I started what I call my living room garden in November of 2020 as a project to work on during the COVID pandemic. I have been interested in school gardens for years and was exploring what I saw as an option classes could use during the school year. Too often, school gardens are left with out a gardner during the summer months.
I just planted a crop I hope will be the last in my continuous streak of having the garden in operation. We hope to spend time in Hawaii in a few months to avoid the worst of the Minnesota winters. I would have to shut the garden down when no one would be around to keep it going.
The garden in the house ended up being useful even when my outside garden was available. I could grow lettuce during the heat of the summer and tomatoes during the winter and into the spring before plants in the garden would produce.
The following images may offer a perspective useful if you wonder just what this looks like. The first image shows the garden, a mature lettuce crop, and a younger lettuce planting. The lighting can be adjusted as plants grow and to accommodate plants that need more room (e.g., tomatoes). The second image shows what the newest planting (herbs) looks like. The plastic jugs to either side of the garden hold water that is siphoned into the gardens when we are not around. Plants use a lot more water than you might guess.
