Growing Salad Greens Indoors: How To Grow Greens All Winter

Growing your food changes something in you. I won't describe in detail all the various feelings or emotions it brings to mind. But satisfaction, thankfulness, and peace are at the top of the list.

For most of my life, a big part has wished I could have been a farmer. I admire the hard work, dedication, and loyalty to the land and family that I've witnessed; a pride, but usually a very humble pride. My wife and I plant a sizeable annual vegetable garden, about 3000 square feet. We are small farmers. (I guess)

My Dad (Marvin) worked in agriculture as a seedsman for most of his life. The grain crops he worked with were grown to provide certified seeds that other farmers could purchase in the spring for their planting season. I never saw my Dad happier than when harvest time came around each year.

As a boy, I remember being with him in the grain elevators in the winter months when the seed-cleaning process was happening. This work was a happy time for him, too. It was fascinating to watch large screens and sifters shake the grain across their platform as fans removed the chaff and weed seeds. The moving gears and fans were deafening.

I thought the massive building where he worked was called a grain elevator because it had an actual elevator. But it was named because the grain would be elevated to a higher level so it could move by gravity into the cleaning stations and eventually into the storage bins ready for sale.

A younger man, Dave, took over for Dad when he retired. It was a bittersweet time, I'm sure. I think Dad enjoyed being able to troubleshoot problems at the elevator when he was called for help after he retired.

At my Dad's gravesite, Dave is one of the main things I remember about that saddest day. He came to console me after the coffin had been lowered into its resting place. "Marv was a good man," I remember him saying. I wish he knew how much I appreciated that moment. It filled me with pride, a humble pride.

It's funny how growing a few lettuce seeds in the winter can restore a memory like that.

When I first started Garden Hike, I knew the hike might eventually have two meanings. Exploring gardens, of course, but "hiking" the life journey would finally show up, remembering our past, sharing our dreams, and attempting to put it into words. What's your hike?

Growing your food changes something in you.

Salad greens are a great way to eat healthily and get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals. In this video, we'll learn how to grow salad greens indoors all winter long.

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