DIY: get ready for spring

15 sky planters, ceiling-suspended indoor herb garden, Green Follower

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I know it's out there somewhere, spring that is. So to get past these warmish, but uncertainly so, days and brown earth, bare tree vistas, let's look forward to spring and summer. What better way to do it than plan your garden and plant the starts.

Even if you don't have the land for a garden, you can put together an herb garden on your deck or porch. If even that is not available, how about a kitchen herb garden (this one's year-round). For planting outside one of the most important things is to know your zone. Orchids in the great Alaskan outdoors don't quite work. Even basil, usually planted from seed outdoors, doesn't do well here if not started indoors or in a greenhouse (if you're lucky enough to have one).

This collection of webpages on starting seeds indoors will get you going: Burpee, the seed seller (your seeds don't have to be only vegetables); Organic Gardening; and Popular Mechanics. Martha Stewart has an excellent photo essay on herb basics that includes the requirements for growing plants of all kinds.

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Herb Basic, Martha Stewart

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If you decide that a kitchen garden best suits your needs, there are many options, some quite expensive. For simple container solutions, take a look at the selection offered by Green Follower. Organic Gardening has a list of the "10 Best Herbs for Indoors." One of my favorites is parsley--it's pretty and nothing beats fresh parsley when cooking. Five garden kits are reviewed at About > Indoor Gardening. At Urban Gardens you can find an article on 6 Types of Hydroponic Gardening Systems and Countertop Planters, plus some historical information. And don't forget to check out 'indoor herb garden kits' at Amazon.

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parsley, Organic Gardening

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Getting your hands dirty can be a good thing.

-- Marge