Get a Headstart on Spring: Grow Grass Indoors

If you are like the majority of people in the Northern latitudes, right now you are being frustrated by the seed, plant, and garden catalogs arriving daily even though you will not be able to plant anything outdoors for another 2-4 months. You look at the catalogs and then stare out at the leaden sky and the dull, brown (with patches of white) landscape and wonder if you'll make it. Several years ago someone told me of a fun little project to help get through this last bit of winter: grow some grass indoors. I enjoyed it so much, I have done it every year since then. It is easy to get started, low-maintenance over time and will cheer you up for sure. Here's what you do:

1. Find a shallow container. This may be an actual pot for a plant or just an old bowl or container that is a few inches across and no more than a couple inches deep.

2. Fill the container with potting soil and make sure it is thoroughly wet.

3. Sprinkle grass seed over the entire surface of the soil. The seed doesn't have to be thickly spread, nor does it even have to be covered with soil. Of course, not everyone keeps grass seed around and although you can buy grass seed year round at the big box home improvement stores, even a small bag might be a bit costly if you are only making one of these. So invite some friends and neighbors and split the cost and make a bunch!

4. Place the entire container inside a clear plastic bag and set it in the warmest, sunniest location in your home. You will see grass sprouts starting within a week, and after two weeks, you'll be enjoying your first green of the year. Placing the grass container in the plastic bag keeps you from needing to water it these first two weeks.

5. Take the grass out of the plastic bag after two weeks or when it looks like it is well started (1 inch tall). If you could only find a cheap, ugly container, this would be a great time to tape some wrapping paper or fabric in some cheerful print around it. Set it back in your sunny spot and enjoy the new life each time you pass by.

After the grass is out of the container, since you probably still have the heat on in the house, the soil will dry out fairly quickly. You should check it about every other day for awhile to see how often to water it. Water when the top quarter inch of soil is dry.

If you cannot stand to see grass that does not sport a crew cut, keep it clipped with scissors at the height that you like. I prefer to let mine grow until it is falling-over tall and then trim it just a bit so it stays standing upright. If spring comes after Easter in your neck of the woods, you can turn this into a nice Easter decoration by setting colored eggs, small, fuzzy chicks (or candy Peeps), or other Spring icons in your little patch of grass.

If you start this project now, you'll have a small pot of sod that can be lifted out of the container and dropped onto a bare spot in the lawn in a couple of months when Spring has started to bring other new green into your life.