Our Tiny Indoor Greenhouse - Under $25

New outdoor light!

This past weekend we put together a temporary green house setup for seedlings!




I'm already a few weeks late, but hey, the plants will still grow! I'll just get my harvests a little later than the rest. I've been doing a lot of reading on different gardening techniques, with a focus on gardening that takes up minimal ground space and provides other benefits to growth and thriving. Vertical gardening has caught my eye and I cannot wait to grow some plants upward! There are many great benefits to growing upward.

Some Benefits to Vertical Gardening:

-minimal ground space used

-more efficient watering directly to the root systems, less wet leaves

-minimal ground cover leaving less places for pests to take cover and wreak havoc

-less chance for destroying your plants as they sprawl on the ground

-physical support system for the plant, allowing for 2-3x more growth and produce  

I also have some fun visions of setting up a semi-living roof. Most everything will be in containers, whether on the roof or on the ground. We recognize and respect that this is not our permanent space and want to be able to easily dismantle and leave the area as close to the way we found it as possible- when the time comes. Additional benefits to a living roof include some level of climate control. We have a black top roof that is sitting in the beating sun all summer long with zero trees or other relief. Even a few beds of soil  as a mass and some bushy plants for shades could greatly help our cooling efforts. The vertical gardening will also be strategically placed in front of the house to shade the utility closet most of the day. Now that we have very expensive batteries in there that cannot over heat, providing shade is a high priority this summer. Needless to say, I'm quite excited to experiment and grow food once again! Hooray! 

We bought some basic hardware at the big box store ($12) that will allow us to put up temporary shelves in the spring. They are simple racking bars with slats for arms to lock in at different heights. When not in use, they easily tuck away behind the curtains. The pine board we had under the house. Instead of the pricey seed starter containers, I got some tinfoil pans and covers for about $2.00. Some all natural seed starters ($6) fit nicely in each one. Now just add soil, seeds, and water! I ordered some heirloom seeds from a great group called the Seed Savers Exchange.

In other news, our outdoor light has been broken for about a month. I should clarify- the wire hanging off the side of the house with a cheap light bulb fixture coming right off the end, no longer had a working light bulb. We bought a basic mount fixture and flood lights. The back half of the farm, and the county for that matter, is lit up. JEEZE. I'm not sure I like how bright they are...and they pull 8 amps! Wooh! That's hefty. Our fridge pulls 3 amps when it kicks on. 

Finally- a little note about my week days. I've been baking up a storm and hope to develop a line of gluten free breads! I'm doing the research in the kitchen and on the business side. I've started putting together a list of the forms, licenses, and certifications I will need to get. Some of the breads have turned out surprisingly well, and I find myself more excited and hopeful than I have been in a long time. 

Thanks for reading!

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