Celebrate “culture” in agriculture & share skills like growing, cooking, canning

Indoor winters

In expectation of being driven inside by the cold new england winter... does anyone have suggestions for mini indoor crops? Something easy that will happily grow and produce near a window? I'd love to have some homegrown edibles through the season..

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Permalink Reply by Kali on November 11, 2010 at 9:32pm

Margaret- Have you had a problem with indoor tomatoes?? A friend of mine had some indoor tomatoes that grew beautifully -huge plants, excessive flowers, etc.- but after weeks of excitement she noticed that the flowers were simply dropping off without fruit production. Apparently it was the lack of wind and nature to pollinate the plants. Just wondering if this is an issue to address and manage.

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Permalink Reply by Rae on November 12, 2010 at 1:16am

Last year I dug up lots of my cold weather crops and brought them inside so they could keep growing. I was able to harvest fresh brussel sprouts for Thanksgiving! Also, I dug up lots of lettuce transplanted them to window boxes and they did pretty well inside for a while... Cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi and other greens might not be prolific, but you can harvest the leaves to eat for greens and that is pretty neat when there are 2 feet of snow on the ground!

This year I'm trying a little hoop house, but still bringing lots of things inside too...I have a little room in the basement with shelves made from discarded pallets, and have hung a plant light to provide plenty of extra light. We'll see how it goes!

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Permalink Reply by Larry Snyder on November 12, 2010 at 5:03pm

Try the different types of sprouts. You can also grow Spirulina Algae with a fish aquarium & a sunny window. You'll get many vitamins & omega 3 oil.

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Permalink Reply by Farm with a View on November 16, 2010 at 10:02pm

Great ideas and tips! I am currently experimenting with growing micro lettuces and a few spinach plants on our indoor, west-facing windowsill, with "modified" 2.5-gallon water containers (the kind with a spout and handle on top). The hollow handle acts as a watering tube that directs the H20 to the bottom of the containers, and the spout is useful for drainage. For pics, see: http://bit.ly/awZn33.

Doing well so far, aside from the couple of gnats that have taken up residence near the containers.

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Permalink Reply by Racheal Morris on December 2, 2010 at 12:51pm

Anything that doesn't need a bee really, in my basement I grow a few cold weather crops. Mainly, spinach, lettuce, beets and radish. Other options are any sort of sprout, carrots, herbs, etc... just remember your electricity bill! You will need a plant light due to the shortening days... 10-12 hours of "sunlight" per day is a must.

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Permalink Reply by Cornelia on December 10, 2010 at 3:08pm

I'm going to compile a lot of the information that you guys have shared here and create an article for the homegrown blog. Do any of you have photos of your indoor gardens that you'd like to share? Please post them here if you do. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Stacey on December 11, 2010 at 8:13am

This was our first year doing outside raised bed gardens during the Spring/Summer/Fall. While I tried to cold frame to get some lettuce, it hasn't been too successful. So, we started sprouting indoors! We did sunflower, broccoli and today's harvest will be radish! It's so easy to do with a glass jar and some cheese cloth over the top. Soak overnight the first night, then rinse daily (sometimes 2/3 times) and let drain by flipping the jar over and setting it on the counter at an angle. Depending on the sprouts, you'll have something to eat within 4-7 days. Our jar sits right under our kitchen window which gets indirect sunlight and all our sprouts turn green. My husband says this is his type of gardening :)

Cornelia - I'll try to get a picture of this batch before we eat them.

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Permalink Reply by Cornelia on January 12, 2011 at 2:04pm

My salad greens are ready for harvest. I love my patio greenhouse!

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Permalink Reply by Rae on January 17, 2011 at 1:28am

I was thrilled to harvest greens for New year's Day soup from my basement garden....cabbage greens, kale, kohlrabi greens, chard, garlic greens, brussel sprouts and their greens....even three yellow pare tomatoes. It certainly is uplifting to be able to "work in the dirt" in my basement when the snow is flying just outside the window.

This is my 2nd year for moving garden plants indoors and the results are much improved. I now have a gro light rather than just relying on sun from my south-facing basement window. I also brought in a garden hose and attached it to the work sink so I can mist the plants rather than just pour water from watering cans. My ultimate goal is to just overwinter the plants so I can get a head start in the spring, but if I'm able to continue harvesting through the winter as well....SWEET! Going to try and share some photos..

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