Imagine that...

Guess what, I lost my job this Thursday. The coach and I agreed that my selling wouldn't take flight so I'm not that sad. But when Saturday arrived I had the most magnificent headache, and instead of renovating my window gardens I... ehm... spend the day at IKEA... eating sauce bearnaise... (Forget the pork and other garnishing like ratatouille - I want the bearnaise.)

This means that for a few weeks I'll have only one job and one company to tend to. And I'm home with the kid while his pre-k is closed for summer, so I can only do classic STAHM things. I've decided to make the most of my time. I've already baked cinnamon rolls and sourdough bread, washed and folded two machines worht of laundry and cleaned one room (it's not good to overdo oneself...). Slowly, slowly I'm aproaching the moment when I'll be able to clean up my plants. First I throw away those dead skelettons, then I'll plant tomatoes, and chard, and popcorn cuttings, and chard, some herbs, and chard, one or two containers of pea cuttings, and, of course, some chard.

OooOOOOooooOOOOOooooh! This will be fun!

Tough decisions

You may have noticed that I've been absent from the blog for a few days - it's been a time of tough decisions and it's been exhausting. This thursday we looked at a house with a 7500 square meter garden (1.9 acres) outside Uppsala - and the entire family fell in love. Not only is the garden big, it's beautiful, with a barn suitible for any kind of companies you might wan't to start, a guest cottage good as a home for elderly inlaws or as a writing cottage for a writing mother. The son ran aorund the grounds bubbling with joy, and daddy concluded that not only was there plenty of lawns to run around, but also a small ravine to climb through - when our tiny heir gets a little older.

When feeling like that it's hard to make the decision to not buy the house. It's too far from other things we want in our lives; the right kind of schools, libraries and museums. Yes, you read it right; we are a family who wants at least one library and one museum close by to feel at home - a garden is the cherry on top. Besides, we would be moving so far away from friends that we would loose contact, and when there is a draw between people (ie. friends and family) and material things people is prioritized.

I say it yet again, it was a tough decision. Perhaps it sounds strange, but it was comforting when the broker called and we found out that bidding had already reached a level 250.000 SEK (~$30.400) above the prize we had set as our top bid (btw this was almost half a million kronas /$60.000 above the starting bid). I hope the house is bought by someone who will care for it as good as the previous owners - it's rare to see something that has been loved to that extent.

Another tough decision I had to make was regarding the future of Indoor Gardener. It's been dreary to blog for some time now, and I've toyed with the idea of shutting down completely. I don't want to; I'm almost at the conclusion of my experiment - I'm starting to get gardening into my bones and know what plants to chose if I want to harvest the year round. The "only" thing left is to trim routines and habits to actually get it to work. But now when I'm working I'm short of time, so short that I need to cut back on blogging to get time for the indoor gardens. After all, an Indoor Gardener blog without indoor vegetables would be rather stupid.

So I've decided to cut back on updates but keep on blogging. For the time being Indoor Gardener will be updated on Tuesdays, perhaps with one bonus post or another when I decide a plant needs to be photographed :)

The time I'll gained by these meassurements will be spent on different things - as to the indoor gardening I'll fight critters and diseases. I'm very tired of seeing a beatiful plant rise from the seed, only to stoop back again a few days covered with a variety of spots. This means war. In addition I have a couple of large projects boiling that needs a lot of basic preparations; I need to teach myself how to use an asortment of softwares and do thorough research in several areas. The advantage of taking this time ("time", I hope will be about a year) is that when I return to full speed I'll be able to send Indoor Gardener through several channels to cyber space.

Thus, Indoor Gardener will be in an controlled blog fade, but it's a fade that leads to something good.

Reboot the Indoor Gardener...

This feels like restarting the life. I rest a lot, particularly by watching dvds to keep me off doing things the "needs to be done", and I feel better and better. The melons and the chilis has spent their first day on the balcony to get used to the outdoors. Today has been an unususally cloudy day, which is good since sunlight are as much of a threat as the different temperatures when indoor plants are about to be transitioned outdoors.

I have time for dreams and ponderings on what I want to do. I lack focus in my life today and instead I have a lot of competing big plans that don't always mix. One of the dreams is to open a big indoor farm, and I think I can get some good ideas from Japan (I'm not entirely alone with these dreams). But I don't think my farm will ever be as sterile as this.

More planting plans

After the success with my new years resolutions I've decided to put up some goals for the close future:

• Clean out old sowing failiures.
  
• Order nematodes to fight fungus gnats
  
• Adjust one melon and two chiliplants to life on the balcony
  
• Plant a melon in the bin that used to contain the oilseed pumpkin (no, I'll never give up)
  

There are a lot more things here that needs to be done, but I settle for these four, else the list will get a length that scares me off doing my chores. Hm, according to good old project management traditions I should put a deadline to this. Oh well, let's say Monday next week.

So, did I follow the plans I would stick to?

January the first this year I posted my new years resolution to this blog, and that was

to stick to the plan

After that I forgot what the actual plans I set up was, but they have hoovered over me like dark clouds anyway. Today I looked up what I said I'd do and found a short list (*relieved sigh*). Let's work it through post by post.

• To fully furnish two more 'cultivation windows'
  

I've done it! Well, I didn't put up grow lights as I planned to, but that's because I'm trying chard in low light positions (the plant is supposed to stand that) and one window is facing south so the plants won't need extra light for another two months or so.

• Build nine raised beds on my allotment gardens
  

Check, but not because I built the beds but because I had to give the allotments up. I miss them, but the indoor gardens take all the time I have.

• Clear and put up wallpapers in my study
  

We're on the way of doing this. Right now we are putting up wallpapers in the hallway and selling off stuff to actually get into the study. The room has served as a lumber room for far too long.

• Put up a living wall in my study using aquaponics
  

Since we are about to move this will be in my new study.

I have to say I'm doing better than I thought I would. Two posts are checked and one is on its way.

But there is one plan I haven't followed. I haven't loosed any weight. But I will start on this project soon. I will. Soon. Absolutely. Soon...

(Why, oh why, do cinnamon rolls taste so good?)

While I'm waiting

We've just returned from an open house - we're about to move. Perhaps it'll be this flat, perhaps something else, all depends on what the bank says and what kind of competitors we have. No matter what happens we know one thing; we'll move to something smaller, about one third of the space we are now occupying.

So, what will happen to my indoor gardening?

It'll be more of a challenge. Right now I can use an actual lay-out, so I'm furningshing the prospective flat with tomato gardens, leaf gardens and everything else needed for this. I'm glad I've been into indoor gardening a few years and know what to opt for.

The good thing about moving to something smaller is that the experiment gets closer to reality. To be honest we don't live in a normal flat today, it's too big and in two stories. Next one will fit us better, so I'm causiosly hopeful. After all, this is a good chance to get rid of all the junk I've collected through the years.

But. We haven't bought this flat yet. Please pray that all will work out - this one would fit us extremely well.

Back to selfwatering containers again?

I've been watering my jungle. After my cleanup last week and with some water thriftyness I ended up using only ten litres (~3 USgallons) - plus. Still I'm not content with my 'gardens' - now when I have a day job I'm not always have the energy to dote on plants in the evening. Or the time, there's a continuing fight for minutes between my different projects.

So I may be returning to selfwatering containers on a large scale, eventhough I hesitate. There's a shortage of air around the roots in the containers I've used, and the soil smell bad when I clean them. On the other hand they save space and weight - and time. I toy with the thought of making some of my bigger terracotta pots into selfwatering containers. Should work for bigger plants like aubergine, nasturtium and herbs. Perhaps I'll use them for cuttings too. I prefer terracotta in my windows.

I'm not sure about which alternative I'll choose, since, after all, I need to find time to do this major reorganisation...

Tomatoes and thrips

It'll be a short blogpost today since it's getting late. I've got two unexpected free days from my job and am planning to take one of them to tidy up my indoor gardens. My first plan was to pick nettles. With a loaded mp3player, clothes from head to toe (including gloves), a pair of scissors and a plastic bag I pick 10 - 15 liters (3-5 US gallons) in an hour. Cleaning and parboiling the harvest for the freezer takes the rest of the day. Remembering the summer by eating nettle soup in the winter is golden!

But

When I did my usual watering round today I could see that my gardens had been more neglected than they should have been. A lot of stuff had wiltered and should be taken away - other plants need repotting badly, or else they'll strangle themselves with their own roots. In addition the thrips have ruled the grounds to the extent that I almost feel like giving up. Big plants have shadows of leaves that waves sadly from wiltered stems. *Sigh*

Thus something has to be done. As far as the times allow I'll be throwing out the old and replanting the new. And there is light in the dark. Today I harvested 90g tomatoes (3.17 ounces). Judging by the state of the plants this is just a small taster of bigger future harvests, so I keep my fingers crossed. And the son happily ate the tomatoes he was given for dinner and the few left over after the meal. Is it possible that I've found a third vegetable that he likes?...

Death to the chard, long live the seedlings!

I thought I would sow today, but I haven't got any sowing soil. The best I can manage is that magnificent homemade potting soil I made. I think I overdid myself a bit... When the son returns home I'll bring out my worn pans and start sterilizing used soil from my cupboards. Will be interesting, especially when the hubby returns home and ask what's for dinner.

The true answer to that question is probably "something with chard" since I intend to empty that box today. It's interesting, the leaves have been left alone for quite a while and their stems have turned coarse. Normally you can cook and eat them lika asparagus, but when we tried it last time it wasn't a hit. Today I'll probably make a gravystew (it's a swedish thing I think - you make a bechamel and add stuff to it, like finely minced chard - I can't find any proper english word for it, but I may post a recipe later on) on the leaves instead, and add boiled potatoes and smoked pork loin to it, mmmmmmmmm. (And a thought strikes me, if you're a vegan, how do you replace the pork loin? is it possible to grow at home? indoors? I'll never be able to grow normal potted plants.)

Tomorrow it's time for sowing. I have an abundance of egg shells, a large stack of seed envelopes, for some reason with a majority of strawberry parcels, some funny looking containers and a lot of wild ideas.

The outcome of a pneumonia

If I could say "I will never again catch pneumonia" and know it to be true I would be glad. What you see above is my bonsai tomatoes - I don't remember when I sowed them but I know that they've been sitting in the nursery for about two months. Or is it three. I did a thorough documentation when I started this batch, and when I looked at the papers I had forgotten to put the date on them. The entire autumn is lost in a fog of tiredness.

Today I've finally started to clear up the things that should have been made in December. Some explants have been sent to the green heavens and I've mixed some more soil for the seedlings which have survived and are in need of containers. The salvia in my herb window had wiltered and was close to follow its siblings into the waste bin. I had already pulled it out of the soil when I realised that the core was alive and healthy. Without missing a second I shoved it back into the container again, cut away dead leaves and twigs and soaked it in a bath for a while. It'll be interesting to see if it survives.

My biggest problem is the thrips. To decimate the population and keep it on a modest level requires hard work. Right now I doubt I'll ever get rid of them completely, the other day I realised I've always had them around my plants. Perhaps I'm doomed to an eternity of thripsinfestation. But keeping the air around the plants moist reduces the damages considerably, so I'm hopefull. Some day I'll even gather the determination to wash every window and plant, and then we'll see if the critters survives (mwahahaha).

I think I've written that bokashi fluid can be used for pest control when you dilute it 1 to 1000. That's what I'm going to try now. This will also feed the plants (they are able to absorb nutrients through their leaves, eventhough they prefer 'eating' through the roots), so I've waited a bit to see how my current fertilising habits are affecting them. I need to change, since my plants are overfed and ill. The plan is to interchange worm water with bokashi water (diluted 1 to 500 since it's for daily use) plus one thrips treatment a week. I want gardens so healthy and lush they look artificial.

Short post

I've cleared the Table! One goal reached! Now I need to work on my company's income tax return that is due tomorrow. Then my plants will recieve some well earned extra treatment. Next stop full day plantspa and health hotel!

Plans, plans, plans

You may remember that my single new years resolution was to stick to the plan? It's time to take a look at it and see what's left. If I'm correct it's this

• Repot seedlings
  
• Paint sills
  
• Put up sills and added light
  
• Put the potted plants in their new places
  

Seems to be an easy bunch of tasks. I have to clean away a lot of junk before I can paint the sills, but I should manage to do most of the chores on the list pretty soon. The seedlings fare worse, though. They've been standing in their greenhouses so long that algae have started to grow on the eggshells. Some indoor gardener I am...

The tricky part is not the chores but to how to get time for them. I'm working with my company and do full time studies in the same time. To wrestle some free minutes out of this schedule demand advanced time planning. Looks like I need to set up a secundary plan to wring myself out of this deadlock.

• Clean the Table
  
• Take down the tomatoes and the chard.
  
• Sow new seeds
  

Piece of cake, when I've done this I'll have some more freedom - this gives me space to work immediately when I have a free second.

Embarassment of riches

The way from scarcity to abundance is sometimes a fastlane. The first year I grew vegetables indoors I used synthetizised fertiliser since it was easy to buy and handle. Later, when I felt more secure as an indoor gardener, I turned my attention to "natural" fertilizers, ie. poop, piss or rotten plants. You may understand why I hesitated to start this part of the experiment. Using my own urin from the start would have been an easy solution, but I didn't want my containers to start smelling.

When I had built my first vermicompost I eagerly awaited the famous worm liquid that would pour from it, odourless and a great 'food' for my plants.

It came. Drip by drip it came, and several times I hadn't enough to all my plants.

Do you believe me if I say this was a few weeks ago? Yesterday I poured of another half a liter (two cups) of the fluid - I have more than a litre (four cups) of it in the fridge. In addition I have the wondrous bokashi fluid, a great fertilizer in its own. I really have to sow more plants to get rid of the stuff!

The good news is I can do exactly that. Yesterday I sawed the pallets that blocked the access to my study window to pieces and sent them off. Today I'll go on a shopping spree to buy the items needed for my two new grow windows (plus a few rolls of flowery wall papers - of course I need a study with flowery wall paper). Things are progressing!

***

If you remember my goals for 2009 I have a small update; since the seventh of january I've lost a kilo (~two pounds)! Jay, and if I hadn't managed to throw my pants in the dryer I'd feel a lot thinner now :) Sparkpeople is good stuff.

Bottle neck problems

That's what I got. The seedlings should've been replanted weeks ago, but I don't have any terracotta pots big enough. And if I had pots big enough I still haven't arranged the two new grow windows I've been writing about. If I'd try to make the windows I'd soon get stranded since I haven't bought the lamps, fluorescent tubes and what else that's needed for the project.

This has been my limbo for the last weeks since I've been broke. Fate has now granted me a bigger sum of money (thanks mother in law!) and even if other needs are competing for them I think I'll be able to reserve some of it for indoor gardening. If I should buy terracotta pots? In that case I won't have any place for my repotted plants. If I should buy lamps and everything else needed for the windows? But that's a boring shopping spree (unfortunately that's how I work sometimes). To be strictly logical is a help; it's better to create some new grow windows since my seedlings can grow in containers not made from terra cotta.

I'll go for the flourescent light. But it's boring. Dead boring!

On the other hand I can find some confort in the fact that I managed to do something on the big scale; this Sunday I'll finally get rid of those pallets under the window in my study. Friends with an abundance of tile stoves will get them to use as fire wood. Hooray!

What I did on my holiday

Not much really. In essence we filled the fridge with christmas food and ate for the fun of it. Since Uppsala have a rare layer of winter snow we brought the son out for some sledge rides, but in most we rested. Christmas is a good time for resting.

I couldn't let go of indoor gardening entirely, though. I purchased some seeds from Impecta (swedish seed mail order company specialising in exotic and swedish heritage seeds) and perhaps it was unwise to do so without a proper plan. According to my notes I've ordered two kinds of melon, oil pumpkin, blackberries and a kind of cabbage that grows to a two meter tall "palm". I don't think any of them would do good indoors, but I do have my allotment gardens - and motivation to really make those raised beds.

This year I made it easy for the indoor hubby and wished for a book easy to get since it was released a few months ago. The title translates as "Cloister gardens Heavenly places on earth", it's Lena Israelsson, my favourite swedish garden writer who's travelled to cloisters and convents around the world studying their gardens and the monks' and nuns' gardening techniques. An absolutely beautiful book, but somewhat dangerous - I'll take a post to explain why. In the meantime you could pester your local publishing firm to make a translation, it (and her other books) is worth it.

And I've finally bought my bokashi starter set! My mother in law is kind enough to give her kids, daughters in law and grandkids a good amount of money for christmas. My share was quickly sent to the swedish bokashi seller. The receit was sent by email, and included the line
"Are you the one who writes Parkettodlaren (Indoor Gardener's swedish motherblog)?"
which made me feel like a celebrity for a few minutes. I picked up the parcel yesterday, and now have both worms and microbes eating our leftovers.

***

Since my only new years resolution was Stick to the plan I've sterilised soil today. Thus I've checked another point on the list I made before Christmas, together with the point on ordering seeds. Now I only got these left:

• Mix new potting soil (jay for home made worm fertiliser!)
  
• Repot seedlings
  
• Buy sills, consoles, lamps, chains and flourescent lights
  
• Paint sills
  
• Put up sills and added light
  
• Move the mound of pallets under the window in the study
  
• Put the potted plants in their new places
  

My goals for 2009

I found the blog A posse ad esse during the holidays and was impressed by one of the blogposts. Not only did Paul Gardener list a bunch of goals in the beginning of 2008, he showed us the results in the end of the year. I've never been a person of New Years Resolutions (the are too much of New Year Wishes), but a list of goals where you can track success or failure - now that speaks to my inner project manager. Thus I'm making a similar list for 2009 - and I'm even including a new years resolution (consider this an unique event).

My New Years Resolution for 2009 is to

stick to the plan

I've never done that before, so this will be an interesting experience - and I'm counting of a two month learing period.

And my goals for 2009 are

• To fully furnish two more 'cultivation windows'
  
• Build nine raised beds on my allotment gardens
  
• Clear and put up wallpapers in my study
  
• Put up a living wall in my study using aquaponics
  

This should be doable, even if some of the projects lags in time (anyone else hearing drums of fate with this sentence?). And last, but not least, a classic:

2009 I'll loose weight; five kilos for every tenth week during the year. Since I start at 87,5 kilos (192.9lb) we can deduce that I should weigh 62,5 (137.8lb) the 23rd of December, and that the first milestone is the 18th of March. Keep your fingers crossed; I dearly need to loose those twentyfive kilos (55lb).

Now, if you'll excuse me I'm off to play with my new bokashi bins. Thanks, dear mother in law!

To do list: study ecological farming and feed the worms

Yupp, I'm keeping the schedule! Yesterday I studied ecological farming...

erm...

...in reality I read a few pages every day, so you'll have to wait a bit for my Big and Learned Post on the subject. Untill then I can say that it's interesting to read about something in quite another size than my own fiddlings.

Today I fed the worms. That was something that took me a looooooong time to do. I was expecting odour, but when I finally came around to do it I did it so fast that the smell couldn't keep up. Self-preservation is a good thing.

Before I emptied the can of food into the compost I poured out the worm fluid. About three deciliter (more than a cup) of prime black water to feed to the plants. When I watched the level rise in the bottle I realised that I've reach a milestone, one of those I've waited for

I'm now selfsuficiant in fertiliser

The vermicomposts did the trick. When I came around setting them up the rest was a matter of weeks. Still I think a celebratory woho is in place. Wohoo!

So, this is what's left on the list

• Sterilise soil
  
• Mix new potting soil (jay for home made worm fertiliser!)
  
• Repot seedlings
  
• Buy sills, consoles, lamps, chains and flourescent lights
  
• Paint sills
  
• Put up sills and added light
  
• Move the mound of pallets under the window in the study
  
• Put the potted plants in their new places
  
• Order seeds
  

Will I keep the pace? Let's see...

To do list

My lungs used their veto today, I need to take it easy. Instead of repotting my seedlings I'll make a to do list for slow execution - else nothing will be done in this household.

To do

• Sterilise soil
  
• Feed the worms (the tin can is full again)
  
• Mix new potting soil (jay for home made worm fertiliser!)
  
• Repot seedlings
  
• Buy sills, consoles, lamps, chains and flourescent lights
  
• Paint sills
  
• Put up sills and added light
  
• Move the mound of pallets under the window in the study
  
• Put the potted plants in their new places
  
• Order seeds
  
• Study ecological farming
  

I should be able to do one thing per day. Stay tuned to see if I succeed! :)

The Return of the Indoor Gardener

You may wonder what I've done these weeks. I've been thinking mostly, I needed that. Unfortunately one of the weeks was claimed buy norovirus, so I had to postpone the gifts I planned for you. Right now I blogging at my favourite café while trying not to think on what a kliché I am. They got plastic plants, I'll spare you a picture. 'Even a whiltered plant is better than a flourishing plastic flower' to travesty the old indoeuropeans.

I've several plans for the blog. Coming next is my sowing round for Christmas. I'm dreaming of freshly picked tomatoes and green leaves on the christmas table. The next post will be a picture reportage from this event to give you deep insights in these (rather shallow) mysteries. I hope to make more informative posts like that. Another plan is to try out more plants and methods to get higher yields. If I ever build those seedling benches is another question, perhaps some things are better left as they are.

Having said that I wish a Happy Diwali to all who celebrates!



* The original saying goes something like "Even a thin horse is better than a wellfed ass." (I'm translating classical sanskrit via swedish.)

Another way to gain time

Yesterday I quit a job. One job. For a while I've had two jobs and a company to care for beside the family. I'm probably not the only one who finds this a tad much, and you may have noticed that I've updated Indoor Gardener irregularly in the meantime. But it's been a good job; it provided me with a steady income (albeit a small one), lots of scrap paper and all those packingstraps I'm now turning into baskets and spare parts for my vermicomposting system, so I can't complain.

Now I'm looking forward to spend more time with my plants. Bliss!