Growing Ginger Inside And Other Experiments
This past winter, I attempted to grow ginger inside our home.
At first, it was growing very well. I was super excited. It appeared as though this experiment would be a success.
Then the weather turned cold.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I keep our average home temperature at 16.5C/62F.
This, we discovered, is too cold for ginger. The plants decided the growing season was done and they…died.
Our growing ginger inside our home experiment failed.
And this is what gardening is – an experiment. We try something. It might have worked for other gardeners but our growing conditions are a little bit different and it might not work for us. Or it might work ever better!
We don’t know until we try it.
(smiles)
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Gardening – Know Your Last Expected Frost Date
If we start seeds too early, seedlings will be too large to care for inside the greenhouse/home and/or be difficult to transplant outside.
If we start seeds too late, seedlings will be too small to transplant outside when the good weather arrives.
This is why knowing our last expected frost date is key for gardeners in cold-during-the-winter climates. We use that estimate of when our last frost date is and then count backward to determine when we should be starting seeds.
To find out what your last expected frost date is, do an internet search on ‘last expected frost date (your city)’ and then choose a reputable result from sites like the farmer’s almanac or a seed selling company that have that information.
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Gardening – Plan For A First Quick Harvest
When I’m crafting my garden plans, I always include radishes as part of the first/Spring plan.
Radish is one of the easiest, quickest, cold-friendly vegetables to grow. Both the root and the leaves can be eaten.
Eating from the garden early and sharing that bounty is a huge reward. It keeps me excited and motivated.
And it keeps everyone around me on board with the gardening. They (and I!) see results right away. They benefit from these results.
And it’s fun to pull up radishes, uncovering how big (or small – remember the leaves are edible so small is okay too) they are!
Other fast growing crops are leafy greens like spinach and lettuce, snow peas (all of the snow pea plant is edible also – the greens are delicious), and bok choy.
Consider planting a fast-to-harvest, cool-temperature-tolerant crop first.
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Multiple Garden Plans
Gardeners will often talk about crafting their garden plans for the year.
These are usually plans.
Plural.
Because many of the plants we grow will have lifespans shorter than our entire gardening season. And many of the plants we grow will only flourish in specific times of the year.
Peas, for example, love cooler weather. In Canada, they flourish during the Spring and the Fall/Autumn. They might be part of our garden plans for those months.
They can be replaced with another crop during the Summer.
So we might have 3 garden plans – 1 for the Spring, 1 for the Summer, 1 for the Fall/Autumn.
Garden plans help us…well…plan. Have as many or as few as you like!
Don’t feel like you have to stick everything on one (sure-to-be chaotic) plan.
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Grocery Store Herbs
The herbs that we buy in plant form from supermarkets and grocery stores aren’t designed to live for a long time. They are meant to be used down to the soil and then composted.
Why do they die so quickly?
They are often overcrowded. There are 6 or more plants in the same small container.
And the soil is often not…optimal. It contains very little nutrients.
The best way, I’ve found, to keep these herbs alive is to first prune them (using the leaves in cooking, of course). Then I split the plants and transplant them into their own containers or the ground as soon as possible.
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Preparing For Spring Gardening
It is winter in my corner of the universe. The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I aren’t tending to any plants outside. That’s for certain. (grins)
But we ARE preparing for the Spring.
Some of the little things we’re doing are
- We’re collecting empty toilet paper rolls to serve as pea growing containers. They are tall enough not to inhibit the roots. And they break down easily once they’re placed in the ground.
- We’re collecting eggshells, washing and crushing them. We put a handful of crushed eggshells in every hole before we transplant tomatoes and eggplants.
- We’re also collecting banana peels, chopping and freezing them. These are put in the holes also.
- We continue to put food scraps in the compost bin. Not much breaking down will happen when everything is frozen. But once the melt starts, we’ll be a great place.
- We’re getting ready to start plants likely in March. The seed start containers are laid out and we have figured out the order of sowing.
We’re doing a few other things (like cleaning and repairing tools, etc).
Gardeners always have things to do.
(smiles)
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Checking Seed Viability
One of the (many) things I do during the gardening off season is…
I verify seed viability.
I do this now so I have time to order new seeds if the ones I have are dead.
This is especially important
if I’ve harvested my own seeds and they were a little iffy. Maybe the eggplant wasn’t 100% mature. Or the tomato seeds kind of sprouted during fermentation.
or
if my seeds are old or damaged. They’re past expiry dates or expected viability life or they were in a basement that got flooded.
The process of verifying seed viability is super easy.
I put a few of the seeds on a damp paper towel. I then place the damp paper towel in a ziploc bag, seal it and set it somewhere dark and warm.
If the seeds sprout, it is highly likely most of the rest of the batch is viable.
If the seeds don’t sprout, I source other seeds.
This ensures I’m not wasting soil and time when I restart the garden in the new year.
(smiles)
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The Perfect Gift For The Gardener In Your Life
That perfect gift is…
seeds.
(grins)
This is no surprise to any gardener. We love seeds.
Gifts (Seeds) For A Newer Gardener
If you are buying a gift for a newer gardener, Dollar Store Seeds are an AWESOME and economical choice!
These are the seeds the Dear Wonderful Hubby and I use (for crops we can’t easily harvest our own seeds from) and we have fabulous results.
The seed selection at Dollar Stores often consists of the core vegetables gardeners grow also!
These are the tried and true crops, the most popular crops, and the specific kinds offered are usually the most sought after kinds.
There are a gazillion types of tomatoes, for example. Selecting one can be daunting.
The tomato seeds offered at the Dollar Store, however, are often the most popular and successful types. The research has been done for you.
Gifts (Seeds) For A More Established Gardener
If you are buying a gift for an experienced gardener and your budget is a little bigger, consider seeds for a less core vegetable from a big box store or gardening center.
These are often around $2.99 for a packet.
An established gardener likely has their seeds for the basic core crops. They know what they like in those crops and they are…fairly picky about those seeds.
But they likely want to try growing OTHER types of vegetables and flowers.
A variation on a herb is often a safe yet fun choice.
I, for example, have a gazillion seeds for basic mint. But I REALLY want seeds for chocolate mint. Like…really, REALLY. I heard it both smells and tastes a bit like peppermint patties.
In the mint family alone, there’s apple mint, pineapple mint, grapefruit mint, and other super interesting variations.
Basil is another great choice. There are a gazillion types of basil and it isn’t a perennial like mint. Gardeners usually have to keep buying seeds for these variations.
Can You Choose The ‘Wrong’ Seeds?
Don’t worry about getting the ‘wrong’ seeds.
Most gardeners trade seed packets like they’re Pokémon cards.
(grins)
“I’ve got a packet of magic carpet thyme. Do you have any chocolate mint?”
Seriously. It is a lot of fun for us!
Dollar Store varieties are usually traded for similarly common varieties, however.
Which is why you want, if at all possible, to give your experienced gardener a more unique variety.
That way, if it is something they’re not-at-all interested in growing (this is rare but it does happen), the seeds have greater trading value and your gardener can more easily obtain the seeds they ARE interested in.
Presenting The Seeds
Once you have the packet of seeds, stick it in a cute yet functional pot from the Dollar Store and you’re good to go!
You have a sure-to-be appreciated, interesting, low cost gift for your green thumb-sporting loved one!
Your gardener might prefer one of those super inexpensive compostable pots, especially if they are an experienced gardener. We are always running out of these. (sheepish grin)
Compostable pots are often a bit plain. If you want to decorate yours in bright, happy colors, customizing it a bit for your loved one, consider using garden-safe paints.
Here in Canada, most of the paints created for kids are safe enough for the garden because…well…kids tend to eat paint. (grins) So manufacturers have to ensure their paints are edible. (They are usually not great tasting but they ARE edible).
Give A Variation On This EVERY Year
Now, you might be saying, “But Cynthia, I gave a gift like this to my gardening loved one last year.”
My friend, if I received this gift from every single loved one every single year but with different seed packets in the compostable pots, I would be SUPER happy.
Yep, gardeners are THAT easy to buy gifts for.
(smiles)
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Gardening Is An Experiment
A friend was telling me she did the exact same thing in 2025 as she did in 2024 with her garden and her results were completely different.
That’s because there are a gazillion variables with the gardening experiment and many of them (like weather, first frost dates, insects, etc) we have very little control over.
And gardening IS an experiment.
Gardeners try new things all the time. Some of these things work. Some of these things don’t.
I tried to grow blueberries from seeds this year. None of my three attempts were successful. I will likely try again in 2026 using different techniques.
Because it is all a big experiment. And that’s part of the fun.
Have fun with it, my friends!
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Overwintering Peppers. Again.
Last winter, we overwintered mini sweet bell pepper plants inside our home for the first time ever.
(You can read about those adventures here – https://tasteofcyn.com/2024/11/23/gardening-bring-mini-bell-peppers-inside-update/ )
It took a bit of work and we didn’t see a huge increase in pepper production.
Yet we’re overwintering pepper plants again this year.
Why?
Because of diversification. We overwinter some plants. We start some new plants. That increases the odds that SOME of these will produce peppers.
This world is a wild place right now. Many scientists tell us we’re in a new, not-yet-experienced climate system. We don’t know what will work.
So, in the Sax household, we’re trying as much as possible and hoping for a win.
(smiles)
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