Summer is winding down, but that doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to all the deliciousness of organic, locally grown food. Here are four options that make it easy to continue growing food inside the comfort of your own home.
Growing kits and all-in-one planters make it easy to set up a kitchen garden. If your kitchen doesn’t have a lot of window or floor space, any room with ample southern facing windows should be fine. Make sure you can easily carry water to the location, and that it is fairly protected from curious pets or little children.
Also remember that there are lots of growing kits out there on the market, but the best options are those with all organic ingredients (this includes potting soil, fertilizers, and seeds) and when possible, recycled or biodegradable planters.
Herbs – GrowBottle: One of the simplest hydroponic systems you’ll ever find, GrowBottle features a minimal design that utilizes reclaimed materials. The system is low tech and relies on wicking rather than a mechanical pumping system. The GrowBottle is reusable and is available in five different herb varieties: oregano, chives, basil, parsley and mint.
Mushrooms – Back to the Roots: This no-effort grow-at-home mushroom kit lets you grow up to 1 1/2 lbs of gourmet, tasty oyster mushrooms in as little as 10 days…right from the box! The same box can be used to grow at least two crops (though some have been able to grow up to four!) and the soil inside is made from 100 percent recycled coffee grounds. (Bonus! If you post a picture of your mushroom kit in action to the Back to the Roots Facebook page, they’ll donate a second kit to the school classroom of your choice!)
Strawberries – Windowsill Terrarium: Finding fresh, organic fruit is difficult in the winter months. But with this kit, you can grow your own sweet, delicious, 100 percent organic strawberries at home all year long! They’re easy to plant, fast to grow, and they only need 6 hours of sunlight per day.
Tomatoes (or anything!) – Grow Pillow: This kit, with its unique growing mix, was designed and tested to combine the latest developments in hydroponics, commercial agriculture and raised bed gardening – without the heavy lifting and large investment of time and money. Grow Pillow is a self-contained combination of components that, when combined with water, creates both a 100% organic container and a growing medium that encourages healthy plant growth. Its compact, lightweight package expands to 4 times its size when water is added.
See it in action!
Image Credit: Flickr – spullara
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