Food & Greens can be grown easily indoors - here's how!

A certain level of independence and a real sense of satisfaction can be gained from the growing hobby of gardening at hometo produce food crops! As with any hobby, starting small and making a success of it encourages the whole family to get off the couch and their screens and into the garden. One of the easiest ways to make a succesful vegetable garden at home is by doing something calledlasagna gardening, but what happens if you live in an apartment, or the weather outside is dreadful? We have the solution!

在室内种植食物，无需经验，只需很少的努力，是一个理想的介绍，为所有的孩子谁抱怨在家里的时候，“互联网中断”无聊的园艺;-)。在朝南的窗户里生长的新鲜的微绿色蔬菜、香草和豆芽可以在几周内提供健康的食用，遵循我们简单的指导，在家享受新鲜的食物。

Growing sprouts indoors at home

Sprouts are germinated seeds, which is just the beginning growth of a seed;they are extremely healthy and some go from seed to ready to eat within 5 days. They are something of a ‘gateway crop’ to a full-on gardening addiction because they are tasty and healthy, and once you discover how fast and easy they are to grow, you’re going to want a whole farm. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But if you’ve never grown anything except green fur on a Chia Pet then this is definitely the place to start.

Sprouts will provide you with enzymes, chlorophyll and essential nutrients right from your window sill in the dead of winter; although requiring a minor amount of daily care, homegrown sprouts are healthier and far cheaper than what you will find at most grocery stores.

To begin growing sprouts, you will first need to get seeds, and be sure they are specifically ‘sprouting seeds’. There are many different varieties and flavors; while all are fresh and healthy, they vary from fairly bland or bitter or spicy; a good example of sharpness is the radish seed.

While sprouting seeds are available for bulk purchasing in some stores, beginners may do better with packaged products which contain helpful information. You can even findseeds for sprouting online.

How to grow sprouts in your window

Growing sprouts requires very little setup once you have seeds. It can be done with as little as a mason jar to get you started, and as your sprouts and your interest grows, you can accessorize your production kit if you like. Keep in mind – these are just seeds which, in the wild, fall off of plants and somehow manage to grow. So don’t overthink this or fret as if you were diffusing a bomb; it’s just not that hard to succeed. The steps are as follows:

1. Put about 2 or 3 tablespoons of seeds in a jar and swirl them around with a cup or two of water and let them soak at least 6-8 hours or overnight. Cover the mouth of the jar with either a screen or a piece of cheese cloth held on with an elastic; this will facilitate draining but doesn’t let the seeds out. A small sieve can also be used for draining.
2. Drain the seeds after 6 or 8 hours, pour some fresh water in and give them another swirl, then drain them again.
3. Lay the jar on a slight downward angle so no water pools in the bottom.
4. 种子发芽前，最好放在暗处。你可以把容器放在橱柜里，但那句老话是对的;眼不见，心不烦。初学者更明智的做法是把罐子放在工作台上，用厚布或毛巾盖上，这样就不会忘记了。
5. 早晚重新浸泡并沥干以保持湿润。一旦你看到了萌芽状态的开始，你就可以让它们看到光明。这就是自然界的情况——一颗种子在潮湿黑暗的土壤中发芽，然后它需要阳光。
6. 每天浸泡两次，持续3到5天，这样你就有一罐厚厚的绿豆芽可以吃了。(如果你更喜欢白色的豆芽，确保它们在每次冲洗后都藏在暗处。)任何未食用的豆芽都可以储存——充分排水——在冰箱里存放几天。

假设你喜欢每天以最少的努力获得安全和营养的新鲜食物，而且不占冰箱的空间，在不同的生产阶段准备几个容器来提供每天的供应是很好的。

Growing microgreens at home

Microgreens are the early shoots of the leafy greens or vegetables we normally grow and eat;the difference being that they are harvested before the plant has matured. Some microgreen plants can be the same as the sprout seeds growing in your window; the difference being that they are seeded in soil rather than harnessing just moisture and light to grow, the way sprouts do.

For harvesting, you don’t eat the entire seed and plant like with sprouts. Typically, you would leave the root structure in place and just trim a tray of microgreens with scissors about a month after germination when the plants are only about 2 inches tall.

与成熟的植物相比，微绿色植物具有更高的营养价值和维生素，因此它们被认为是一种“超级食物”。因为它们质地柔软，三明治和沙拉上的微绿色蔬菜不会像豆芽那样酥脆。

How to grow microgreens at home

Like growing sprouts, growing microgreens is a very easy processthat doesn’t require a lot of equipment or experience. With very little equipment and effort you can have microgreens ready to harvest in under a month, here’s how -

What you need:

1. Potting soil;
2. Shallow trays or containers, such as deep pie plates or even disposable take out containers;
3. Seeds;
4. A window with about 4 hours (or more) of direct sun exposure per day.

Steps for growing microgreens at home

1. 阅读信封，种子先进来，因为理想的生长过程可能会因植物类型而有所不同(发芽和微绿种子可以在网上找到，见这里)。
2. Lay about an inch and a half of potting soil in a tray, level it but try not to compress it too much.
3. Spread the seeds over the surface of the soil and gently push them into the soil a bit, using your hand, or even a piece of cardboard.
4. Once the seeds are in the soil, cover the whole surface with a thin layer of soil and wet the top surface (a clean spray bottle is great for this).
5. Mist them twice a day but don’t over water them; do this for 3 to 5 days until sprouts appear.
6. Continue to mist them once a day after they’ve sprouted.
7. 微绿色植物每天大约需要四小时的阳光直射才能茁壮成长。如果它们看起来细长而苍白，那就表明它们需要比实际得到的更多的光线。如果你没有朝南的窗户，但你真的想自己生产食物，你可以寻找一个小的生长光。

Which plants are best for growing microgreens?

A windowsill microgreen garden can be started with leafy vegetable plants, salad greens, herbs. You can either do a mono-crop with one type, or mix it up a bit. Some of the easier plants to grow are lettuce, kale, radishes, beets, broccoli, or even some edible flowers like sunflowers.

最好的办法是从分离的种子开始，这样你就可以开始识别你喜欢的味道，然后按照你的意愿混合它们。种子也会有不同的生长速度，所以要确保种子混合的收获时间大致相同。蛋盒是一种尝试不同品种的简单方法;用泥土填满这些凹痕，并按照前面提到的说明操作。如果空间有限，可以在每个盒子里放两到三种，用对半折的冰棍来辨别种子。Findseeds online herefor home delivery.

Edible house plants & herbs that grow at home

Houseplants are a beautiful addition to any home, their green abundance is great to look at, so why not add some herbs?People often askwhich houseplants improve the quality of air in homes; well at least with herbs in the kitchen they release appetizing fragrances that compliment any interior.

在一个至少3或4英寸深和直径的容器中，播种一些欧芹或罗勒。欧芹发芽缓慢，但放在厨房的窗台上会很舒服。当你需要的时候，这两种植物都很好用。其他可以尝试的是韭菜、迷迭香、薄荷或任何你可以用来烹饪的芳香药草，让你高兴地看到它们放在窗台上。

I'm often reminded of life's simple pleasures by gently running my fingers through the leaves of my windowsill herb garden... I recommend it - very grounding.

Now you know more aboutgrowing sprouts and microgreens at hometo suppliment our diet, here are some more pages aboutgrowing food at home indoors or in backyards. Vegetables that grow well in the shade Growing food at home in small spaces - 7 top tips Urban farming - a guide to growing edible perennials in your yard How to build a backyard greenhouse in cold climates How to reduce climate impact with green food choices Find more about green lifestyle choices and home constructionin the EcohomeGreen Building Guide pagesand find outaboutthe benefits of a free Ecohome Network Membership here.