Hello from Idaho

[Aos si]

Greetings! I am an ecology student in Idaho, and a big fan of Self Sufficient Me. I never knew that there was a forum, until I took some time to read the website. I'm currently in my senior year of undergrad at the University of Idaho, and will be pursuing graduate education in Restoration Ecology after that, with a focus on aquatic and riparian vegetation.

Gardening has a very long history in my family. My grandmother had an extensive garden on a half acre parcel in Montana before she passed, but the legacy of her passion has been passed down through the generations. My father is an avid gardener in southern California, where the growing season starts in late January and extends right up to Thanksgiving, if you cover the plants at night. My brother has an extensive garden in the same area, where he grows tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and a few fruit trees and berry bushes.

As for me, I live in a small apartment with no yard to speak of, but I make due. I currently have an indoor growing area where I grow dwarf tomato plants, a variety of peppers, strawberries, herbs, and a couple of recently sprouted avocado trees.

I'm looking forward to engaging with this community and learned from the experience of others. Hopefully someone can learn from my experiences in indoor soil gardening as well, though my setup is very DIY and experimental in nature.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Welcome to the forum @Aos si !
Those are some very interesting studies. I had to google what riparian means, very nice.

I think it's lovely when a passion gets passed down generations, especially something this beneficial. I live with my granddad-in-law and I started gardening after I learned that he used to work in the botanic gardens. Slowly he's picked up on it too and now has 2 decorative plants and a little tree of his own again. I've found that it was so beneficial to his mental health, even if I do 90% of the care to his plants.
And nothing beats the quality of your own fresh produce

That sounds pretty amazing! Especially if you have such a small space. And every little bit helps. Do you grow anything outdoors, or does everything grow indoors? I would love to see your setup, if you are comfortable with that

Feel free to ask any questions you have!

 

[daveb]

welcome to group pull up a chair and plant your feet and plant feet and have fun

 

[Aos si]

Thank you everyone! I'd love to share pictures of my setup. I'm not a particularly tech oriented person, but once I get the lay of the land and figure out how to use this website I'll share some pictures of the various stages my garden has gone through.

Everything grows in doors. My apartment building has a parking lot and that's about it. My neighbors upstairs have a balcony that they do a little bit of growing on during the summer, but I have a shaded porch. Not even my windows get direct sunlight most of the year.

 

[daveb]

Thank you everyone! I'd love to share pictures of my setup. I'm not a particularly tech oriented person, but once I get the lay of the land and figure out how to use this website I'll share some pictures of the various stages my garden has gone through.

Everything grows in doors. My apartment building has a parking lot and that's about it. My neighbors upstairs have a balcony that they do a little bit of growing on during the summer, but I have a shaded porch. Not even my windows get direct sunlight most of the year.

browse the various topic areas, there are numerous that share their set ups , gardens , and knowledge. and a very wide selection of what is grown. and at top is an bar with numerous option , make sure to look at some posts in articles there is a wealth of info.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

No worries! Any and all questions are welcome, even if they are on how to use this forum

Sounds like a fair challenge. I definitely recommend you check out @daveb 's "hydropnics starter plants 1 week later". You can see his indoor successes with hydroponics.

I personally have some plants growing indoor as well, though admittedly they are mostly decorative. And I sometimes like starting seeds in the windowsill as I tend to check on them more frequently there. I may have a plastic greenhouse outside full of dead seedling because I forgot to water those... oops.
I did find that I have to water my plants less indoors. I even bought a soil moisture meter just so I could get a hang of it. Especially handy for pots too small to really do the finger trick without damaging all the roots. And my plants do sometimes show struggle that they are not getting enough light, so perhaps I should invest in some grow lights