By Victoria Smith
Happy New Year, gardening friends! We’re barely a week into winter, and many of us are more ready for a long winter nap than a fresh start in the garden. After the recent storms and the whirlwind holidays, it’s time to take a break and catch our collective breath and spend some peaceful time indoors.
The diehard gardeners – and you know who you are – are getting restless and looking for something to do. Some of us are counting the days and weeks until we can set up the grow lights we stashed under the bed in June, hoping to get an early start on next summer’s garden. With a few exceptions, it’s too early for starting seedlings indoors. Your baby plants will grow tall and leggy and need to be repotted several times before they can be moved outside, after which they will often perform poorly. Put that plan on hold for now and consider other ways to soothe your gardening soul.
If you can’t resist the urge to grow something – pretty much anything – to brighten up your January home, there are many options. Most grocery stores have potted herbs including parsley, basil, thyme, chives, and rosemary. Grow them near a kitchen window, group them on a tray in the living room, or use them as a centerpiece on your dinner table.
Do you want flowers as well as foliage? Consider African violets, orchids, peace lilies, anthuriums and Christmas cactus. If you like vining or hanging greenery, try pothos and spider plants.
Indoor plants generally require less water during the winter than at other times of year, due to shorter day length, lower light levels and cooler outdoor temperatures (yes, our indoor plants know it’s cold outside). Most plants grow more slowly and need less frequent feeding at this time of year. If you treated your plants to fresh potting soil in the fall, they won’t need feeding for 3 to 4 months.
Winter heated homes may cause plants to wilt more easily due to drier-than-normal air. If wilting is an issue, your plants may need more humidity but not more frequent watering.
To increase humidity, add pebbles or marbles to the saucer or bowl beneath your plants and then add half an inch of water. Don’t let the pots sit directly in standing water, which can cause the roots to rot and damage or kill the plant. Change the water and rinse the pebbles and container twice a week and be on the lookout for soil gnats and other insects in search of water.
Cacti are a great indoor plant at any time of year. They’re inexpensive and are widely available in two-, three- and four-inch pots. Display them in their original pots, alone or in groups, or plant several together in a shallow bowl or terrarium. Cacti need bright light and good air circulation, require very little water, and do best in cactus mix potting soil.
Would you like the satisfaction of growing something from scratch? Cut a sweet potato or yam in half crosswise, stick 3 or 4 toothpicks into each half about an inch below the cut, and perch them on a glass of water filled nearly to the rim. They’ll quickly grow roots, followed by shoots that will grow into a nice trailing vine. Avocado pits supported by toothpicks can also be sprouted in water; they become baby trees rather than a vine. Children love watching plants grow in water, especially in a clear glass so they can see the roots.
Speaking of kids and grandkids, how about doing some fruit-and-vegetable printing on an indoor day? You’ll need one or more types of fruits and veggies, such as potatoes, apples, oranges or other citrus, plus inexpensive water based acrylic craft paint (try the dollar store), and printer paper or construction paper. If you’re reading this before Christmas, your littles can make their own wrapping paper for gifts or decorate holiday cards for friends and family.
For detailed instructions – super simple, I promise – search online for Potato Printing for Kids and Apple Printing. Once you have the supplies, there are year-round seasonal and holiday printing activities to keep the front of your refrigerator filled with colorful art.
If you’re ever looking for fun arts and crafts activities for your kiddos, find me at Senior Lunch and ask for ideas. I’m a retired kindergarten/first grade teacher and reading specialist with many years of experience, including training teachers in the U.S. and Canada, designing classroom curriculum and instructional resources, and writing books for beginning readers.
I’m a treasure trove of ideas for multi-age multi-level projects and activities that integrate art and social skills with reading, writing, math, science and social studies relating to just about any instructional theme you can think of.
Be sure to bring your garden questions as well.
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