Indoor Citrus Trees

Every article and blog I've read about growing citrus trees suggests bringing them indoors for the winter if you live in the north. In my mind, I think of giving them a summer vacation outdoors. For nine months of the year, my citrus trees live inside my house. So far, this project has been only moderately successful.

Almost two years ago, I purchased three citrus trees (Dwarf Venous Orange, Dwarf Key Lime, Dwarf Meyer Lemon). The lemon tree had flowers on it, which indeed produced two lovely fruits. Since then, the trees not been able to produce any other fruit or flowers. Recently, I've learned a few things that I hope will help my citrus trees thrive. 

1. Don't over react to all the caution about watering lightly. In my case, I suspect I was under-watering for too long. Terracotta pots are best because they breathe, which reduces the possibility of over-watering. Water generously and then empty the drip trays after the excess drains. 

2. Use a special citrus fertilizer. Citrus trees tend to suffer chlorosis. The fertilizer I use is Jack's Classic Citrus FeED. 

3. Although my plants are near a window, I can hardly count on Mother Nature to provide enough light. Plant grow bulbs are plentiful---incandescent, compact florescent, LED, red and blue spectrum, and much more. Supplemental lighting is essential. My trees get about 12-16 hours of light per day. 

4. My house is cool, usually around 60 degrees or even a little less where the citrus trees are located. I suspect that my trees would like it a pinch warmer. I've recently placed them on seedling heat mats to keep their roots warm. 

5. Don't bother growing trees from seeds saved from a piece of fruit at the grocery store. They're easy to germinate and grow, but you have a 50/50 chance of growing something wildly sour and icky. 

6. Humidity is important to citrus. If you don't have a humidifier on your furnace, mist the trees frequently or build a humidity tray.

Good luck! If you have tips to share, please comment--I'd love to hear from you! 

Difficult Seed Germination

This morning I placed three jelly jars into my refrigerator. Usually my canning jars contain homemade jam, jelly, or even pesto. But this morning my jars contain a mixture of compost and seeds. Don't worry---I labeled carefully!

Some seeds are notoriously difficult to germinate and require extra care. For example, basil and parsley require long germination times and warm root zones. I generally start to germinate them around Christmas for planting in the spring.

Today's project involves lavender, purple coneflower, and purple prairie clover---all attractive to native pollinators. These three seed varieties require a period of cold prior to germination. I could place them in the ground outside and wait for winter to do its work, but since these varieties are fussy, I decided to germinate them indoors. The seeds will "winter" in the refrigerator for a month or so. Then I'll place the soil-and-seed mixture into small pots where they will germinate under lights and be warmed by a seedling mat beneath their roots. Hopefully, all this tender loving care will produce a few viable plants.

What else is in my fridge? Mason bees. Yup. They live there all winter. But that's another blog post for another day. Cheers!

Indoor Citrus

Mid-winter in Wisconsin can be dreary. As an urban farmer, I spend my winter perusing seed catalogs, planning next summer's veggie beds, mapping out crop rotation, and baking lots of pies and tarts with last summer's fruit harvest. 

Last winter I began indoor citrus. I purchased a bag of Meyer lemons from Trader Joe's in January 2015 and saved all the seeds from the lemons. (I also bought a bag of organic limes, only to discover they were seedless. Buyer beware!) I germinated the seeds in a small plastic bag with damp paper towels. It was easy. Then I transplanted the little seedlings into light soil and watched them take off.

To add variety to my indoor citrus grove, I purchased four trees from an online vendor---a Meyer Lemon, a Venous Orange, a Key Lime and a Mediterranean Olive tree. These trees were more mature than the seedlings I had started myself. The Meyer Lemon produced two blossoms and eventually two beautiful lemons. One of them we harvested over the weekend, which you see in the photo at the top of this blog post.

All the citrus seedlings grew rapidly over the summer. In November I transplanted them into slightly larger pots. It's been a challenging winter for my citrus trees. They have dropped nearly all their leaves and generally expressed their displeasure at my care. Nevertheless, these sturdy trees are producing tiny new shoots and leaves where the old ones fell off.

Watering citrus trees is tricky. They prefer dry soil, but not parched. It's taken me months of guessing to ascertain if I'm over- or under-watering. Finally, I purchased a moisture meter with a long probe to help me determine when to water.

This isn't an instant gratification project, but one taste of that sweet lemon juice (yes, Meyer Lemons are sweet, not sour) has motivated me to keep my citrus grove growing. It gives me hope in the winter months.

Growing Shallots

Shallots have never been a part of my menu planning. I've heard of them, especially when watching cooking shows on television. But they are difficult to find in the grocery store and quite expensive for something described as a "mild onion." Just use a little onion or scallion, right?

In December I decided to educate myself about shallots so I added them to this year's garden plan. I chose Zebrune shallot seeds from Seed Savers Exchange. Zebrune shallots are a heritage variety from France. It's called a banana shallot because of its long shape. The bulbs are pinkish-brown and store well.

Just after the new year, I sprinkled shallot seeds in four inch pots and placed them under lights in the basement. Each time their green tops grew a few inches tall and began to flop over, I would give them a little haircut. In early May, I gently teased the little bunches apart and planted them individually in a raised bed outdoors. They grew tall and strong and without drama. Last week I harvested them and placed them in the sun to dry.

Truth be told, I can't quite figure out why this is a big deal. Shallots grow every bit as easily as onions and scallions. The bunnies and chipmunks leave them alone and they don't require any attention at all. It's a no brainer. If you haven't tried growing your own shallots, I recommend adding this to next year's wish list.

Hooped Raised Beds

Last fall, this covered raised bed grew spinach, Swiss chard, arugula and kale, which we harvested by Thanksgiving. After harvest, we decided to retain the hooped cover over the winter months so that (theoretically) we could access this bed in early spring. Since then, Old Man Winter has completed buried the whole thing until this weekend, when my boys shoveled out the excess snow and tossed it downhill. We hope the sun will warm the raised bed in the next few weeks to allow planting of early spring greens. Meanwhile, I'm sowing seeds--indoors, of course--in 4" containers for transplant when the weather allows, perhaps late March or early April.

Gardening under snow? Well, maybe.....

Homemade Potting Soil Mix

It's nearly time to start sowing seeds for your spring gardens. Of course you can buy commercial potting soil mixes, but read the label carefully. Do you want chemically enhanced soil? Watch for Miracle Grow and other "helpful" additives.

Mixing potting soil at home is easy and economical. It takes a few basic ingredients and a dish pan to mix it in. I usually start with compost from my bins, but alas, it's frozen solid. Instead, I purchased a 40 lb bag of ordinary potting soil without any additives. This should cost about $5.

For my seed starting mix, I use equal parts of soil, peat moss and horticultural vermiculite. This mix is light enough for seeds to germinate. If I need to transplant healthy seedlings into larger containers, my transplant mix contains equal parts of soil, peat moss and Turface for drainage.

If you can afford it, choose coir rather than peat moss because coir is far more sustainable than raiding the peat bogs. Horticultural vermiculite is available at garden centers. I buy it in super large bags, but it's also available in smaller amounts.

Turface is tiny bits of clay used for drainage on golf courses and athletic fields. It's sold at landscape suppliers for about $12 per 40 lb bag. (I learned about Turface from the bonsai community.)  If you can't find Turface, you can substitute chicken grit for drainage, which is easily available at farm stores. The baby grit is quite fine and can get dusty; granny grit is slightly larger. Caution: even a small bag of grit is very heavy.

Now go play in the dirt!

Lighted Plant Stands

A corner of my music room has been designated as indoor greenhouse. I nuture my tropical bonsai trees here all winter, but recently I've begun seeding for spring crops. The shelving unit (above left) is commercially designed with three shelves and adjustable lights so I can lower the lights over new seedlings. I have wrapped the unit with reflective bubble insulation to keep out drafts and hold in a little heat.

My second shelving unit is a cheap wooden unit from the home supply store. We upgraded the lighting a year ago to Flouro-Wing grow lights. These units are so bright that I shelter the room from the light with a room-dividing screen. Yes, I think the upgraded lights are more effective than regular shop lamps, but any light works so don't let this limit your gardening goals. I've wrapped this unit with insulation, too.

My onion and scallion seedlings are up but struggling. I've just sowed seeds for basil, parsley, spinach, kale, shallots, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and Swiss chard. 

And now I can hear the chickens squawking. Off I go......

Nifty Carrot Trick

When I mentioned to friends that I had started carrots by seed indoors, they laughed out loud. Why would anybody start carrots indoors? How absurd!

In her book The Zero-Mile Diet, organic gardener Carolyn Herriot describes something she calls her "Nifty Carrot Trick." She recommends starting carrots indoors in four-inch pots. When the sprouts reach four inches tall and the weather allows, she moves them outside to garden beds. Later, these carrots can be harvested in bunches rather than single rows.

I thought this technique was worth a try. After all, when I've sowed carrot and beet seeds outdoors in previous seasons, the critters manage to nibble off the tops just as they sprout. So in early February, I located old bonsai pots about four inches tall. I planted two pots with carrot seeds, another with beets, and a fourth with onion seeds. All sprouted nicely indoors. A couple weeks ago I moved the pots to the greenhouse, and then transplanted them in blocks to a raised garden bed. I'm pleased to have carrots and beets in the ground -- and it's only mid-March! It feels good to get an early start on the crops.

By the way, Carolyn Herriot lives and gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. Although some of her information is specific to the Pacific northwest, I enjoy this book enough that I purchased it for my own library. I especially appreciate her simple organic techniques. Check this book out at your library and see for yourself.

Seedling Soil Mixture

We're off to a good start. So far this year we've planned the gardens (Jan. 26 blog), researched seed purchases (Jan. 27 blog), warmed up our seedling heat mat (Feb. 1 blog) and assembled our lighted plant stands (Feb. 14 blog).

Today let's think about creating a soil mixture suitable for planting seeds. It's much cheaper to make your own soil mixture rather than buy bags prepared at the garden center. At Red Bucket Farm, our approach is simple. We create a soil light enough for seeds to emerge using compost, peat moss, and perlite or vermiculite.

If you haven't started composting yet, you can purchase finished compost at any garden store. But remember that you can begin composting in the winter by mixing a combination of green and brown ingredients in a plastic tub in your basement or garage. (See my May 6, 2011 blog post for more details on composting.)

For many years I've purchased peat moss from the garden center. Recently, though, I've become concerned about depleting our peat bogs. Coir--coconut husk fiber and peat--is a more readily renewable option. It's sold in dense blocks and requires simple hydration. Perlite and vermiculite are also available at garden centers.

Using a hand scoop, dump approximately equal amounts of compost, peat/coir and vermiculite/perlite into a bucket and stir, keeping the mixture light and loose. Distribute seeds over the soil mixture and stir very gently to just barely cover the seeds with soil. Then mist with water from a spray bottle, and/or water from beneath using a drip tray. It's important to keep the seeds moist enough to germinate but not soggy enough to rot. I check my seeds twice a day to maintain proper moisture levels. It's not difficult, but you must be attentive.

The snow is melting and spring is approaching. It's not too late to start your seeds indoors---vegetables, herbs and flowers all benefit from an early start. What are you planting?

Lighted Plant Stands

'Tis the season, folks. It's time to get those seedlings started. I could remind you of how much money you'll save by starting your own plants by seed, and how many more varieties are available by seed than the little transplants at your garden center in the spring. But you already know all that. The biggest challenge to starting seeds indoors is getting the growing conditions right. It's all about light, temperature, soil and nutrition.

Today let's think about lighting. Perhaps your house has a lovely south-facing window with tons of good light. Lucky you! Most of us will need to use some form of artificial light, generally florescent bulbs situated within a few inches of the seedlings for 14-18 hours each day.

I'm lucky to own a commercially made lighted plant stand. I bought it years ago for my tropical bonsai trees to live on during the winter months. The cart was a little pricey, but it's positively plebeian compared with the latest gear designed for indoor gardening---metal halide or high pressure sodium lamps, reflectors, fans, pumps, and more fancy stuff than you can shake a stick at. By contrast, at Red Bucket Farm we excel in low-tech solutions.

My commercial plant cart is pictured above. It has three removable trays in fixed positions, each with a florescent light fixture above. The fixtures move up and down so I can snug them up close to my seedlings. We've retrofitted the cart with reflective insulation wrap around the side and back. We've also added some plastic poultry netting on the side to keep the cats out. The front is usually covered with 6-mil clear plastic to hold in humidity and keep out the critters. Sometimes I use a little fan to encourage air circulation. Yellow stickies help keep the gnat population under control, and the heated seedling mat is concealed beneath the new starts.

This photo shows our improvised overflow plant stand. The tropical bonsai trees will have to tolerate their new home for a couple of months until the seedlings move outside to the greenhouse. This stand is made from a cheap plastic 4-shelf unit purchased at the home supply store. We bought this for the greenhouse, and use it as two 2-shelf units which fit beneath the knee walls of the greenhouse. Indoors, it has become a lighted stand with the addition of some pvc pipe, a few elbows and T-joints, and a shop light fixture. We didn't glue the joints so it will be easy to disassemble and store. This kind of flexibility is an advantage as the seedlings grow and move outdoors. In a few months, all the plants will be outside and both lighted carts will be cleaned and disassembled. If you haven't the space for a plant stand, you could make a tabletop fixture just large enough to elevate one shop lamp over your seedlings.

However you choose to illuminate your seedlings, the time to start is soon. Good luck!