At the end of March, we wrote about re-purposing an old storage bin and using it for a windowsill greenhouse inside our home. As we begin planting outside, it is amazing to see how our plants fared in the window over the last six weeks.
We ended up with seven strong and healthy potato plants out of the nine potato scraps we planted. We later added peas from sprouted peas that fell in the bin while draining water from them. We also added some sprouting organic garlic cloves we bought at the store. You can see the peas climbing over the edge and reaching for more sunlight. The garlic is a bit slower and has not reached the lip of the container.
About two weeks ago we added some beet scraps and the greens are starting to grow as well. The challenge is ensuring that the potatoes don't block out all the light. We keep rotating the bin but the potatoes keep leaning toward the light. It might be time to bring the windowsill greenhouse outside.
Considering the food in this bin was grown primarily from scraps that would have gone in the compost heap, we are thrilled with the results. And unless we had a heated greenhouse outside, there would not be any way we would have potatoes this far along in our northern climate.
I can't wait to try our windowsill harvest!
Curtis