Growing food all year round, indoors

herbs growing on an indoor window sillThis week, for our ‘Change the World Wednesday‘ Challenge, Reduce footprints wants us to exercise our green fingers.

Set by one of the participants of the challenge Rewinn says “I like the idea of microgardening. Almost every living space has room for a pot or three where you can grow lettuce or mint.

Do you have a window sill in a lunch room or an odd window by the stairs where can you put in a pocket garden that you can harvest a couple times a year, and enjoy all the year?” So … here’s the challenge:

Growing food indoors

This week, plant something edible indoors (in your homes, offices, schools, etc.)  Some ideas are lettuce, herbs, spinach, kale, and even tomatoes.

Well here’s the deal. I’ve been seriously thinking about this recently and this is just the kick in the right direction I need.

Food all year round

I’ve been put off by thinking that, in the middle of autumn nothing will grow. Won’t my seeds just sit there at best, or rot at worst? Don’t they need 8 hours of sunlight and warm temperatures to germinate?

I guess there is one way to find out, and that’s to get stuck in and try something.

Indoor gardening

I’m really unsure which plants could possibly grow indoors during the autumn, especially as temperatures fluctuate a lot in our home. We don’t have central heating or thermostatically controlled radiators; we have a wood burner that is prone to baking us or leaving us cold!

So I’m really looking forward to the challenge of growing something in a small container. I’m going to use the corner of my dining table as this gets the most light.

Today I will pay a visit to my garden centre to take advise on my year-round gardening! But in the meantime, take a look at Rewinn’s post about microgardening.

5 Comments

  1. Christa aka Never teh Bride on November 23, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    Anything leafy will grow indoors if it gets enough sunlight, so things like indoor lettuce can be a good bet. Herbs, of course, are a popular indoor favorite, but that never worked for me because I never use them. My brother and some friends have had luck with the Aerogrow – and with that, you can have all sorts of things in the wintertime.



  2. Cinella on November 24, 2010 at 8:37 am

    I’m sure you can grow small root veggies or herbs. Lots of people also grow tomatoes inside but that might require a bit more work. Best of luck with the challenge.
    CJR



  3. Leeds Acupuncture on December 7, 2010 at 12:42 pm

    Ok so I am not the best indoor gardener, but I have had a stab at growing all sorts – in winter the best thing to do is get a grow bulb. This gives the plants enough light. Next use polly bags to cover them in the day – this keeps them warm when the heating is off – and in this weather you could even wrap the pots in bubble wrap! brrrr.
    Good luck – Giles



  4. Leeds Acupuncture on December 7, 2010 at 12:43 pm

    oh, and start small – leafy green salad plants are good and herbs are hardy



  5. Mrs Green on December 24, 2010 at 6:46 am

    @Christa aka Never teh Bride: thanks for sharing your advice. I visited a friend yesterday who was growing lettuce leaves on her windowsill – they looked great even though we’ve had snow for the past 2 weeks!

    @Cinella: Thank you! Herbs seem to be the favourite contender at the moment!

    @Leeds Acupuncture: Thanks Giles; great advice – I’ll see what I can do 😉