Bathtub Celery

My fiance and I have been chompin' at the bit to do some gardening in the new plot. But since we currently haven't built any coldboxes and only a week and a half until Christmas, our options are a bit limited. However with a little research and ingenuity, there are some options for indoor gardening to get you through the winter, no matter the season or location.

On Thanksgiving day, we, like most Americans, were cooking up the holiday meal for family who were coming for dinner. Mitsy, my fiance, was making her delectable stuffing, which of course includes celery. Having cut off the main stalks, we were left with the bottom core of the bunch of celery we had purchased. This was promptly set on the counter to await further usage.

About three days later, the core was looking a little wilty, so Mitsy grabbed a stray pot that had been sitting out in the front flower bed and filled it with dirt from said bed. Digging a hole in the dirt in the center of the pot, she covered it with some additional dirt, watered it down and set it in the bathtub in our spare bathroom.

The spare bathroom is in need of some renovations and plumbing updates, so we don't use that tub/shower. There is a window just above the tub however, that lets in a lot of nice afternoon sunlight and keeps the temperature fairly warm, even when the heat is turned down in the house. Its almost like our own little green house, at least as temperature is concerned.

Within a few days we had a couple of sprouts pop up through the soil, and now just three weeks later we have the small stalks growing as you see in the picture.

Our next goal is to try garlic, along with a mixed array of herb seeds that I just ordered in various pots including cilantro, chives, and I think oregano, basil and lavender, although I'm not positive of the total mix since they haven't arrived in the mail as yet. I think these will keep us busy until we can start the spring seedlings for our garden plot. Stay tuned for more updates........