The New Kitchen Garden

Happy New Year! I hope that you are looking forward to good things. I always believe the best is yet to come. If nothing else, let's resolve to be hopeful. 

I really like getting to experience all four distinct seasons every year in Colorado. In winter, it snows and it feels like winter. We were extra lucky this year an it snowed like crazy all day on Christmas day. So pretty. But in the middle of all that sparkly white, I really miss my garden. So this year at the end of the growing season, before the first bad frost, we decided to set up a little indoor garden to keep us going through the winter. I set up this little cart with just a few pots and it just makes the house feel like the garden is continuing to grow. If you don't have a cart or side table, you could take the back off a cheap book shelf to make an open shelving area for plants. Our kitchen has an east-facing glass door, so it gets a good amount of morning sun. We brought in our stevia and swiss chard pots and started baby lettuce in the window box. Thing Two calls stevia "the candy plant" and is constantly sneaking a leaf to just chew on. It's kind of a miracle there are any leaves left, but the plant is taller than he is, so you can pretty much measure his reach by where the leaves are still growing. Like the trees that surround giraffes at the zoo. : ) 

After we get used to eating something fresh from the garden every day for months, we especially miss the super fresh homegrown produce. It's a small thing, but the swiss chard has done awesome inside. We cut some leaves about once or twice a week and add fresh greens to our omelets or salads. Swiss chard is the perfect thing to bring in because it doesn't need to be pollinated and it's ever-bearing. 

This has been a great set up. Its not so big that it takes over the kitchen, but still feels fresh and gardeny. I might add a couple small pots of herbs like mint and basil. Next year I will bring in a few more things so I won't have to start anything from seeds, and we can just enjoy the constant harvest. I think it's important not to overcrowd the cart though because the open and airy feel is what makes it feel fresh and serene. I hope that you are enjoying the promise of new growth somewhere in your life. 

You are loved!