so it is pretty cool - but never COLD.
might be worth a try, huh?

CAnesisters, Hello I think those bags would be fine there in the "work room" but you do have to put a container under them they will leak. I go to goodwill every chance I get and pick up all the storage containers I can they are usually a dollar and I use them for the water collection process. but I just learned that if you take a half liter soday bottle and put pin holes in the bottom fill them up put the cap back on the vegies will get a much more continuous watering! I will be trying this on half of my plants this year


I found the potatoes don't need a lot of sun and the window in the basement seems to keep them Happy