Or rather, growing greens.
For 2 1/2 years, since I started adopting homeless budgies from the local shelter, I've indulged in buying “spring mix” salad greens as my best option to offer them a variety of greens while pushing myself to eat more salad. The boxes of salad mixes worked perfectly, with me polishing off half & the budgies half over the course of a week.
And then came the supply chain disruptions. Suddenly, I was having to pick through looking for rotting leaves, at first toward the end of the week, then midweek, & occasionally picking black slime right off the top on opening.
So 2 months ago, I decided to move a couple house plants out of the way & set up a little grow space on a kitchen counter facing a south window. I've started veggies in this space before & found the combination of even Maine's low winter sun with grow lights much more effective than grow lights alone.
This time, though, I wanted to try normal, 60W lights instead of the expensive & inconvenient grow light set up. And I wanted to grow the greens to maturity & keep it going. And I wanted to spend as little as possible.
So I saved the last few containers the salad mixes came in & punched a dozen or so tiny holes in the bottom of one with large carpenter nails. For a tray, I used the plastic trays that chicken has been packaged in lately. Instead of heat mats, I set the tray on top of my propane heater to get the seeds germinating. I raided the mixed green seeds I had already purchased for next years outdoor garden. I used a dollar store desk lamp I had already on hand. I did buy a starter mix that supports indoor veggies; my only purchase specifically for this project.
Stage 1: germination on the propane heater worked!
Stage 2: Hmmmm, a partial success, with a tray packed with “miniature” greens!
Lesson learned: wear reading glasses & use a decent light when setting seeds. I accidentally sowed at least double the amount of seed to fit the box! Too many babies, so I started over.
Success! The budgies are now eating greens direct from my window box.
Next up: After a tough start, Tom's wild cherry tomatoes are looking promising. Worst case, they'll be ready to put out in the garden by spring…
Glad to see you've still fighting the good fight