Can vegetables be grown inside the house in winter?

[RoughCollie]

Let me say that I have had 2 normal, outside, summertime gardens. The first one yielded 5 green beans and 3 zucchini, and many more vegetables were planted. The second yielded nothing -- a great big zero. I did everything according to the books, and still ... failure stalks me.

 

Now I'm thinking maybe there is a new method I can use, economically, to grow veggies in the house in the winter. Hope springs eternal that I can grow anything at all.

 

Do any of you know of how this can be done? If you point me to keywords, I will happily do the research.

 

I'm not sure how DH will feel about lettuce or green peppers growing in the bedroom, especially since it is 12 x 12, and only will hold 2 small nightstands, a king size bed and one chest of drawers. By the time he figures it out, it will be a done deal.

 

I figure I can slide in a few plants here and there throughout the house (which is cramped -- no large unused areas in a 1600 s.f. house which holds 6 people). Benefits: No bugs, cheaper veggies, and organic produce. The problem is sunlight -- which is not present here from Nov - Mar, at least -- but I can research grow lights.

 

Is this a harebrained idea? You will not hurt my feelings by saying so. I have lots of harebrained ideas that are defeated by reality.

 

Thanks,

RC of the Black Thumb

Edited September 17, 2010 by RoughCollie

[MSNative]

Yes it can be done, but it's harder (pollination can be a problem) Search on winter garden, four season garden and vegetables grown inside.

 

I have lots of success with herbs and green onions. Almost never fail. Spinach and lettuce are ok. Others are spottier (peppers, tomatoes, etc)

[RoughCollie]

Yes it can be done, but it's harder (pollination can be a problem)

 

Thank you. Pollination has never even tiptoed across my mind when it comes to gardening. I thought Nature took care of all that somehow.

 

Boy, do I sound like a dummy, huh?

Edited September 17, 2010 by RoughCollie

[ahousefullofjs]

Well, with Hydroponics, anything can be grown indoors, at anytime of year. It's a big thing here in CA, but I really don't think that most of the people using hydroponics here are really growing veggies. :glare:

 

Other than that, I don't think you'll be able to do much. We've started veggie, and fruit seedlings on window sills but that was very short term, after about a month they needed to be transplanted outside for more space.

[MSNative]

No, you don't. I know from experience....twiddling thumbs for months at a time.....hopefully gazing at lovely pepper plants that did NOTHING!! :)

 

These are a couple helpful sites.

 

http://www.suite101.com/content/create-a-winter-vegetable-garden-a148765 http://www.extension.umaine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/2762.htm

[RoughCollie]

Well, with Hydroponics, anything can be grown indoors, at anytime of year.

 

That's it! That's the word I've seen on produce at the grocery store. Thank you. I'll research that, too. I'm not sure DH will be very happy about tubs of water all over the house. Gosh, he stubs his toe on one of those things and he won't be a happy camper.

[RoughCollie]

No, you don't. I know from experience....twiddling thumbs for months at a time.....hopefully gazing at lovely pepper plants that did NOTHING!! :)

 

Thank you for the links, and for the voice of experience. I am trying not to take on a project that is destined for failure, for a change.

[Denisemomof4]

That's it! That's the word I've seen on produce at the grocery store. Thank you. I'll research that, too. I'm not sure DH will be very happy about tubs of water all over the house. Gosh, he stubs his toe on one of those things and he won't be a happy camper.

 

I have been wanting to have a hydroponic garden in the house since I visited Epcot. You need the right conditions and growing lights, but it can be done.

 

I actually have a green house that I want to grow things in over the winter but have never tried it.

 

With your veggies that never grew, did you fertilize? Water? You don't need to use chemical fertilizers. I usually only throw in llama manure. My neighbor down the street has a truckload of cow manure delivered for his garden and it yields a TON.

 

This summer was not a good one to garden. We planted a new lawn last year and we sitll have thin grass in spots all over. The head and lack of water proved to make this summer very difficult to grow anything.

[RoughCollie]

With your veggies that never grew, did you fertilize? Water?

 

Yes, I did. For the first garden, I used sterilized cow manure (that's what the garden store sold) and followed the directions in a gardening book. My kids were all excited because they thought, as I found later, that we were growing cows. (They were under 5 years old.)

 

The second time was the summer of 2008. I followed the square foot gardening book's advice, and bought their square foot boards, made my own trellis following their directions, etc. That was a lot of work and money for nothing.

 

I'm not sure that was my fault. We had a lousy summer in terms of lack of sunlight, low temps for summer, high winds. The seedlings came in, but they didn't grow Up. Thankfully, my memory has dimmed about this, because I am ready to hop on the horse again.

[Jane in NC]

Let me give you a hydroponic idea. Check out Windowfarms.

 

Also, think sprouts. Mother Earth News has an archived article here.

[MSNative]

Yes, I did. For the first garden, I used sterilized cow manure (that's what the garden store sold) and followed the directions in a gardening book. My kids were all excited because they thought, as I found later, that we were growing cows. (They were under 5 years old.)

.

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: ROFL!!! That's fantastic!!

[Rosie_0801]

Sprouts can.

 

That reminds me, I've been meaning to start some sunflower lettuce for about two months...

 

Rosie

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

Yes, I did. For the first garden, I used sterilized cow manure (that's what the garden store sold) and followed the directions in a gardening book......

.....

The second time was the summer of 2008. I followed the square foot gardening book's advice.......

 

If I may offer a suggestion, I would take several soil samples from each of your beds and have them analyzed at your county cooperative extension. Don't use the soil sample kits from big box home improvements stores -- they don't analyze something important that I'm not remembering right now.

 

I have a friend who is an avid new gardener and spent all winter growing seedlings, researching and researching for her large vegetable garden this spring -- and got not. one. thing. They had purchased supposedly well balanced compost/loam for these beds, but got nothing. She ended up having the soil analyzed and there were some major imbalances and nutrients missing. It is all correctible, and she spent the last 1/2 of the summer working on it.

 

Best of luck.

[OrganicAnn]

If you can't grow vegetables in a garden, it is ever more difficult to grow them indoors. The exception is sprouts. Sprouts you just add water a couple times a day. Herbs are not too hard to start. Hydroponic set ups can cost some money.

 

Good luck and let us know of your successes.

[LibraryLover]

Did you see bees in your garden areas? Each year I plant more and more flowers that are beloved by bees. it makes a huge difference.

[Alenee]

Thank you. Pollination has never even tiptoed across my mind when it comes to gardening. I thought Nature took care of all that somehow.

 

Boy, do I sound like a dummy, huh?

 

Nope, unless that makes me a dummy too! :lol: I'm the 'weeder' and the 'harvester' of the family. Taking care of plants doesn't even cross my radar. After years of my mil trying to encourage me to garden, I finally said to her, "Ya know, I realized something. I am just NOT a gardender...and I am TOTALLY okay with that!" *cheeky grin* ;)

[RoughCollie]

If I may offer a suggestion, I would take several soil samples from each of your beds and have them analyzed at your county cooperative extension.

 

I will do that next time I plant something -- we are in a different state now, and everything seems to grow just fine. We did have lousy soil before, so I planted garden #1 in potting soil and added sterilized cow manure and peat moss to it. Garden #2's soil was the exact mixture recommended by the Square Foot Gardening guy.

[RoughCollie]

Sprouts can. Rosie

 

Sprouts of what? Are you talking about those things that look kind of like white worms?

[RoughCollie]

Did you see bees in your garden areas? Each year I plant more and more flowers that are beloved by bees. it makes a huge difference.

 

We moved to another state and to a rural area last year. There are lots of bees and other animals here. You name it, we've got it.

[RoughCollie]

I finally said to her, "Ya know, I realized something. I am just NOT a gardender...and I am TOTALLY okay with that!" *cheeky grin* ;)

 

It could be that I'm not either. I have never, not once, managed to keep a plant alive -- including succulents, the one kind of plant people give me because they say no one can kill them. Not true.

[EthiopianFood]

Sprouts of what? Are you talking about those things that look kind of like white worms?

 

I call it "hair." :D

[Punchie]

I haven't read the replies, so I apologize if this has already been mentioned. It's not for growing veggies indoors during the winter, but having a winter garden:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Harvest-Handbook-Production-Greenhouses/dp/1603580816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284814840&sr=8-1-spell

 

http://www.amazon.com/Four-Season-Harvest-Organic-Vegetables-Garden/dp/1890132276/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284814840&sr=8-3-spell

[Dobela]

Find you local County Extension Agent. Ours is listed in the phonebook with the county name first. I would call them now so you have all winter to work on this. They can test your soil, let you know what plants fare better in your area, what you need to watch out for, and so on. Ours even has free classes occassionally and lots of free printed literature to help you out.

 

My mom can grow most anything. She even takes rose clippings and sticks them in the rocky ground and they keep growing. I on the other hand have managed to kill almost every plant that comes my way. Mom has only had success growing herbs and other similar foodie plants indoors. Part of it has to do with the dry heat of the heating system and general lack of humidity inside. Pollination is also a problem as is enough direct bright sunlight.

[MBM]

Yes, you can grow vegetables indoors. I know of a woman in Chicago who does it. You'd need a lot of light, and then you'd have to pollinate. It's not the easiest process, but it can be done.

 

I'd suggest starting with microgreens. Nutritious and easy to grow indoors. The seeds are sold at many nurseries and big box stores.

 

I'm going to try to grow lettuce and greens in a cold frame this winter. Should be interesting.

 

Good luck. :)

[mmasmommy]

Let me give you a hydroponic idea. Check out Windowfarms.

 

Also, think sprouts. Mother Earth News has an archived article here.

 

Windowfarms looks awesome but WOW is it expensive! Not to mention it says standard installation time is 10 hours. :eek:

[Jane in NC]

Windowfarms looks awesome but WOW is it expensive! Not to mention it says standard installation time is 10 hours. :eek:

 

I linked it strictly for inspiration! Perhaps some clever kid could devise a system for fewer dollars?? I see a homeschool project!

[HSMom2One]

I wonder if a greenhouse is the answer for you, Rough Collie. Here is an interesting article that makes good food for thought.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

 

P.S. I miss hearing from you!

[Rosie_0801]

Sprouts of what? Are you talking about those things that look kind of like white worms?

 

I'm talking about this: http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/sprouts.htm You've eaten them before pollination becomes an issue :D

 

Rosie

Edited September 18, 2010 by Rosie_0801

[Garga]

Five green beans?!?!? Hahahahaha!! That sounds like something I'd do! Thanks for the laugh.

 

(Now to go back and read the thread hoping to learn something.)

[LizzyBee]

We do herbs inside, and they do fine. But we've never tried veggies inside other than starting seeds in the spring.

 

We've had disappointing results here, too. We've had a record-breaking hot summer with lots of days over 100, and the garden didn't like it.

[RoughCollie]

I'm talking about this: http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/sprouts.htm You've eaten them before pollination becomes an issue :D Rosie

 

Thank you. I bookmarked the site. Do I want to eat them, though? That is the question. The process looks foolproof, so I'll probably screw it up. :D

[RoughCollie]

I wonder if a greenhouse is the answer for you, Rough Collie. Here is an interesting article that makes good food for thought.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

 

P.S. I miss hearing from you!

 

Lucinda, I will email you very soon. Yes, I'd love to have a greenhouse. They cost too much, though. I wonder if they keep bugs out or if bugs just spontaneously generate themselves.

[RoughCollie]

I call it "hair." :D

 

Do mean those green, wavy, stringy things? I thought that was alfalfa or something. Come to think of it, I think the "white worms" are bean sprouts.

[Rosie_0801]

Do I want to eat them, though? That is the question. The process looks foolproof, so I'll probably screw it up. :D

 

Do you want to eat them? That is a very good question :D

 

They are pretty well fool proof. As long as you rinse them every morning and evening, there isn't much you can do wrong. We like to sprout sunflower seeds then sprinkle them on a tray of potting mix to grow sunflower lettuce. As long as you eat them before the true leaves grow, they're quite tasty.

 

Rosie

[OrganicAnn]

You can sprout alfalfa seed, broccoli seed and several others. Broccoli sprouts have the same vitamins as regard broccoli. You can put them on sandwiches and in salads. They are very nutritious. You can buy a little spouter thing for very little money. Most of the indoor vegetable growing will cost you some money (hydroponics or grow lights).

 

If you try sprouts - ALWAYs buy seeds that are designed to be sprouted. Other seed could be coated and not for consumption.

[HSMom2One]

Lucinda, I will email you very soon. Yes, I'd love to have a greenhouse. They cost too much, though. I wonder if they keep bugs out or if bugs just spontaneously generate themselves.

 

Don't know about the bugs, but I wanted to suggest a portable type of green house for you. My elderly mom bought one this year and it is great! She found it at a local discount variety store and it is made of vinyl with velcro and zippers, and it fits over a light weight metal frame. Inside there are shelves and a bit of workspace. If I remember right, you can buy them in different sizes. Here's is roughly 4' x 6' in size, and was less than $100. Here is a link to one that is similar.

 

I bet that you could do with something like this until you can afford the materials to build one. Heck, if it worked in your area (considering snow fall and weather conditions), maybe you could get two or three of them over time.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

 

P.S. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!