How to grow fantastic vegan food indoors

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

How to grow fantastic vegan food indoors
Windowsill Gardening,
by Pauline Lloyd
From Growing Green International 9

Don't worry if you haven't got a garden or allotment! For a surprising amount of food can be produced indoors, vegan organically, either on your windowsill or on a well-lit kitchen surface.


The following plants will all do well indoors:

Salad greens are easy to grow and can be produced all the year round indoors, ever so cheaply. So, the next time you buy fruit and vegetables, save any empty plastic punnets as these are ideal for this purpose. You will need to line the base of the punnet with several layers of paper kitchen towel and this should be dampened with water before sprinkling on the seeds. Try using rape, mustard or cress seeds which should all grow well.


After sowing the seeds, place the punnet in a brown paper bag and keep it in a dark cupboard, perhaps underneath the sink, until the seeds have germinated and the seedlings are an inch or so high. Then it can be brought out into the daylight and the bag removed. But don't place it on a very sunny windowsill, or the seedlings will dry out too rapidly and become stressed.


You should check the seedlings regularly to make sure that the paper is still damp and water or spray if necessary. When they are about 2-3 inches high, the seedlings can be cut off with scissors, rinsed and used as a tasty garnish for salads or sandwiches. Alternatively, buckwheat and sunflower greens make an excellent substitute for lettuce. These grow well in small plastic trays and the sorts of trays that can sometimes buy mushrooms in are ideal.


Soak the seeds (which should still have their shells on) in a jam jar for 12 hours, then drain off the water and leave the seeds to sprout for a day before sowing. To sow: Place a layer of soil (or potting compost) in the plastic tray and distribute the seeds evenly on the surface, covering them with a thin layer of soil. Dampen the soil daily. The greens should be ready for harvesting in about 7 days and are also easily harvested with scissors.


Wheatgrass also grows well in trays and can be grown either on soil or on dampened kitchen towels. However, wheatgrass is usually juiced in a special juicer, rather than eaten, although you can also chew it like gum! Wheatgrass juice has many amazing curative properties and it is full of vitamins, minerals and enzymes and of course chlorophyll. I would recommend that you read Ann Wigmore's book, The Wheatgrass Book, if you want to find out more about how to grow it and about its medicinal properties.




Sprouts
Many grains, pulses, nuts and seeds can be sprouted and are easily grown indoors on a windowsill, either in trays or in special sprouting jars. And sprouts are truly amazing! They are full of vitamins, enzymes and minerals and have many features, which make them far superior to other foods For example they are inexpensive to grow, need little preparation, can usually be eaten raw and some even have anti-cancer properties.
And what could be fresher, than a handful of sprouts removed from a jar in your kitchen, rinsed, then eaten straight away?

If you want quick results, then try sprouting some soaked, hulled, organic sunflower seeds. These can be ready in a day or two and green lentil sprouts also grow very quickly. Alfalfa is one of the most nutritious sprouts to grow and makes an excellent garnish, but I actually prefer the taste of red clover, which is supposed to be especially good if you are menopausal. I also really like the taste of broccoli sprouts, but these seeds are very expensive to buy and not always easy to find and so I usually grow my own.


If you would like to try this, then leave some purple sprouting broccoli to go seed in a corner of your garden. You need to leave at least two plants next to one another to be sure of producing seed and you may need to protect the ripening seedpods from birds. When the pods are dry shell out the seeds. It's fiddly, but well worth the effort, as you will save a fortune! Legumes are also worth sprouting. Try chick peas, peas and aduki beans. Wheat can also be sprouted and is used to make the refreshing drink known as Rejuvelac, which is supposed to be good for the intestinal flora. And of course wheat sprouts are also used to make sprouted wheat bread.


When growing sprouts, if you are short of space, then try one of the tiered tray systems such as the Beingfare Salad Sprouter, which allows you to grow several varieties of sprouts on top of one another. It is also possible to buy special sprouting jars with mesh lids, which allow easy rinsing and draining of your sprouts. Of course if you are hard up for cash you can simply use clean jam jars, covered with a piece of cheesecloth (muslin) and held in place with an elastic band. It is possible to buy nylon sprouting bags from the Fresh Network, which are more portable than most sprouting systems and are useful for taking on holiday.


Herbs and Other Plants
Many herbs will grow well on a windowsill and are useful for adding extra flavour to food. Parsley is rich in vitamins and will grow well in a pot or small trough indoors. I use the variety Champion Moss Curled and make sowings in March and August for an all year round supply.
Germination seems to be more reliable than from an outdoor sowing and it is especially useful to have a small pot of parsley growing indoors in the winter as it saves going out in the garden and getting the feet wet!

Bush Basil also grows well in containers and so does Winter Savoury and both of these can be sown indoors in April or May. Chives is also an excellent indoor container plant and so is Pennyroyal and you could even try growing your own Cayenne peppers on a sunny windowsill! Also watercress does not necessarily need running water.
The Organic Gardening Catalogue offers a type of watercress that does well in a well-watered pot and if you grow it indoors, you should hopefully escape the caterpillars which can quickly strip the plant bare!


Further Reading:

The Sprouter's Handbook by Edward Cairney (Argyll Publishing, 1997).


Sprout For the Love of Everybody by Viktoras Kulvinskas.


The Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook by Steve Meyerowitz.


The Wheatgrass Book by Ann Wigmore.



Sprouting by Pauline Lloyd.
(A copy of this article can be downloaded from my web site at: http://www. btinternet. com/~bury_rd/sprout. htm).



Seed Suppliers:

The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Riverdene Business Park, Molesey Rd, Hersham, Surrey. KT12 4RG. (Tel: [phone].) Sells a good selection of seeds for sprouting and also stocks the Beingfare Salad Sprouter, sprouting jars, a manual wheatgrass juicer and books.


John Chambers, 15 Westleigh Rd, Barton Seagrave, Kettering, Northants, NN15 5AJ. (Tel: [phone].) Offers a selection of seeds for sprouting.



The FRESH Network, PO Box 71, Ely. Cambs. CB7 4GU. (Tel: [phone]). Sells sprouting jars and nylon sprouting bags, plus a number of books on sprouting.



Suffolk Herbs, Monks Farm, Coggeshall Road, Kelvedon, Essex CO5 9PG. (Tel: [phone].) Sells seeds for sprouting, sprouting equipment and books on herbs.



Note: all of the seeds mentioned in this article can be obtained from The Organic Gardening Catalogue.



Editor’s notes on indoor cultivation:

You may find it difficult to locate a growing medium for your window box that is genuinely vegan organic; nearly all organic growing mixtures contain animal products such as poultry manure or bone meal. There are various possibilities; you can make do with an ordinary non organic product, you can use DANU growing medium from the Organic Gardening Catalogue (not cheap) in which case add about one eighth part of seaweed meal for added nitrogen. Or you can make your own from compost or leafmould; Vegan Organic Information Sheet number 1 gives details, see below.
Soil on its own is fine in a thin layer but becomes too compacted in pots and boxes

One other point is that tiny fruit flies/mushroom flies may take up residence in your moist indoor growing medium. They are very hard to shift and the larvae may eat plant roots. The only practical answer if this happens is to change the growing medium as often as possible, rinsing out the container before re filling with fresh clean material. Don’t store compost mixes for too long.






Grow Food Indoors
Cut your food miles to zero
By Josh Peterson
Los Angeles, CA, USA | Sun Jan 11 10:30:00 EST 2009


iStock


READ MORE ABOUT:
Can You Dig It | Do It Yourself | Food Miles | Fruit | Gardening | Local Food | Organic | Planet Green | Vegetables

You may pride yourself on eating only locally grown food. But your food can get even more localized. It is possible to grow some food in the comfort of your own home. This is a great idea for people who like to garden but live in apartments. There are several different plants that can thrive inside the home, and I’ve found various sites that can walk you through how to grow them.


How to Garden Indoors:
She Knows has a great article on how to garden indoors: How to grow food indoors, what you will need to do, the materials that you’ll need and other tips are featured in their article, a great place to start if you want to garden in your living room. Here are their tips for creating a prosperous environment indoors.


"If you have a naturally lit area, you won’t have to do much garden prepping; however, if you need to boost the light quotient, then you should:

Cover walls with reflective Mylar or white paint in order to allow light to reflect onto your plants so they can absorb more energy. Turn on an oscillating fan to create air and humidly flow around your plants because if an air supply fixes directly on your plants for too long, it can dry them out.

Protect your household surfaces by putting drop cloths or plastic trays underneath your plants in order to prevent water damage.

If using artificial light, it’s suggested you utilize HID (high intensity discharge) lights, which hang down from the ceiling and convert electricity into usable energy for plants.
"


Indoor Tropical Fruit:
Martha Stewart had a guest on her show who specializes in growing indoor tropical plants. Foods featured in this video include the sunquat, dwarf papayas, coffee, tree tomatoes and cinnamon. All these foods were grown indoors.


Herbs and Sprouts:
The Vegan Organic Network suggests growing salads, sprouts and herbs in your own home. Visit their site for further information. Here are their tips on growing spouts. "When growing sprouts, if you are short of space, then try one of the tiered tray systems such as the Beingfare Salad Sprouter, which allows you to grow several varieties of sprouts on top of one another. It is also possible to buy special sprouting jars with mesh lids, which allow easy rinsing and draining of your sprouts. Of course if you are hard up for cash you can simply use clean jam jars, covered with a piece of cheesecloth (muslin) and held in place with an elastic band. It is possible to buy nylon sprouting bags from the Fresh Network, which are more portable than most sprouting systems and are useful for taking on holiday.
"

Lettuce and Tomatoes:
This article from Suite 101 can teach you how to grow tomatoes, and lettuce in your den, bedroom or attic. Here's their advice on lettuce: "Lettuce will do well indoors. One head per large ice cream container. If you understand how plants propagate then you have begun to gain the knowledge that enables you to garden with success indoors. You may not grow, a lot of food, but you will be able to add to your table fresh food that may have traveled as little as 3 feet. Indoor gardening requires your constant attention, both tomatoes and lettuce, love water, but if you over water, they may rot. Get to know your space where the garden will be and then get to know the plants.
"

Bananas and Pineapple Guava:
Last but not least, Gomestic will help you grow bananas, pineapple guava and dwarf citrus fruits without ever leaving the house. Here's how to grow a banana in your house: "The Musa banana plant is small enough to be grown indoors, it produces fruit then dies, but leaves you will have new plants growing for the future. Banana plants do not like direct sunlight but require several hours of indirect light. They can be set outside in the summer, again provided they are protected from the sunlight.

[James and Terry Hamilton]

awesome...I will check into this and get started...