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32 Comments

  1. Aphids are an indicator of too much nitrogen. They exist in and are necessary in all well balanced living soils. Beyond that, Aphids doodoo is sweet and attracts/feeds other critters, too. They are integral to decomposition which is an important part of the cycling of life. To grow indoors is way more trickier than most people know. You can grow with living soil inside, but, getting more knowledgeable in microbiology, plant, and soil science would help. Be careful about overreacting to dilemma, Instead, consider using aphids as an stepping stone to knowledge base.

    1. Dear SCGal,

      Do you have any sources on microbiology, plant and soil science that you would recommend? I’d be interested in reading up on it.

      Thanks,

      Lily

      2. There is info on videos from various groups. Beginning info would be Elaine Engham….soil microbiology/science, with Rodale Institute. Living Web farms talks lightly on soil biology and their methods, insights, etc. Korean natural farming gets way in-depth.

        The info is rather new to growers now. Was known by farmers prior to fertilizers, but, generational passing of info was dropped as conventional war was declared by ag. It has been having a resurgence. Science is beginning to produce more studies now as well.

        As one commenter noted oils do address present issue(conventional approach), but, correcting underlying issue makes good sense. It really takes both done concurrently.

        Only book choice I know is about applications, not, really theory….JADAM Organic Farming. Can be found on Amazon.

    2. The reference to nitrogen is very helpful. Thank you, as I am strong on that element (raise rabbits: lots of rabbit poop.). Maybe I overdid it. I attributed the greenhouse aphids to the eggpalnt they atttacked their first and second years (and no others) and in a subsequent year to the pepper plant I brought in from a friend which then multiplied on the tomatoes. Maybe I better look to my own local conditions. Thanks for the indicator. I will think about this.

  2. I had a similar problem with ‘bugs’ in my potting mix as I too used what I had from outside. Last winter I was growing sprouts in pots/tins along with herbs. I kept my soil mix in a clear zip lock and one day noticed bugs crawling through the bagged soil! Not wanting to get rid of it I was prompted to place the bags on a very sunny windowsill. Flipping the bag midway for a few days. The sunlight did its job in ‘cleansing’ my soil. I will confidently start up my ‘little’ garden soon. I have a room in my home with 15 windows facing west/northwest where I hang my orchids that cannot be outside during winter. I also have a shelf with plastic boot trays where the bigger baskets of orchids sit. I will squeeze in my sprouts and herbs between them and on the floor I brought in the plant stands that sit on the sunny spots of the room. I use essential oils and or neem when the mites and aphids rear their heads.

  3. I feel your pain! Aphids can be a problem, especially in greenhouses or, as you’ve discovered, cushy indoor gardens! A fast remedy without having to wait for a Neem order is to use dish detergent in water to spray the affected plants.

    I’ve never tried to grow veggies indoors in a house other than using the heated space to start the early seedlings for the farm so I could avoid firing up the seedling greenhouse heater as long as possible. That did involve growing several roomfuls of seedlings but perhaps they were so young when I transferred them to the greenhouse that they never had insect problems? I also used a commercial soil mix for seedlings(for Organic growers). I’m wary of using outdoor soil inside as to me, it’s transferring all sorts of insects and diseases indoors without also transferring the outdoor ecosystem that keeps it under control. But that’s just my way of thinking. You’ll keep experimenting and figure out what works for you.

    Re: Solar Minimum. I’ve been following this and am very interested in the subject. There’s a lot of hype about it and fear mongering so it can be hard to really get a realistic take on what’s going on. I know something is up though. And while summer was pretty normal here in the far north, the weather now has been unseasonably cold for November. I was away last winter but everyone here tells me it was like this then too. I’d love to see a good discussion on this and what the implications are for us in the years to come. Perhaps this would make a good blog topic?

    Anyway, I found the linked article below to have an interesting perspective on prior Grand Solar Minimums.

    https://aeon.co/essays/the-little-ice-age-is-a-history-of-resilience-and-surprises?utm_source=pocket-newtab

    1. Dear ThoDan,

      Yes, they are test runs for data collection to learn what works. 🙂 The bugs are not a mistake, just a result of fertile soil and a perfectly comfortable environment. We were running late with the wrapping up of the article last night and were struggling with a good ending and had lost sight of the scientific terminology. Thank you for reminding us of this. I quickly changed the ending to reflect the scientific framework of this article.

      Blessings,

      Lily

  5. I have years of experience growing indoors. Let me tell you my secret. Go to your local nursery and buy a bag of lady bugs. They are about $7 for 1000-1500 lady bugs. Release them in your garden and they will eat all the mites. When they are done, they will find their way outside.

    TRUST ME! They work and have no ill side affects. I released 3,000 of them into my basement and they ate all the mites and then found a way to get outside (where more food is).

  6. Crockett,
    I am curious about the lady bugs. Several years ago, the house I was living in was INFESTED with lady bugs. I vacuumed up hundreds daily for several months. I am not comfortable purposely bringing them in after this experience!

    1. There’s a lot of information on the Internet about Lady Bugs. … From the LadyBugLady Site: = “Ladybugs Are Looking For A Place To Hibernate. … Once ladybugs have penetrated the home though, they are hard to get rid of.

      Ladybugs release pheromones, it is sort of like “perfume” to attract other ladybugs. They use pheromones as a means of communication during mating and hibernation. Insect pheromones are very powerful.”

      “Ladybugs >don’t eat fabric, plants, paper or any other household items. They like to eat APHIDS. Aphids are very small, but very destructive pest that feed on plants. … Ladybugs, while trying to hibernate in your house, live off of their own body fats.”
      ********************

      From this Survivalblog article; Avalanche Lily notes:
      “What is really happening is that we are entering a Grand Solar Minimum, and there will be global cooling, not warming, perhaps for many decades. The mass media will not tell you about the approaching food crises which will lead to food scarcity and famines. It won’t be until there is profound cooling that they try to claim that it is the “Climate Change” that they had warned of.”
      ***
      Mankind was created to live in the Paradise of the Garden of Eden; not Igloo Condos. People buy time-shares in warm places like Hawaii, Florida, and the Redneck Riviera. … Survivalblog has good advice and >links for resources. A quality water filter and a food supply is a good prep. = Always useful for local, national and possibly even Global emergencies.

  7. Thank you Lily for helping highlight the climate effects as we enter the GSM. Unlike the conspiracy theory of man made global warming, solar cycles have long been documented and predicted using scientific method. During solar minima, the earth’s atmosphere becomes more susceptible to galactic cosmic rays which cause increased cloud nucleation. More clouds= lower temps. Also during a GSM, prevailing winds (jetstream, meridional flow, etc) can shift dramatically. This effect creates new grow zones (see Northern Africa), and decimates old ones (see midwest US). Alaska isn’t seeing record breaking high temps because you drive an SUV. Northern Mexico isn’t seeing snow in mid October because of cow farts.
    “Its not you, its not CO2, its the sun!” – David DuByne.
    Another observed phenomenon during GSM is increased volcanic activity. If a VEI 7-8 pops off in the coming years, you can forget about outdoor food growing for a while.

    Channels like Suspicious Observers, Adapt 2030, and Tony Heller (and others) are great resources for the science and solutions of the GSM.

  8. Thank you Lily for your insights. I’m going to try growing some greens later this winter using my grow lights. Wouldn’t a heated greenhouse just be a delight? Ah, maybe some year.
    Best growing.

  9. Thank you for another inspirational article. Bug Zapper ordered!

    Our Fruit Club has professional speakers monthly, and one of those was from a certified organic compost company. Two key components in their industrial-scale operation were correct moisture content and temperature-keeping it hot enough to kill all insects, larvae, eggs.

    They heated their materials for days or a few weeks and closely monitor temperature.

    Placing your growing media in black plastic bags in the sun and ensuring it gets hot during the days, after it cools at night and the bags aren’t too soft you turn them, repeating for several days- is a homeowners way to passively ‘sterilize’ the soil.

    One caution about ANY commercial potting soil or compost you are using is to always read the label. Usually they are extremely low on nitrogen (not so with Av Lily’s growing media with all the good animal sources in it, of course).

    The other point is to beware of the high levels of tree bark in bags of “Potting Soil” at big box stores as they have very high percentages of carbon so you need to plan on adding more nitrogen than you would to just plain dirt, during the growing period.

    Even the organic company compost had very low nitrogen levels according to their label.

    Here is a fun link to lady bug identification.

    https://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?guide=Ladybug

    Last year we thought we had a population of nice ladybugs indoors, but it turns out they were actually an infestation of a harmful invader, distinguished by lots of black spots on the body and distinct white spots on the head.

    Thanks again, Lily.

    “Trust in the Lord forever: for in the Lord God is strength forevermore.” Isaiah 26:4 (Geneva Bible 1599 Patriot Edition.)

  10. Thank you, Avalanche Lily! Your article was excellent — insightful and candid. The community comments that followed were also supportive, helpful, and interesting. In our family experience, we have often found that we learn more from experiences that require problem solving than we do from those that go too smoothly from the outset. Of course we do our level best to succeed from git-go, but we also embrace the challenges that open up opportunities to learn! All this to let you know how much we enjoyed and appreciated your feature presentation.

    We also have a thought to share about the coming Grand Solar Minimum. It is our belief that there is significant credible scientific evidence to support this “forecast”, and encourage everyone to build “cold weather survival” into their preparations. Real wool blankets, sleeping bags rated for extreme cold, appropriate and protective winter clothing and other items, options for growing, preserving and storing food will be critically important under GSM conditions. Be sure to consider incremental adjustments to plant selection too. Consider and experiment with cold tolerant varieties of your garden favorites. Keep up the good work in developing strategies that flex with everything from the budget to the terrain.

  11. Wondering if anyone here has experience with hydroponic growing? We’ve tinkered with it using a self contained store bought unit. Considering scaling it up to provide us with greens and herbs through winter. It would help eliminate the soil issues mentioned above. Any advice would be appreciated.

    1. I have done hydoponic growing (using a kit),it requires a lot of monitoring(checking nutrient balances,timers,flows,etc). Yields were ok (lack of experience?),not equal to outside but a useful experience.

    2. Yes, we have a hydroponic system. The root development of plants was fantastic – I forget the lengths – I wrote a blog about it, but something like 15 inches for lettuce and 12 for basil. That said, this is a high maintenance system. We had to check the water level three times a day, add nutrients, measure the balance. We could not leave for a day, as we could for even our animals. (We are off-grid, but in the summer, power is not usually the issue – water diminution was. Plus algae growth, even after we painted the recirculating water tank black.

      So I recommend it if you can start cheaply and evaluate. We went “whole hog” , milked it for three years and last year decided not to operate it, which turned out to be smart since it was such a dry and hot year – soil worked out better.

  12. Baking potting soil in the oven will kill all the bug eggs. It probably kills good stuff in the soil as well but I have been able to successfully germinate and grow plants quite well indoors with “sterilized” soil.

    Another trick I use is to use cold frames indoors with warming pads under the soil trays. That way you can contain infestations which may happen and you also don’t have to heat/humidify the entire room to get good growing/germinating conditions.

    I suspect you could release Lady Bugs inside the cold frames but I have not tried that (yet).

  13. Greenhouses are going to prove more useful as if this weather pattern continues to worsen. Clearly there is something happen to cause a radical change, or enough change, or the type of changes that effect production . We do not have to know the cause of the change. We can speculate and reason that one, or several factors coincide to effect the result we see. By determining the cause, and can we predict the trend in the weather with enough certainty to improve production. May be, or maybe not.
    It is best therefore best to assume that the weather will only get worse, or less favorable for gardening. In addition to the solar minimum, other factors such as weather warfare, or the possibility we are still seeing the effects of the BP oil spill that left a giant pool of semi -solid oil trapped, and blocking part of the gulf stream for many years afterward. The reduction of flow of the gulf stream, may have reduced it’s influence and regulation of the Jet Stream, thus allowing it to move unpredictably, and cause out of season weather, or temperature and precipitation extremes.

    We simply do not have enough information, and certainly not about Top Secret weather warfare, if that is part of the mix, to predict the future weather, but we can see the extremes and the result. Regardless, we should be peddling as fast and hard as we can on our food production plans. No food, no future. Whatever you got piled up, will eventually be consumed. I’ve spent twice as much on my solar water pump, delivery lines, cisterns, valves and connectors, than radio gear. And I am by no measure wealthy. Without water, nothing gets grown. I did not buy silver. Can’t eat it, or shoot it, don’t need it. But if you’d like, I can turn silver into expensive boolits. 90% silver in an alloy with nickel and copper would work just fine. Hi-ho Silver!

  14. It seems what we lack today is perspective. I am reading a great book called, The Little Ice Age, How Climate Made History 1300-1850, by Brian Fagan. Our forebearers really lived through amazingly tough times, including Grand Solar Minimums. Great post by Tunnel Rabbit above. We need to be prepared to live in a completely different world. It’s been done before and we can do it too. And they did even know what was happening. But air temps, crops that did or didn’t grow, changing fishing habits out in the ocean, no ocean travel through the northern climes for a very long while, bird migration patterns completely disrupted. I think we do much better when we know what’s coming so we are mentally prepared and stable.
    Another great read is What Life was Like at the turn of the First Millennium, the Year 1000, by the well-known author, Robert Lacey & Danny Danziger.
    Also you can find on YouTube: Wartime Farm, Wartime Kitchen & Garden, Tudor Monastery Farm, all BBC series well worth watching.

  15. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences in indoor gardening. I’ve only started my plants from seeds inside, so far ☺. If you don’t have electricity but have a warm south facing window, you might consider using tin foil to help reflect more light back onto the plants. People have used this method in outdoor gardens in the city when their access to light was minimal.

    1. Hi Sis,

      That is a great idea. Thanks for sharing it. But it is still difficult when most of the days are very dark and cloudy during the winter. But every bit would help, for sure.

      Many Blessings,

      Lily

  16. Lily, as usual, I appreciate your humility. And this sentence: Growing anything indoors or outdoors is always an experiment, because there are so many variables to contend with.

    So true. We plan, God laughs. And, I bet God appreciates our efforts, even sometimes in the face of great disappointment. That is a risk we take when we experiment.

    Too, I like your saying you are no expert. Me, too. I was once introduced as “an expert gardener”. I hastened to clarify that I am only an experienced gardener who has made uncounted mistakes.

    I might have added, I am a grateful gardener for the bounty that is given me.

    Carry on

  17. I have tied to extend peppers in the house a few times. Aphids got them one year.. Bought a sack of ladybugs and let them go in the house. They ended up being everywhere in short time. I think I would prefer ladybug larvae for the next time.
    Last year spider mites clobbered all the herbs and houseplants. I will try again

  18. As someone who is a 5th generation wholesale greenhouse grower and been doing it for 20 years professionally, I enjoyed this article. My weakness is in translating my knowledge into my home garden. At my work we use restricted use pesticides on our annual bedding plants to kill aphids. Best way to have a clean greenhouse is to shut it down over the winter and let it freeze. Peppers in a greenhouse are magnets for bugs.

  19. Oh Lily how fun!!! I love your attitude. I’m the same way. I get an idea, do a little research, buy supplies and then call it, whatever it is, the Grand Experiment! I have so much fun and sometimes it works out! We are finishing up a large permanent greenhouse. It started off as a “let’s do a greenhouse!”, then after watching and reading the two scientists (I’ll find their names and links) who prove that we are entering a Grand Solar Minimum (with real science!), we decided to go all in with a large permanent structure that can handle the high winds and heavy snow loads. We’re almost done after lots of delays!!! We did plant 100’s of starts and placed them on a large dining room table covered in plastic, and shoved the table up against the wall to wall windows with LED lighting hung from the chandelier. LOL. Some things are thriving and some not so much. If we can finish…. home stretch… we’ll transplant the seedlings soon. We’re exhausted but having a blast. Next week’s forecast: snow snow snow. Keep us updated Lilly!! If nothing else, we should all be sharing our attempts at getting ahead of the solar minima.

    1. Dear Sara Sue,

      If we were to buy a greenhouse cover/blanket and put the grow lights in the greenhouse, and buy an oil burning stove for heat, we could grow much more produce in the winter. Our greenhouse is made from one layer of clear Tuftex. The Tuftex only keeps the greenhouse around five to ten degrees warmer than the outside air temperature. Therefore it doesn’t work well once the temperature drops below 25 degrees Fahrenheit. A greenhouse cover/blanket, would help insulate the greenhouse and keep more heat inside. I would love that. But as “Live Free or Die Ian”, mentioned, it is very important to let the soil freeze in the Greenhouse every winter to kill off the bugs. The Greenhouse cover/blanket isn’t in our budget right now, either.

      In my green house, I am still growing lettuces, beets, spinach and kale. I am growing them under hoops and plastic. So it is really a green house within a green house, operating as a cold frame, since I am not adding heat to the green house. I also have thought about raising the edges of the beds a another three or so inches and covering the beds with glass windows and with the plastic hoops over the top of the glass. But I haven’t yet moved in that direction. We already have the glass and the boards, I just have to move on it, (I forgot about it amidst all of the other things I’ve been doing, lately,) if I am going to do it before the snow flies and buries paths to the wood and glass. Then I would start seeds in the house and transfer them outside to the green house. I do not think they would germinate in the cold soil this time of year. But, hey, that is what experimenting is all about, giving everything a try. 😉

      I am very impressed to hear about your green house building project.

      Congratulations and may it grow much food well for you and yours! Yes, we should all continue teaching, and preparing for this Grand Solar Minimum. Thank you also for sharing excellent and informed comments with all of us.

      Many Blessings,

      Lily

  20. What I found on the Grand Solar Minimum (science not hype):

    The minimums appear to be about 221-ish years apart.
    The Spoerer Minimum or Mini Ice Age was in the 15th-16th century
    The Maunder Minimum occurred in 1645 to 1715.
    The Dalton Minimum occurred 1790 to 1830 or 1796 to 1820

    The current forecast is we will see cooling now and the next 5 years, but most likely won’t be in a Minimum until about 2035.  I read one scientific paper that stated 2090 give or take 20 years.  The minimums can last for decades and that is why crop failures were so prevalent as the growing seasons shortened. Many many people died during these minimums due to not being able to stay warm, having impassable roads, and crop failures. The scientists I listened to:

    Dr. Valentina Zharkova

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_yqIj38UmY

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyyuouPSNEA

    Piers Corbyn

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrA-K_NtPJ8

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlK2_t66wQI

    Hope this helps all who are interested.

  21. What I find fascinating about Piers Corbyn’s work… he is adamant about the fact (science) that warming causes C02 and there is a delayed effect, as in 600 years later if I heard that right. The climate change people say that man/animals cause C02 which causes global warming. Exactly backwards. C02 is actually the food of the earth and causes massive greening and productivity – the opposite of what we are being told. All those crazy people who actually believe that we should stop eating meat and reduce animal production in order to save the planet are grossly misinformed. My two cents.

  22. We have also struggled with aphids, and have found that Neem oil has been reasonably effective. We use about a tablespoon of Neem oil in a quart of warm water, and we add about a teaspoon of dish soap. We apply it with a sprayer, and treat not only the affected areas, but every plant and soil bed in the greenhouse. The initial infestation was quite serious (the word “devastating” comes to mind), but this strategy has worked well for us, and we wanted to share encouragement with others! We expect to add lady bugs, and also employ the aid of Mason and Leaf Cutter bees among our greenhouse pollinators.

    Avalanche Lily’s greenhouse within a greenhouse is an excellent idea for winter growing. We are working on a variety of ideas related to greenhouse heating over the course of the winter, and conversely have worked on cooling during the hottest of the summer months. Management of greenhouse conditions for optimal plant growth creates some interesting challenges! Among our winter heating strategies are the following: 1) exterior cladding, 2) placement of the greenhouse partially in-ground for geo-thermal exhange (enormously effective), and 3) a combination of hydroponics and soil based growing systems (thermal mass, heat radiating from organic decay). Soon to come will be a solar water heater that will fill black 55 gallon drums such that these exhaust heat into the greenhouse at night). We have also considered a wood-burning stove as GSM temperatures continue to fall. Although we have an electric heater in place, we have not yet required its use. Our average temperature differential (inside vs. outside) has been 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit. We had a low temperature last week of 14.4 degrees, and the lowest temperature recorded in the greenhouse was 36. Related to this… We have placed a couple of temperature readers which we can access from our in-home computers.

    We hope this information helps others too! Our work continues…

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