Originally published August 4 2005
Home gardener tells how to make winter container garden
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
When Charles G. Loeb Jr. got "bitten by the green thumb bug" he didn't want weather to stand in the way of his newfound passion, so in a Mother Earth News article, he reveals his methods for growing a little garden in containers to bring his garden inside when frost threatens.
Yet I've just picked some fresh Swiss chard for tonight's dinner!
In another day or so, I'll gather some kale.
I harvested tender, green broccoli a week ago, and-a few days before that-picked brussels sprouts.
I start them in late summer, let them reach maturity outdoors, then bring them inside when frost threatens.
After the first hard frosts, I moved the remaining few containers of kale to the attic.
I didn't really expect the plants to survive, because the single, east-facing window there receives only three to four hours of sunlight (when there is any) during the short days of fall and winter.
They seemed to almost spread their leaves to the cool late-winter sunshine and, in early April, yielded a bumper crop of greens.
With that experience behind me, I decidedin the spring of 1983-to plant enough containers to provide my family with fresh vegetables at least once a week through the cold months and early spring.
Although I concentrated on crops that would grow back after harvesting (chard, kale, and broccoli), I also planted brussels sprouts and cabbage (which store well) and two varieties of lettuce.
The 30 regular kale plants and the five of the flowering types (which are as tasty and more colorful than the standard kind) also produced weekly harvests right up until I was able to pick outdoor crops in the early spring.
The three cabbage plants weren't expected to grow inside, and they didn't.
In the course of my experiments with winter container gardening, I've picked up some general knowledge that I would like to pass on.
Pots: Almost anything will do, from plastic milk containers to redwood planters, as long as they're big enough and have drainage holes in the bottom.
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