Lipsticks & Lavender - DIY, HOMESTEADING & SUSTAINABLE LIVING

How To Start green pepper seeds indoors

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Lipsticks & Lavender

If you are anything like me, then you go through a TON of green peppers! Learn how to grow your own green peppers from seed so that you always have plenty on hand for your culinary needs.

Green peppers are in my top 5 of most used vegetables. I use them fresh in salads and for veggie platters and charcuterie boards. I also use them , along with onions and mushroom as the holy trio to any stir fry.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that this site utilizes affiliate links. All this means is that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This past summer, I also started making my own sauces and salsa and will be adding canned soup to the mix as soon as I can get myself a pressure canner. With that being said , this year we really need to increase our harvest for peppers and tomatoes because this girl needs to preserve her own food!

Growing your own food lends to a more sustainable lifestyle, as well as cuts out all of those nasty, harsh chemicals going in to your body! Watch the video below to see how we got our first seeds started indoors with a mix of pepper seeds.

Turn Store Bought Peppers Into New Pepper Plants

We buy seeds from a number of different places and love to harvest seeds from the produce we buy from the local Mennonite farm because we know that they are organic.

If you are looking for indoor growing tents and indoor growing supplies, we recommend Growers House , Etsy & Amazon and to buy local when you can.

If you have been wanting to learn how to grow bell peppers from seeds , now is the perfect time for you to start your seeds indoors and start growing your own groceries!

Green peppers also do really well in indoor grow tents, so you can grow peppers all year long!

Once you have your own steady supply of organic green peppers, you can also dehydrate them and toss them in your Ninja Blender or Vitamix to make your own green pepper powder. Mix it with other dehydrated vegetables to make your own powdered vegetable mix.

What is your favorite thing to do with peppers?

HOW TO MAKE BANANA PEEL POWDER PLUS ORGANIC COMPOST TEA RECIPE

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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Like all plants that have been processed or decomposed they leave behind plant available micro and macro nutrients, with bananas it’s phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium, magnesium and other trace elements. However, bananas are not a great source of nitrogen (N), Nitrogen is needed in the early stages of plant growth and is responsible for the leafy green growth. That means bananas are not the only thing you should feed your plant. With that said why are bananas so good for your plants and soil life?

Disclaimer: Please be advised that this site utilizes affiliate links. All this means is that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This allows me to keep creating and bring you content!

Using something like a banana tea, in your flowering and budding stages, supports the development of growing fruit or buds. The nutrients and minerals mentioned above are to thank for this growth, as it is readily available for the plant to uptake when its needed.

Since bananas are high in potassium it can be used to take clones, acting as a rooting hormone. You can also use dried banana powder at the seedling and transplanting stages. For seedlings, put a small amount in the soil mix and at transplant , put a dusting in the bottom of the hole. This can help with root vigor due to the potassium. It can also start your seedlings off with strengthened cell walls from an early age.

(P) Phosphorus is vital in plant growth and can be found in ever plant. It plays a number of roles in the function of a healthy plant. Starting with photosynthesis, the transfer of sugars and starches, and helping move nutrient through out the plant. It is even linked to transferring the genetics between generations. Phosphorus is also, what is known to feed the roots during the flowering/budding stages. Meaning it is what aids in the development of fruit, vegetable, and flowers. This is a big reason more growers are using it in their gardens or grow rooms during flower.

(K) Potassium is known for its over all effects to the plants health. It is know for its ability to move water, nutrients, and carbohydrates throughout the plant. It’s involved with enzyme activation within the plant, which affects protein, starch and adenosine tri-phosphate production(ATP). Potassium helps in regulating the Co2 by opening and closing the stomata. This opening and closing controls the exchange of water vapor, oxygen, and carbon dioxide through transpiration. Potassium can also improve drought resistance and improve root growth. It helps in the later stages with fruit and bud development. Potassium is also used for building a plants strength by increases the plants cell wall. This creates a stronger stem, or bra

How To Make Your Own DIY Banana Fertilizer

How To Make Banana Peel Tea

Bring 3 ripe bananas peels to a boil in 1L of water. Add a tablespoon of unsulphered black strap molasses. Stir until the molasses is dissolved. Pour the mixture into storage container and allow to steep for 24-48 hours. After allowing to steep, remove the peels. The peels can still go into your worm bin or compost pile after the tea is made. Your tea is now ready to be used as is. You can choose to not boil the peels as some think it may degrade the nutrients.

Optional tea: Add molasses to 1L jar, add in some water and stir till dissolved. Next add banana and fill with filtered water till covered. Place a weight on the peels to keep them submerged. Then cover with a piece of cloth and secure with a rubber band or string. Allow the brew to ferment for 1 week.

How To Use The Banana Tea

If there is black mold it has gone bad and should be discarded. This is usually because the peel is above the water. If there is a white film it is likely ok. That is called cam yeast, a natural wild yeast. You can then strain off the peels from the liquid. You can now start using it in your garden. The peels can be composted or burred in your garden. Depending on how many bananas used and volume, you may want to dilute the mixture. For vegetate and early stages use 1/4 – 1/2 cup per gallon. For flowering stage mix 3/4 of a cup in early flower then 1 cup diluted in mid to late flower.

Slow release powder banana fertilizer

To make a banana peel dry amendment fertilizer simply dry your peels, then turn them into a powder or granule. You can do this using a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Once ground up add to your soil as a top dress, rake in or added before planting then water in.

In addition to using the banana peel as a powder you can also add in cleaned dry egg shells before grinding for extra calcium and soil aeration.

NOTE: If you are creating a larger batch and need to wait for enough banana peels, you can store banana peels in a zip lock style bag in your freezer until ready.

How to dry banana peels

Drying bananas is pretty easy. Simply lay peels on a baking sheet so they are not touching or overlapping. You can also cut the peels into strips to make this easier. This will help dry them evenly.

Place the baking sheet with peels in the oven at 140 degrees F or lower. You don’t want to burn the peels so keep an eye on them. You may have to remove them as they dry out one by one. You can leave your oven door open 1 to 2 inches to allow for excess heat to escape so they don’t burn.

If you have a dehydrator you could also use that to dry your banana peels as well. Or if it is a hot and sunny day you can set them in the sun and allow them to dry.

How To Build A Raised Garden Bed From Palettes And Other Recycled Materials – Instructional

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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This DIY Raised Garden Bed Project was pretty budget friendly as we made most of it from recycled materials.

Due to my dietary needs and the need for self isolation due to a weakened immune system, we had been wracking our brains on how to make use of our small urban yard. Here is a step by step process on how we started our urban garden.

Disclaimer: Please note that this website utilizes affiliate links to keep the lights on! All this means is that if you click on one of the links and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This us allows us to keep bringing you great content! #gratitude

Once we had an idea of what we wanted to build , the first step was sourcing wood. We did not want to invest a ton of money and we are big on recycling/upcycling where we can , so we decided to repurpose wood pallets. It took us about 2 weeks to collect enough pallets by visiting local retail stores & other local business’s that just put them at the side of the road for people to take. We wound up using approx 15 skids. (Some were not entirely usable)

HOW WE BUILT OUR RAISED GARDEN BED INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO

Stripping the pallets takes a bit of time and a little muscle but ultimately is a pretty easy task.

Use a circular saw and cut along either side of the 2X4, supports. Be careful not to cut into any nails or you will damage your blade. Metal shards can also fly off the blade causing injury. I recommend keeping any nails you pull or pop out of the pallets some where right away so there not everywhere.
Once you have the pallets broken down a quick jig stop is made with your miter saw at 16 inches. First squaring one end and then butting against the stop and cutting again. This ensures even edges when assembling.
If you know the liner distance your bed panels need to be, you can figure a rough idea of how many pallet boards you need for each side. Most of my pallet boards were 3.5 inches wide.
When disassembling the skids, choose the best full length planks of wood for the door.
Clamp the boards tight together. Using the 2X4, pallet support as a backing. Pre-drill all of your holes to keep the wood from splitting and secure them at the best determined height.
Before cutting the door blank , get some card board and cut it to fit across the door for a template.
Use an empty coffee can, plate or other round traceable object to create the moons.
Use drill to make an entry point and cut out with jig saw
The bed side panels. Using an extension ladder as a flat even surface, measure and clamp your starting board face side down. Once all 16 inch pieces are laid to length (12 ft), again using 2×4 supports from the pallets ,pre-drill and screw on as backing.
Continue this process until all sides are built making sure the top and bottom edges are flush.
To prevent your panels from rotting out faster,attach some heavy plastic to the inside of the panels.

RAISED GARDEN BED ASSEMBLY

Lay each side in place and one by one screw them together at each corner, trying to keep the structure square.
Be sure to use decking screws for this project as the will be exposed to moisture for prolonged time.
Once built measure in an X pattern from corner to corner and find square.
Again using pallet support , cut bracing to span the 3 foot wide bed to stop any bowing out due to the soil pushing out.
Go around and hammer wood stakes in to the ground and screw the bed walls to them.
This also helps to prevent any bowing or blowout from the dirt in the beds.
Take some left over fence board and rip them in half. Attach to the tops of the bed walls to help clean up the edges and to give a place to learn or kneel or sit on once gardening.

The Garden Door

Now that your raised bed is in place it is time to add the door.

Using two very clean pallets cut in half,stand them on their ends to act as a fence and solid support for your magical door to hang.
Put a door stop in place to prevent the door from closing to far and breaking your decorative hinges.
Cage in your garden with 1 inch wire mesh (or hardware cloth). **It just so happens we purchased 100 feet of chain link last summer to build a dog kennel. So naturally we had extra parts.
Placed a post in each outside corner, and one in the middle of each of them for support.
Pound the posts in to the ground, measuring off the top of the bed until they are the height of our wire mesh. Which in our case is 36 inch wide. ***We opted to have our mesh go into the raised beds a bit so our posts are set to 31 inches off the top of the bed.
Now is the last chance to check your work. If you think you might need more bracing add more. It’s better to be safe the sorry

Filling The Garden Beds With Organic Soil

This bed once built will take 4 yards of soil to fill it.

We got 4 yards of triple blend soil from a local garden Center. *** We also had some other uses for the soil, like filling all of our containers and adding some top dress to other areas, and for this reason, we used the following method:

Hugelkultur

Which in short is a form of gardening where your base layer is comprised of logs & branches.This is where the pruning of the trees on our property came in handy!

We trimmed our trees leaving anything one inch or less in diameter for our new wood chipper.

Any branches 1 inch and over were for the raised beds and placed on top of cardboard.

We also wanted to add another component of gardening called living soil. Over the last few years we have been composting our scraps. We were given a bail of straw from a family member to use as mulch.

Layer The Soil :

Cardboard helps suppress weeds, logs and branches, a layer of straw, home made compost, then about 6 to 8 inches of triple mix soil. Being mindful that we will be adding a layer of straw mulch once planted.

This isn’t a perfect living soil method but it is what we had on hand and any other soil building can be done in the future years with mulching and top dressing amendments.

Mulching The Outside

We had purchased a wood chipper from Amazon in hopes to eliminate our continued fallen branch problem every year. Also will save us money on buying mulch.

Take the grass sod off the surface and flip it upside down,continuing around the outer edges. On either side of the entrance we mounded a bit of triple mix soil, levelled it, then added our fresh mulch.

Adding The Enclosure

Take some old chain link fence posts and pound in the ground.
Attach wire mesh to the post with 18 gauge wire.
To finish off the top of the fence and to remove sharp edges, take some barn board and rip it into 2 inch strips
Attach them to the top of the posts and then staple the wire mesh to the board to tighten it up.

Time To Plant Your Organic Garden

Using the farmer’s almanac website we were able to plan out how we wanted our vegetable and fruits bushes placed on our property. It also gave a printout of for what time of year to plant each type we were planting. Great website for you to check out. They have a free trial for a week I believe.

We hope you found these instructions of value and cannot wait to hear about your gardens! Leave a comment below letting us know what you are growing this year!

Why Growing Your Own Food Is More Important Than Ever & How To Get Started

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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Food Shortages, chemically laden foods and increasing costs are just a few reasons why growing your own food is more important than ever! Even if you do not have acres of land , there are simple ways to get started living a more sustainable lifestyle and growing your own healthy food and healing herbs.

You can create your own indoor greenhouse to grow your own organic vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants.

We started an indoor salsa garden so that we can can our own chemical free salsa that is also free from processed sugar.

This content was sponsored by GrowersHouse.com This site utilizes affiliate links. All this means is that if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Self Sustainable Living Gardening Ideas

Even if you are new to gardening, it does not take much to get started slowly. Start with a few plants like in our salsa grow tent. (Use code “sustainable” for a discount ) Here are some great ideas to start with:

Tomatoes
Peppers
Basil
Jalapenos
Rosemary
Spinach
Parsley

You can easily start growing medicinal herbs on your widow sill or in hanging planters.

If you have a small yard and/ or deck you can grow your garden in containers. You would be surprised how many plants grow well in container gardens.

Grow Your Own Food

Another great option is to build a small shed to house your garden.( You can get a FREE Plan here) Adding solar panels can provide electricity for lighting and make your little garden shed self sufficient.

Regardless of which method you choose to grow your own food , just ensure that you are using good quality organic nutrients , seeds and soil. Or go soil free with a hydroponic system. ( This will be our next project)

One of the major benefits of an indoor grow tent is that you are able to grow your food all year long! There is nothing more satisfying than biting into a ripe , vine picked tomato in the middle of winter!

14 Amazing She Shed Ideas For Your Backyard

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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Create Your Own Backyard Oasis With A Zen Shed

Remember when sheds were just for storing your garden tools , lawn mowers and bikes? While they can still be used for that purpose , backyard sheds have become prettier and more purposeful. Check out these awesome she shed ideas for your backyard.

Small Sheds Become Tiny Homes

Many people today are choosing a debt free lifestyle over big homes and lots of “stuff”. This is also a great way to give your older children some space and privacy.

She Shed Ideas

You can create your shed to be anything that you want it to be. Some great uses for your backyard shed would be:

Home Office
Art Studio
Garden Shed
Guest House
Yoga Studio
Crafting Room
Herbalism Shed
Greenhouse
Library
Tea House

The possibilities truly are endless! Moms everywhere are excited by having a space of their very own. Get into your creative groove or simply just use your quiet space to read a good book and unwind.

Personally, I would love to have a mini village created with different themed tiny homes.

These little dwellings are perfect for those who run a home business. Your clients will appreciate the privacy.

I would love to know what you would use your She Shed for?

How To Build A DIY Raised Garden Bed On A Budget

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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How To Build A DIY Raised Garden Bed On A Budget

There is no better time like the present to take control of your health and your food! Before the state of emergency even began, we had started creating a little urban homestead and living more sustainably. So when the state of emergency first began, we built our own diy raised garden bed on a budget. If you are anything like us, then cutting out chemicals and being able to provide nutritious healthy food for your family is a priority! Keep reading to find out how we built an urban garden with very limited space and how we are showing people how to begin homesteading, even if you do not have acres of land.

This site utilizes affiliate links. All this means is that if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Start Growing Your Own Organic Produce

This project was something that had been discussed in the past but we always would say that this property wasn’t ideal and we would wait until we had a country property.

Due to recent circumstances, however, we decided to see what we could accomplish on our in town property. We really need to be diligent about social distancing because of my compromised immune system. I am also gluten intolerant ( it causes severe pain, inflammation and gut issues) so we need access to fresh produce. Going to the store as often as we were was no longer an option and to be completely honest , my husband now does all of the shopping to limit my exposure.

We are also big fans of upcycling and because no one was working outside of the home due to covid , we were on a pretty tight budget. ( Crazy how things change when you lose a majority of the household income in an instant!) We needed to do a lot of work to make this happen in time to be able to plant ( we were actually a little late with some of the planting but all of the plants are already flourishing.

Spread the handcrafting revolution with Grow and Make!

Our property has several massive trees on it and the years have not been kind to some of them. So we bought a pole saw and an electric mulcher to trim them up.

I would recommend however, going for an electric saw trimmer , the type that we purchased requires a lot of manual sawing and when you have bigger branches to cut can be extremely tedious work)

This allowed us to cut back some of the branches to let in more light, trim away some of the dead branches and then turn all of the cuttings in to mulch. The electric mulcher was actually fairly inexpensive and has already paid for itself. We did not have to hire anyone to come and do the trimming , we did not have to pay someone one to come pick up the debris , and we saved a ton of money on mulch by making it ourselves. I cannot even begin to tell you how satisfying that is!

During the time we were trimming away branches and making mulch, we were out daily looking for skids that were left out at the end of the road. It actually didn’t take too long for us to gather all the skids we needed to repurpose them for our beautiful new garden. The real work was done by my husband, cutting all of the skids and preparing them for the diy raised vegetable garden. ( details on the build will be posted shortly , along with a garden tour)

Almost everything used to build this garden was something we already had laying around. The only things we paid for were the dirt to fill it , screws, hardware cloth and the gate latch ( I already had the decorative bits and well , the handle is made out of a branch!) Even the stain was hand blended and is chemical free!

And of course we purchased some seeds to add to our already existing seed bank.

Having this garden will save us a lot of :

Trips to the grocery store ( time, money & potential exposure)
from chemically treated produce
over priced produce that doesn’t seem to last more than a couple of days before going bad

LEARN MORE ABOUT HERBALISM & SUSTAINABLE LIVING

This Garden will save us further money and chemical exposure by being able to preserve our own foods, dry our own herbs for herbal medicine, herbal teas, dried herbs, infused oils and so much more.

I have my first harvest of feverfew and catnip drying naturally on the garden fence.

I love to hear from other gardeners, homesteaders and herbalists! Have a recipe to share? Or perhaps a garden favorite? Leave a comment below and let me know what you are growing this year.

Stay tuned for the garden tour video ( coming soon)

Stay Safe & Have A Blessed Day!

How To Start Living A More Sustainable Lifestyle

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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If you are anything like me and are concerned about chemicals and your health , or are tired of empty shelves then maybe it is time to start thinking about how to live a more sustainable life.

What if you could be shown by others who have been successful in homestead survival and who want to share their secrets to growing a healthy organic garden , saving money by preserving your own food and just being able to provide for your family in an emergency?

This site utilizes affiliate links. All this means is that if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Has this year made you feel less secure about your food supply?

I’ve always enjoyed gardening as a way to unplug and relax. But lately, growing my own food has gone from something I enjoy to something I feel I need to do.

So I’ve been working on brushing up on some old skills and developing new ones — all to help me destress and rely less on outsourcing my food!

While this is all a big learning experience, you can avoid many mistakes by learning from someone who knows a thing or two about living sustainably. ( You can sign up for the webinar to find out 8 common mistakes gardeners make and how to fix the here)

Homesteading Tips For Beginners

Here is just a small look in to some of the things you will learn from this bundle of homesteading & gardening resources:

How To Grow Mushrooms
How To Make Money Homesteading
How To Plant A Fall Garden
How To Get Started With Worm Composting
How To Get Started Living Off The Grid
Edible Front Yard Gardens
Container Gardening For Beginners
DIY Raised Garden Beds
Canning For Beginners
Dehydrating For Beginners & more

You will gain valuable information on homesteading ideas like how to use food as medicine and start your own herbal apothecary with organic soil amendments.

Even if you are lacking space you can start high yield container gardening. There are some many things you can grow in containers. One of my very first container gardening projects was a herb garden with a variety of beneficial herbs for healthy, natural replacements for main stream medicine.

10 Vegetables You Can Grow In Containers

You can easily grow the following plants in containers:

tomatoes
peppers
potatoes
carrots
cucumbers
lettuce
carrots
beets
onions
garlic

You can easily buy the supplies you need to start your gardening and homesteading journey online.

Here are just a few places that you can shop online for supplies:

(Seeds, Nutrients, Pots, Gardening Tools , Indoor Grow Systems etc)

33 Must Have Items For Your Garden This Year

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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This site utilizes affiliate links. All this means is that if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

If you haven’t already started planning your garden and outdoor living spaces, now is the time to start! Check out these 33 Must Haves For Your Garden.

Beautiful Spiritual garden decor to create magical garden and outdoor space. You will definitely want to spend more time outside grounding in nature and creating an amazing food forest and medicinal garden.

Must Have Garden Tools For Gardeners

This gardening stool/bench is so versatile and compact!

I love how easily it goes from kneeling , with added handle bars for stability, to sitting. This makes it a lot easier on your body when you can adjust your position or sit if you need to.

I have taken a lot of garden inspiration from other bloggers who have created the perfect balance with garden design , functionality, medicinal purpose and sustainability.

Whether you are looking to create an abundant food forest, a witches garden, tea garden or medicinal garden to create your own herbal apothecary, you will want to add these items to your list.

Create Beautiful Fairy Gardens & Sacred Spaces

Fairy Gardens are such a fun diy gardening project. I created my first fairy garden a few years back after visiting some local greenhouses that had created such beautiful and magical fairy gardens in both their greenhouses and outdoors.

Beautiful Outdoor Living Spaces

A beautifully designed garden is the perfect place to meditate , work or just enjoy the day outside.

Gardening and spending time in nature is know to relieve stress and help balance your chakras.

DIY Fairy Garden Decor

Want To Know More About Buying Seeds, Trees & Shrubs?

Beautiful Solar Birdhouses & Bird Baths For Bird Watching Lover

Magical Garden Decor Statues: Gargoyles , Garden Gnomes & Other Mystical Garden Decor Ideas

Celestial Garden Stepping Stones

Create Your Own Outdoor Garden Oasis

Beautiful garden accents that are compatible with any decor style.

Add a rustic sundial , solar powered cattails or a stunning floral wind spinner reminiscent of sacred geometry to any one of your outdoor gardens to add even more visual appeal to the natural beauty of mother nature.

UP TO 65% OFF OUTDOOR LIVING SALE!

Outdoor Living Space Design Ideas

17 Edible Plants You Can Grow Indoors In The Winter

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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With the rising cost of fresh produce and the present state of the economy, growing your own food is something many people are considering. However, not everyone has the land of space for lush gardens. Here are 20 edible plants that you can grow indoors for for the winter , or any other time of the year!

This site utilizes affiliate links. All this means is that if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The Best Plants To Grow Indoors

Herbs:

Aromatic herbs are one of the easiest edible plants to grow in your indoor garden. All you really need are a couple of window sills and your imagination!

Herbs or so versatile, you can you them to stock you own herbal apothecary, a dried herb cabinet and to make medicinal tinctures as well as to season your food and canned goods.

Microgreens:

Growing Microgreens indoors is super easy , especially if you already have a bakers rack kicking around. Just install some supplemental lighting for a never ending supply of organic superfood.

Avocados:

Did you know that you could grown your own avocado tree from seed?

Avocados are high in good fats and can be used to make a number of thick, creamy recipes.

Simply poke 4 toothpicks into the the pit and set over a glass of water until the root sprouts. You can then pot your avocado seed in to a pot and watch your avacado tree grow . *** You can chop and freeze for smoothies!

Ginger:

Ginger is great for alleviating inflammation and improving circulation. Grown your own medicinal ginger plant for cooking , baking, juicing and dehydrating. Candied ginger is great for helping relieve stomach upset.

Tumeric:

Tumeric is a great plant to consider for your indoor garden. Plant this anti inflammatory plant in beautiful pots and place in front of a sunny window, sun room or under some grow lights. Tumeric makes a great plant to grow indoors as it makes a great house plant as well.

Lemon Tree:

Grow your own organic lemon tree from seed and grow year round in your indoor garden. This is a great plant to keep in a sunny kitchen window or in a greenhouse.

Scallions:

Scallions are another great thing to grow indoors and can easily be grown on a bakers rack with the correct lighting. You can create your own never ending supply and dehydrate for use in soups, dips and to make your own diy onion powder.

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes are a great indoor plant , especially if you have a sunny picture window. Imagine having access year round to juicy tomatoes , for sandwiches, salads and canning tomatoes, You can also dehydrate tomatoes and make your own tomato powder.

Garlic:

Garlic is a staple in any kitchen and it is easy to grow right on your kitchen window sill! Garlic is a great addition to your indoor garden. Garlic touts many health benefits and is the #1 flavor booster.

Potatoes:

Potatoes can easily be grown in your indoor vegetable garden. Just make sure you use a big enough container. Some ideas are potato bins, garbage bins or totes.

If you have a closed off porch or sunroom , it would do best there with some supplemental lighting.

Lettuce:

Lettuce is something that I grow on my bakers rack. We created a diy gardening rack by adding a grow light to one of the tiers of my metal bakers rack. You can also buy covers to go over these to create an indoor greenhouse.

Mixed lettuce is my favorite to plant, once it reaches about 6 inches or so you can start trimming to use it and it just keeps growing and providing a never ending supply of fresh salad greens. There are also ways for you to grow 50 plants in 4 square feet of space!

Onions:

Onions are one of the best plants to grow indoors. Again, this is something I feel would grow best in a tote or window box. Harvest your onions and freeze or dehrdrate them. Grind your dehydrated onions for a fresh and tasty diy onion powder.

Beets:

Beets are best started indoors even when planting your outdoor garden. They can also be grown indoors year round. This is another vegetable that I feel are best grown in totes, you can fit more in a tote and grow bigger beets that if using a standard pot. Beets will grow even bigger an better if grown in an indoor grow tent.

Carrots:

If you are going to grow carrots indoors, it would be best to use either a deep window planter box or a tote.

It is possibly to grow carrots in old milk cartons if you are really trying to upcycle and save money!

Tangerines:

There are several types of dwarf citrus trees that can easily be grown indoors and then later moved outside to your deck or patio.

Radishes:

Radishes are great indoor plants using window sill planters. Grow your own radishes indoors for salads or for pickled radishes all year long!

Mushrooms:

Mushrooms are a staple in many households. You can easily grow your own mushrooms in your basement or in a cupboard. Visit indoorgardennook.com for some great instructions on growing your own mushrooms indoors.

The Best Indoor Gardening Ideas!

If you have a large sunroom , large bay window or an indoor grow ten you can grow fresh produce indoors all year long.

Do you grow any of your food or medicine indoors? I would love to hear what you are growing in your indoor vegetable garden.

Upcycled DIY Succulent Chair Planter

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Lipsticks & Lavender

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If you are anything like me then you love a good gardening project! Keep reading to see how I created this upcycled DIY Succulent Chair Planter.

Disclaimer: This site utilizes affiliate links. All this means is that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This allows me to keep the website running.

I started gardening last year as a way to help with anxiety and it quickly became my favorite thing to do. We have a ton of outdoor and indoor projects planned for this year and last week we got started on some of our flower beds. While we were out at our local greenhouse, I saw the most beautiful succulent planters and it inspired me to do up this upcycled succulent chair planter.

My husband and I actually did this project last year but we had it filled with hibiscus, some geraniums and other annuals.

We had purchased a bunch of baby succulents a few months back and made up some terrariums.

DIY Succulent Chair Planter

The terrariums were only a temporary project as the succulents had been purchased to create outdoor summer projects on a budget! And while the succulent planters at the greenhouse were absolutely beautiful, I could not justify the $130 price tag. And then I remembered last years chair project and the fact that it needed something in it for this year….

The beauty of this project is technically I wasn’t out any money because I had repurposed items I already had lying around the house! The chair still had good rich soil in it from last year, so really all I did was transplant some succulents I already had grown in the house.
I keep two soils on hand, a cactus blend and an organic potting soil. Blending these two soils together will give a nice balance for outdoor succulents.

I think it turned out really nice and will be beautiful once it fills out! I will be sure to add some updated pics to this post but the best place to catch updated project pics is to follow me on Instagram.

Do you have any gardening projects planned for this summer? I am still on the hunt for some easy to maintain perennials for my gardens, so feel free to post your recommendations below.

You might also like: www.lipsticksandlavender.com/the-benefits-of-gardening-growing-your-own-food/

Succulents are beautil plants on their own but they can really add beauty to old upcycled items like birdcages, antique toy trucks , old cans, and enamel bowls.