What to grow in November?

[farah]

Asalamu Alaikam

just wondering inspired gardeners what would be appropriate to grow indoors at this time of year? Most rooms stay at around 17-19 degrees during the day but sunlight is almost non-existent in this part of the world (o.k slight exaggeration). Seeing the pictures on other threads has really given me the gardening bug :D ... but I can't dedicate huge amounts of time for plant care 'cus of work etc but would love to begin small again

[Riz]

not much really..

you can try growing some herbs on your windowsill, like basil, marjoram,dill, coriander.. but there might be insufficient light and they will grow spindly and really thin..

Spring is not that far away farah, just hold on and you will be able to grow most things that you see on muslimgrower.

Inshallah we will be giving away free tomato/chili/veg/herb seeds in mid February to everyone on muslimgrower..

not long too go........ :)

[farah]

:tree-huggin: wow that's generous! mash'Allah. :)

jazak'Allah khayran i'll try buying some coriander plants if I remember from Morrisons supermarket and see if they sell anything that does well in low-light, its amazing that chilli plants grow in the UK and actually I can remember now buying a exotic lily-type plant that came in a white pot from morrys that was perfect for low-light conditions and didn't require watering too often - it purified the air in the room somehow :confused: but never flowered much so will deffo try searching for that at the same time, thank you so much for the advice!

[Riz]

no problem, its a pleasure.. spring is not too far away though :)

[Kirsten]

Can you get ahold of a christmas cactus? Those things are so pretty when they bloom, and they make a nice plant year-round.

[Hannah_B]

[QUOTE=Riz;2807]not much really..

you can try growing some herbs on your windowsill, like basil, marjoram,dill, coriander..

QUOTE]

GRRRR *GETS ANGRY* That's not fair sustenance, you kept saying 'basil' to me like it was the only herb to go for this season and not corriander which i included in my list and you didn't recommend...

[Riz]

lol^

Hi, Hannah..

I was going to mention it to you the other day.. sorry!! well coriander seeds wont be a problem to get for you, i am sure your mum has lots in the kitchen drawer.. :).

so what's with the sudden urge to start growing anyway ....:eek:
:AF2FlowerA036:

[Hannah_B]

lol^

Hi, Hannah..

I was going to mention it to you the other day.. sorry!! well coriander seeds wont be a problem to get for you, i am sure your mum has lots in the kitchen drawer.. :).

so what's with the sudden urge to start growing anyway ....:eek:
:AF2FlowerA036:


Apology accepted :P

Because now that you've made it easy Im not afraid of giving it a go, i thought gardening and growing stuff was a right difficult task..

Soo how do i grow dhanya?????????????????

[~Obsidian~]

Hannah, I'm gonna give it a bash too :p

I soaked some seeds overnight, now I'm going to plant them in a pot and keep them indoors..hope they grow!!

[Hannah_B]

Hannah, I'm gonna give it a bash too :p

I soaked some seeds overnight, now I'm going to plant them in a pot and keep them indoors..hope they grow!!


HAH! So you soaked coriander seeds overnight in a glass of h20? and then you buried them in a pot of soil? and then will grow dhanya? cuz I'll follow the same procedure too..pls advise thnx.

[Riz]

HAH! So you soaked coriander seeds overnight in a glass of h20? and then you buried them in a pot of soil? and then will grow dhanya? cuz I'll follow the same procedure too..pls advise thnx.

salaam Hannah..

Make sure you don't sow them too deep. rest them on the surface of the pot and add on maybe an inch of soil on the top....

because you will be growing indoors and probably on the windowsill and i know its your first time growing something right !?

so i don't want you to get disappointed if they turn out a bit lanky and not that vigorous its due to lack of quality light during the winter months

i don't want you to be put off achaa !??!

:)

here is a link to the herb garden in case you have not seen it http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=65

[~Obsidian~]

HAH! So you soaked coriander seeds overnight in a glass of h20? and then you buried them in a pot of soil? and then will grow dhanya? cuz I'll follow the same procedure too..pls advise thnx.

I did (h-two-oh not h-twenty :p). The coriander seeds turned the water green (and smelly) which I found quite amusing. I then drained them and sprinkled them into a pot of soil and covered them with about a cm of soil. Then I watered it thoroughly and left it near the window so it gets some light.

I'm not expecting healthy vigorous plants from this because, as Riz stated before the winter light is rather pathetic, theres only about 8 or so hours and it's not even sunny! Although you should get some plants anyway, so don't be discouraged!!

You'll be surprised at the difference between the results now and the results in summer!

Make sure you put the pot in a well ventilated place and don't overwater (as in turn the soil to mud :p) because that gives a chance for mould to develop.

[Hannah_B]

I did (h-two-oh not h-twenty :p). The coriander seeds turned the water green (and smelly) which I found quite amusing. I then drained them and sprinkled them into a pot of soil and covered them with about a cm of soil. Then I watered it thoroughly and left it near the window so it gets some light.

I'm not expecting healthy vigorous plants from this because, as Riz stated before the winter light is rather pathetic, theres only about 8 or so hours and it's not even sunny! Although you should get some plants anyway, so don't be discouraged!!

You'll be surprised at the difference between the results now and the results in summer!

Make sure you put the pot in a well ventilated place and don't overwater (as in turn the soil to mud :p) because that gives a chance for mould to develop.


Oh how easy, so how long will it take for my coriander to grow? days, years? plus when you mentioned light i was wondering if i could stik my pot under a lamp when night falls? it would help photosynthesis no? would that be cheating??? :confused:

[Kirsten]

Oh there's no such thing as cheating with plants - I mean, I tried to trick my pineapple to grow a fruit by forcing it into a bag with rotten apples ;) It won't be AS beneficial as sunlight if you stick it under a normal lamp, but it'll help some. You can also buy special grow lights, but I'm sure Riz can advise you better on that.

By the way, welcome :)

[~Obsidian~]

Oh how easy, so how long will it take for my coriander to grow? days, years? plus when you mentioned light i was wondering if i could stik my pot under a lamp when night falls? it would help photosynthesis no? would that be cheating??? :confused:

Should take a couple of weeks to sprout, so be patient! You could stick it under a lamp but unfortunately the normal lightbulbs don't encompass a wide enough spectrum of light to promote growth so you'd need to buy UV bulbs instead. Riz has done this like a billion times so I'm sure he can advise you on where to get the best ones, me I'd just amazon or e-bay them!

The thing is, (*thinks back to A-Level Biology*) plants require a certain amount of red light (the light you'd get from the UV bulb/the light they get from the sun) to grow correctly, which means that you'll have to control the amount of time that the plant is under the light. I don't know exactly how long coriander plants need so Riz can help you with that one too if he can!

Boring bit over ;) no, it's not cheating!!

[Riz]

Oh how easy, so how long will it take for my coriander to grow? days, years? plus when you mentioned light i was wondering if i could stik my pot under a lamp when night falls? it would help photosynthesis no? would that be cheating??? :confused:

It will take around 7 to 10 days for the seeds to sprout and around 4 to 6 weeks for it to finally finish, so from seed to harvest in 7 to 8 weeks, you can stop the coriander from flowering by simply pinching the flower out and it will keep on growing leaves for you to use a lot longer..

here is a youtube video mulsimgower made in the summer, its the second video and half way through i mention the coriander
http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=101

ps.. and don't make fun of my accent ( oh ok go ahead just a little though)

[Riz]

good idea about the light hannah, but if you are using standard incandescent light bulbs ( the regular ones) they don't have the correct "spectrum of light" that is beneficial to the seedlings. I use shop fitting lights ( you know the long tube lights) they are quite long and very cheap to run ( pennies per day) but you can get compact florescent lights which are really small but give the same wattage as a tube light. you can get them n different wattage as well..
this explains it a bit better.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grow_light

[Riz]

other thread were i used some lights for tomato / chilli seedlings

http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=36

[Hannah_B]

Should take a couple of weeks to sprout, so be patient! You could stick it under a lamp but unfortunately the normal lightbulbs don't encompass a wide enough spectrum of light to promote growth so you'd need to buy UV bulbs instead. Riz has done this like a billion times so I'm sure he can advise you on where to get the best ones, me I'd just amazon or e-bay them!

The thing is, (*thinks back to A-Level Biology*) plants require a certain amount of red light (the light you'd get from the UV bulb/the light they get from the sun) to grow correctly, which means that you'll have to control the amount of time that the plant is under the light. I don't know exactly how long coriander plants need so Riz can help you with that one too if he can!

Boring bit over ;) no, it's not cheating!!

I don't know how to use ebay :( I don't trust amazon either. What about the fridge light? Ill keep them in the fridge at night....Woooo im a genius...

[Hannah_B]

other thread were i used some lights for tomato / chilli seedlings

http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=36



Bhahaha your accent lol! Your soo not from a little bit out of London. Lie. *dissappointed*

[Hannah_B]

Oh there's no such thing as cheating with plants - I mean, I tried to trick my pineapple to grow a fruit by forcing it into a bag with rotten apples ;) It won't be AS beneficial as sunlight if you stick it under a normal lamp, but it'll help some. You can also buy special grow lights, but I'm sure Riz can advise you better on that.

By the way, welcome :)


Pineapples and rotten apples lol that's the first I've heard :eek:

Nice to meet you Kirsten, See you around. :)

[Riz]

Bhahaha your accent lol! Your soo not from a little bit out of London. Lie. *dissappointed*

I do live outside london ( 30 miles out) but i was born "up north" thats why the accent, besides its very hard to shake of an accent after having it for such a long time, to be honest everyone loves and its always a talking point in converations with people i just met, they always try to second guess were my accent comes from but are always wrong.. When i was in america, "they loved" it and always were complimenting me about it.

so there !!! :tree-huggin:

[Riz]

What about the fridge light? Ill keep them in the fridge at night....Woooo im a genius...

when you close the fridge door the light goes off, besides its too cold inside the fridge... :freezing:

[Hannah_B]

I do live outside london ( 30 miles out) but i was born "up north" thats why the accent, besides its very hard to shake of an accent after having it for such a long time, to be honest everyone loves and its always a talking point in converations with people i just met, they always try to second guess were my accent comes from but are always wrong.. When i was in america, "they loved" it and always were complimenting me about it.

so there !!! :tree-huggin:

Awww I was only kiddin.... *gives you a tissue to wipe your tears off*

[Riz]

Thanks :GreenThumbs:

when people hear my accent they never forget it..

you could say "once bitten forever smitten"

[Riz]

so have you sowed the coriander seeds or not !!!? ;)


I was in a shop today talking to the shopkeeper and an Asian man in his 40`s came in and asked the shopkeeper that his wife needed some dhaniya/coriander and can he point it out to him, because he doesn't know what it looks like. :)

[Hannah_B]

so have you sowed the coriander seeds or not !!!?


I was in a shop today talking to the shopkeeper and an Asian man in his 40`s came in and asked the shopkeeper that his wife needed some dhaniya/coriander and can he point it out to him, because he doesn't know what it looks like.

No :( I got the coriander seeds from my mum, so I have that but i dont have the pot cuz i dunno where to get 'em from :confused:I mean which type, how big what kinda soil etc.

I know Oh my gawd! :(

[~Obsidian~]

Well I just put them in a standard pot, regular sized (y'know the ones you see EVERYWHERE) bout 15cms high and wide.

I used regular potting compost.

[Riz]

:DNo :( I got the coriander seeds from my mum, so I have that but i dont have the pot cuz i dunno where to get 'em from :confused:I mean which type, how big what kinda soil etc.


locate a B&Q the DIY place in your home town.. go to the gardening section ( usually at the back outdoors) grab a trolley, and buy a bag of regular cheapest compost you can find. if you go to the section were they sell fertilizers and nutrients etc... you will see people dressed in a unusual shade of orange ( its a bib, like an apron) :D they are " store helpers" don't be scared...just ask them you need small pots/or containers to grow coriander in, and can they recommend some, maybe you can buy a few different sizes.. but get the cheapest kind,, don't pay more than a £1.00 for any plastic pot, the size you want are around 98 pence each.

PS...get the pots that will fit nicely on your window sill


p.s.s... go in a car

[Hannah_B]

gHAHAHAHAHHAHAH Well I don't drive cuz Im too scared to, Is it ok If I take the bus? lol

Anyhow I shall visit B&Q and get some pots, but how long will it take for them to grow? and how do I bury them in the pot so for e.g. do I bury 'em half way through or just sprinkle them at the top? and do i shower them with
h20? eEEEEEK I never thought I'd get in to this! *sigh*

[Riz]

Hannah bibi..

you might want to get a regular bag of compost ( 75litres compressed) you will use it for other purposes later on in spring inshallah.. but it weights a bit so you might want to shove it in a boot of the car,
cant see you carrying it on the bus with your gucci handbag tucked under you arm..:D

you can do all this well after EID. and ill take some pics and show you how to do it "step by step"...

[Hannah_B]

Hannah bibi..

you might want to get a regular bag of compost ( 75litres compressed) you will use it for other purposes later on in spring inshallah.. but it weights a bit so you might want to shove it in a boot of the car,
cant see you carrying it on the bus with your gucci handbag tucked under you arm..:D

you can do all this well after EID. and ill take some pics and show you how to do it "step by step"...

Riz Baba Hahaha not Gucci, Givenchy :rolleyes: well It's ok I prefer to see pictures because tis is my first time my fingers are going green so I wana do it right inshAllah.

[Riz]

coriander will seed and get spindly with long days, short nights, and warm temps. Not a problem if you harvest before that happens no matter what time of the year you plant it. It will do fine in a windowsill that has at least 4 hours of strong direct light which will keep the stretch manageable. If spindly, you can "top" the leaves so its stays short and stout...

ill be doing a windowsill coriander grow very soon !!

[~Obsidian~]

I have a few spindly (coriander) sprouts! Quite chuffed actually, cuz I thought the seeds were dead :D

[~Obsidian~]

I also planted some cumin seeds, will they sprout at all?

[Riz]

I also planted some cumin seeds, will they sprout at all?

yes they will..

they did for me last season, i think i sowed them too late in the season this summer and they didn't have enough time to finish properly as it started getting cold mid septmeber.. I plan on growing them in the ground next summer, lots and lots :)

were did you get the seeds from !?

[~Obsidian~]

Standard cornershop spices lol, actually I think it was whole garam masala mix that I pinched the seeds from! :D Both the coriander and the cumin seeds