growing plants indoors in winter

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I was wondering what everybody is growing inside the house this winter. I want to start some plants. Can you grow food to eat ? any ideas...... kelly

-- KELLY (FARMGIRL15@AOL.COM), October 15, 2001

Answers

I have grown tomatoes and green beans inside. I am growing peppers right now and they are doing well. The red salsa kind. I have a lot of flowers and 8 red peppers on there right now. I have a south facing patio window and I keep them there. I started doing this for fun and a hobby project for my son while he was in school. I usually have parsley and basil growing all the time. Patio tomatoes worked the best and after a couple of months the bushes got pretty straggly and I gave up the tomatoes, but I am going to start a couple of seeds again. made sure your pots are bigger to start with so you don't have to transplant them. The green beans were in flower pots and it was so nice having fresh green beans for Christmas one year. I guess I would only recommend doing this for fun and to see how it goes and not be depending on it to give you a sizable harvest. That way if it doesn't work out for you, you will not face a major disappointment. have fun and good luck. Forgot fertilize it lightly with a time release veg. fertilizer mixed in water. But not a lot and about twice a month I am finding is plenty for my peppers right now. Jenn

-- jenn (normaj3@countrylife.net), October 15, 2001.

I've kept a fair selection of herbs at different times: parsley, basil, thyme, bay, cilantro, rosemary, chives, and onions for the green tops. I have peppers and dwarf citrus and this year on a whim I rooted some Roma tomato suckers since they are determinate. I'm anxious to see how they perform.

I traded for enough hoops and materials to make a 12' x 24' hoop house a few years ago but have never gotten to use it for food production because it's been so handy for chickens over the winter. This morning, the lady from whom I got it told me she had decided she didn't want the rest of her hoops and materials. She's offered it to me, also for a trade yet to be decided. She has a friend who will deliver all the components for a load of manure for his garden. I'm so tickled over it--just wish I could have gotten it sooner.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), October 15, 2001.


I haven't had luck growing tomatoes indoors, but I discussed this over on a gardening forum, and got advice from people who did successfully. Their advice was to grow miniature types, Tiny Tim and Red Robin got the highest marks. I thought that Tumbler might be successful, but haven't tried it yet -- I had so much trouble with whiteflies from tomatoes last year indoors.

I've had parsley in hanging baskets and pots for a few years that have worked well. I also have a chili pepper I grew outdoors in a pot all summer that I've hauled indoors and it is blooming and setting a lot of fruit in the warmth. An African Blue Basil is trying to settle in -- it got huge and bushy outdoors in the garden in a 5 gallon bucket and bloomed and smelled just gorgeous. Indoors it is getting a little lanky, but I am pruning it hard (my rabbit loves basil and can eat any I don't want), also some sweet basil doing the same.

I have a lemon tree that is setting several fruits, my first year with it. I'm hauling in the celery plants I started in a large box planter this summer too, along with some kale as an experiment to see how it does. I'm planning to grow lettuces in pots as well. I've grown them in hanging baskets in past with good results and they do alright with lower light in the winter.

I'm also starting shallow pans of dirt with oats in it for my rabbit and guinea pigs for feed.

Let us know how things work out for you this winter!

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), October 16, 2001.


Hi! I'm experimenting with growing stuff indoors. This year, I have a kitchen window herb garden-parsley, basil, rosemary, chives, and aloe. I am growing cherry tomatoes-they did great last year, and an unknown small tomato varitiy that someone gave me, I also have BIG celery, I have a cucumber plant but its not doing so good. I'm also experimenting with different kinds of sprouts. I'd like to have an indoor salad garden, with some different types of lettuces and greens.

-- Kelly in Ky (ksaderholm@yahoo.com), October 16, 2001.

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