Indoor Container Gardening

aregensb

Hello to all you gardeners out there!

I am hoping to plant a small container garden this year. I'm mostly wanting to do herbs for my cooking (mm fresh basil). I'm thinking about trying some small vegetables as well, but I'm not sure how well that will work given the space I have.

I have no balcony, no patio, no yard... but what I do have is a very sunny south-facing, 5 foot long windowsill.

Most of the books I've gotten from the library about gardening talk about starting the plants indoors and then moving them out later in the spring. As I have no yard or any outside space at the moment, I was wondering how feasible my dream of an herb garden really is. I'd like to grow basil, cilantro, dill, rosemary, parsley - herbs I often cook with. It would also be nice to grow some beans, tomatoes, potatoes... but I don't know how well that will work given my limited space. I'm thinking of putting a table next to the windowsill to enlarge the space I can put plants, but still, it's a small area to work in.

My questions are:
1) Will the plants even produce if I keep them inside all the time?
2) Does it matter when I start the plants as I'm not planning on moving them outside? All the books I'm saying say to plant this herb X many weeks before the first frost... but if the plant remains inside, does it matter?
3) Has anyone had any success with planting vegetables in completely indoor container gardens? If you have, what kind of vegetables did you grow?

Thank you for your advice! I am new to this and don't really know much about gardening past what I've read in my library books. Any help is greatly appreciated! :flowerforyou:

aregensb

bump... anyone?

aregensb

sambo155

Here's some info! I really want to try this.

http://www.windowfarms.org/

the_journeyman

As long as you can give them lots of sunlight you should be ok. I would LOVE to container garden indoors in the winter but one of my cats thinks he's a weed whacker.

JM

JPDad

Container gardening indoors works well for herbs and tomatoes. Peppers and lettuce may be a little more tricky, but still possible.

rolliepollie087

Check out Mother Earth News, just google it, I LOVE the site and zine.

KickingDarkness

Yes you can grow herbs indoors in the summer (winter is tricky because the days are shorter and the light levels are lower). Give them as MUCH light as possible. Herbs and veggies usually need 8 hours of direct sun to flourish. A south window (in the northern hemisphere) should be enough to grow herbs. As for veggies I don't have personal experience growing them indoors. I've done a lot of container gardening outdoors however and know that most veggies can be grown successfully in containers. It's really just a matter of how much light you have. If you're getting direct sun for the majority of the day you should be ok. If you don't have a lot of space keep in mind that many veggies get BIG. Herbs won't take up too much space. My credentials; I've worked at a garden center for the last 5 years. Good luck! Gardening is a whole lotta fun.

aregensb

Thanks for your replies!