Arizona Highlander
10-09-2006, 06:10 PM
Anyone here ever try growing veggies indoors during the wintertime? I have four big, south-facing windows in my kitchen, so I decided to make the plunge last year . . . with decidedly marginal results. :D
First, unless you have a HUGE house, forget about growing enough veggies indoors to feed the family. Heck, if I had depended on my indoor veggies for sustenance, I wouldn’t have even survived myself. I see indoor wintertime veggies as partly morale-booster (fresh veggies do help liven the menu a bit) and partly as a source of essential vitamins (which might be in short supply, if one was living off their stored food).
A few of my experiences:
Peppers (Sweet and Hot). Fairly trouble free, once you get them going, and they add a lot of flavor to one’s survival rations. They’re also jammed-packed with vitamin C. Rather pretty plants, too - almost decorative. I grew them in 8” pots and they worked out well. BUT, I discovered that pepper seeds flat-assed won’t germinate unless the soil temperature is above 75 degrees or so. During normal wintertime household temperature conditions (with the thermostat set, say, for 68 degrees) the dammed things just won’t sprout. I haven’t figured a work-around yet, except to get them sprouted in October when it’s still warm, and then trying to keep the plants going for as long as I can through the winter.
Tomatoes. A fine little crop, though I discovered that the vines seemed to take over the kitchen after a while. The little, oblong “Roma” tomatoes did best for me; fairly prolific and not too overgrown with vines. Tiny cherry tomatoes also did okay (I grew them from hanging baskets) but the season’s biggest failures were the large, “Beefsteak” variety tomatoes, which produced huge vines but only ONE ugly, misshapen fruit. I’d suggest saving the “Beefsteak” type tomato seeds for outdoor summertime use.
Peas. Peas are traditionally a cool-weather crop, so I thought they’d be successful indoors. They sprouted readily and quickly grew to about 8” in height, but then they all died! I’m still not sure what went wrong, but I’ll probably give them another shot this winter.
Beets. A bit of a disappointment. Pretty good germination, but the resultant beet crop ended up with small and tough little roots. Better than going hungry, I guess, but nothing to get thrilled about. Again, I’m not sure what I did wrong, but I might give them another go this winter.
Onions. Tough to germinate (most of the seeds didn’t) but once they got going they hung in there. They proved to be VERY slow growing, but they didn’t die on me - they just slowly got bigger and bigger as the months passed. Onions probably don’t have much nutritional value, but they could sure add some spice to the wintertime dinner table (“rabbit stew” - consisting solely of boiled rabbit - doesn’t sound too appetizing. Toss in a few onions, though, and it might not be so bad).
This year, I may consider adding a dwarf lemon tree. They’re very decorative, and the lemons could also be a great source for vitamin C during the cold winter months. The ones my mom have back in California seem to bear fruit mostly during the wintertime, making them perhaps ideally suited for my purposes. They’re VERY frost sensitive, though, so they have to come indoors at the first touch of winter.
Recall also that the blooms have to be hand-pollinated (this goes for the peppers and tomatoes, as well for the lemons). I just use a small artist’s paintbrush (like the kind you might use for model airplanes or trains) and go about gently tapping the inside of each bloom with the brush. The pollen gets transferred between the flowers that way. It only requires a minute or two, a couple of times a week.
Also, last year’s experiment got cut short when I was infested with HUNDREDS of “fungus gnats,” who somehow gained a foothold in the potting soil I was using. The only sure cure was to take the soil outside and dispose of it. Since it was already March by then, I wouldn’t consider my experiment a total failure, but it WAS a huge annoyance. I’ve since learned that putting a ½-to-1 inch layer of clean sand atop the potting soil will thwart the gnats - they can’t reproduce in sand.
Despite my mixed results, I still think that indoor wintertime gardening has potential, and I’d love to hear if anyone else has any experience in this area.
First, unless you have a HUGE house, forget about growing enough veggies indoors to feed the family. Heck, if I had depended on my indoor veggies for sustenance, I wouldn’t have even survived myself. I see indoor wintertime veggies as partly morale-booster (fresh veggies do help liven the menu a bit) and partly as a source of essential vitamins (which might be in short supply, if one was living off their stored food).
A few of my experiences:
Peppers (Sweet and Hot). Fairly trouble free, once you get them going, and they add a lot of flavor to one’s survival rations. They’re also jammed-packed with vitamin C. Rather pretty plants, too - almost decorative. I grew them in 8” pots and they worked out well. BUT, I discovered that pepper seeds flat-assed won’t germinate unless the soil temperature is above 75 degrees or so. During normal wintertime household temperature conditions (with the thermostat set, say, for 68 degrees) the dammed things just won’t sprout. I haven’t figured a work-around yet, except to get them sprouted in October when it’s still warm, and then trying to keep the plants going for as long as I can through the winter.
Tomatoes. A fine little crop, though I discovered that the vines seemed to take over the kitchen after a while. The little, oblong “Roma” tomatoes did best for me; fairly prolific and not too overgrown with vines. Tiny cherry tomatoes also did okay (I grew them from hanging baskets) but the season’s biggest failures were the large, “Beefsteak” variety tomatoes, which produced huge vines but only ONE ugly, misshapen fruit. I’d suggest saving the “Beefsteak” type tomato seeds for outdoor summertime use.
Peas. Peas are traditionally a cool-weather crop, so I thought they’d be successful indoors. They sprouted readily and quickly grew to about 8” in height, but then they all died! I’m still not sure what went wrong, but I’ll probably give them another shot this winter.
Beets. A bit of a disappointment. Pretty good germination, but the resultant beet crop ended up with small and tough little roots. Better than going hungry, I guess, but nothing to get thrilled about. Again, I’m not sure what I did wrong, but I might give them another go this winter.
Onions. Tough to germinate (most of the seeds didn’t) but once they got going they hung in there. They proved to be VERY slow growing, but they didn’t die on me - they just slowly got bigger and bigger as the months passed. Onions probably don’t have much nutritional value, but they could sure add some spice to the wintertime dinner table (“rabbit stew” - consisting solely of boiled rabbit - doesn’t sound too appetizing. Toss in a few onions, though, and it might not be so bad).
This year, I may consider adding a dwarf lemon tree. They’re very decorative, and the lemons could also be a great source for vitamin C during the cold winter months. The ones my mom have back in California seem to bear fruit mostly during the wintertime, making them perhaps ideally suited for my purposes. They’re VERY frost sensitive, though, so they have to come indoors at the first touch of winter.
Recall also that the blooms have to be hand-pollinated (this goes for the peppers and tomatoes, as well for the lemons). I just use a small artist’s paintbrush (like the kind you might use for model airplanes or trains) and go about gently tapping the inside of each bloom with the brush. The pollen gets transferred between the flowers that way. It only requires a minute or two, a couple of times a week.
Also, last year’s experiment got cut short when I was infested with HUNDREDS of “fungus gnats,” who somehow gained a foothold in the potting soil I was using. The only sure cure was to take the soil outside and dispose of it. Since it was already March by then, I wouldn’t consider my experiment a total failure, but it WAS a huge annoyance. I’ve since learned that putting a ½-to-1 inch layer of clean sand atop the potting soil will thwart the gnats - they can’t reproduce in sand.
Despite my mixed results, I still think that indoor wintertime gardening has potential, and I’d love to hear if anyone else has any experience in this area.