Eating a fresh garden salad, made with vegetables grown indoor edibles from an indoor garden in January is a treat that one can only enjoy. Being able to pick and enjoy edible vegetables right from your window sill or right out of your indoor garden will be rewarding.  There are many herbs and vegetables that can be grown indoors in winter such as basil, parsley, rosemary, cherry tomatoes and a variety of lettuces. Once you start growing your edibles indoors in winter you will love it, and will always want an indoor garden.

Many people don’t realize that some of the same edible vegetables grown outside can also be grown indoors under the right conditions.  Herbs such as basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, oregano and dill can be grown in containers on a windowsill with good southern exposure for light or on a countertop with a grow light.  Seeds for edibles to be grown indoors may be hard to find so buy a good supply in early spring, they become hard to find by late summer and early fall.

When starting your garden factor in the room temperature and light conditions as well as the pollination of your plants.  The room temperature can be controlled and light can be added with the use of grow lights and warm white florescent light, but the pollinating will have to be done manually.

Many indoor gardeners use an artists brush to help with plant pollination and find that it works quite well when distributing pollen from one plant flower to another.  Another point to remember is that vegetable plants grown indoors are just as susceptible to pest problems as those grown outside.  If you have house plants, insects such as spider mites and white flies can be attracted to your vegetable plants also so the use of an insecticidal soap will be extremely useful inside with closed windows and doors.

Use lightweight soil mixes for your indoor growing, a good example is potting soil mixed with vermiculite and perlite and peat, and this will keep the soil from becoming compact.  With the lack of humidity in many homes watering nearly every day or every other day will be essential, and fertilize every two weeks with a good organic fertilizer.

Don’t allow the night time temperature in your garden room drop below 60, remember it is winter and most garden plants don’t fair well in cold temperatures.  Keep in mind also that being able to harvest your own fresh edible vegetables from an outdoor or an indoor garden is always rewarding.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 11:58 am and is filed under Ms. Eudora's Garden Weekly. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.