What veggies can be grown indoors over the winter?

[DalesCarpentry]

I just read an article that you can grow tomatoes inside during the winter. I did not know you could do that because I allways thought you had to have bees or other insects pollinate them. http://www.webterrace.com/tomato/growing.htm I was wondering if there were other vegetables that could be grown inside during the winter. Dale

[Dixie Dude]

In flowerpots and flower boxes near or under window for sunlight.  Turnips, beets, onions, carrots, raddishes.  Tomatoes may have to be staked or caged, because they can grow 3-5' tall.  Like tomatoes, eggplant and various peppers, but they don't grow as tall.  Mushrooms in a cooler damper place like a basement.  Also strawberries. 

[DalesCarpentry]

This is interesting to me. I did a Google search for growing indoors and come up with a bunch of hits. My concern is there are no bees in the house during the winter to pollinate the plants. I could buy a couple 4 FT florescent lights and put grow bulbs in them and put it on a timer. Dale

[Dixie Dude]

Turnips, beets, onions, carrots, and raddishes do not have to be polinated unless you are going to make seeds from them.  You do not eat their seeds, you eat the leaves and rootsI.  You plant the seeds and they grow.  Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant I think, can self polinate.  You can also start them in pots outside, let them flower, polinate, then bring them in before first frost.  Must find out when the normal first frost in your area is.  I ordered a book years ago, called the Self Sufficient Gardener among many other books, from Rodel press.  I used to order Organic Gardening magazine. 

[jvs]

Dixie Dude,

    Rodale Press is a local company (Emmaus, Pa.) here in Pennsylvania.  They have an International following for some of their Magazines, including the ones you mentioned.  Rodale Press has built up a fine reputation.



Dale,

    With the higher cost of food, including fresh Veggies, growing them over the winter may work out, provided you don't run your electric bill up too high in the effort.  It may be more cost effective to find a window with a Southern Exposure, and try to grow them there.  Most plants needs in excess of 6 hours of sunlight a day, and unless you plan on having the sun do most of that lighting for you, indoor winter gardening may not be any cheaper than going to the supermarket and paying retail.   

An indoor Window Box will work, and Q-Tips can do Pollinating.  I use Q-Tips to hand Pollinate my Zuchinni in the Garden.

[Dixie Dude]

The first veggies I mentioned, we grown in the winter in the south.  A little frost doesn't hurt them.  So they should be able to grow inside at a window, or window box.  I put shelves in front of a south facing window and put the plants in pots and trays on the shelves.  They will grow fine.  Obstructs the view, but you can have some veggies.  You can have a backyard garden next spring and if you rotate crops, and check the growing time, you can grow enough veggies for a year.  Need to learn to can and blanch veggies for storage.  A root cellar is good for potatoes, apples, carrots, beets, turnips (not the greens), rutabegas, etc.  Also, you can check into eatible wild plants and harvest some of those freebies while hunting.  We have wild plums and blackberries down here.  Home grown food tastes better, and is safer than what we are getting now.  I grew cabbage, corn, okra, cucumbers (for pickles), raddishes, rutabegas, turnips, onions, carrots, strawberrys, tomatoes, green beans, butter beans, peas, English peas, bell peppers, banana peppers, cayane pepper, egg plant, summer squash, watermellon, cantelope, and butternut squash, from what I remember.  Garden was only about 40'x75'.  Live in town now, with trees all over the yard.  Want to move back to the country when I retire. 

[DalesCarpentry]

DD boy that sounds like a hell of a garden you had there. JVS could you explain how to polenate a plant using a Q-tip. I am stupid when it comes to this stuff. Thanks Dale

[torpedoman]

tomatoes are self pollinating they don't need any help. Just take a q-tip and go from flower to flower rubbing inside them like a bee would do for the rest