Indoor Garden?

[Lazy Gardener]

Mozzies? In your climate, I'd not bother with indoor growing. You should be able to grow outdoors year round... unless your summer season is too hot to grow things.

 

[patandchickens]

I have not had good luck growing lettuce at house temperatures. It wants cool, at least at night. And it needs to be a *really really* bright window -- not because lettuce needs blasting full sun so much as because it's only coming from one side of the plant. A sheer white curtain behind the lettuce (between lettuce and rest of house) will help some. You may actually need to shade the lettuce slightly mid-day depending where you live.

So, I've tried it but produced rather sad floppy stretchy poorly growing results. My parents never had much luck with it either, neither in the (warm) greenhouse nor in the unheated-but-mostly-not-too-freezy patio. I am certain it can be done better by someone else though

Pat, contemplating a small cold greenhouse for next winter to grow lettuce in.

 

[keljonma]

If you have a cool enough area (root cellar, cold pantry, covered porch) it should work. We have grown a variety of greens in containers indoors throughout the winter. As Pat mentioned, you need to have very good light during the day. We've used a south facing window, or a brooder lamp with a "grow" light hanging over the containers, if such a window isn't available.


edited for clarity

 

[hoosier]

Thanks for the info.

I was thinking of trying it in front of a basement window that faced south. I think the temp in front of the window would be about 55.
Do you think I have a chance?

 

[2dream]

hoosier - look at it this way - seed is cheap - give it a try. If it fails you will know. My DH told me I could not grow carrots in the long narrow flower containers. Becaues they are not deep enough. HA! Proved him wrong. True they were the fingerlings, and true they were not as big as they could have been but.....I grew them and they were good. And I plan on growing the fingerlings again this year in those same conatiners sitting on my front steps.

 

[Henrietta23]

Wow, 2 year old thread! But it's something I'm wanting to try too. I think I will order a packet of mix green seeds to try this with in my south facing kitchen window this winter. We just need to add a shelf between the cabinets on either side of the window. High enough that the cats can't dig in it.

 

[BarredBuff]

That sounds like a good idea, Henrietta!

 

[I'm A Gardener :)]

I've always started my lettuce seeds inside!!! So, I guess it's worth a shot! Right now I'm growing some basil indoors in a little terra cotta pot.

 

[lwheelr]

If you hang a sheet of mylar behind the plants, to reflect the light from the window back on them, it helps.

We did buttercrunch and Romaine indoors. Both ended up looking about the same, just one with rough edges, one with smooth. Long leaves, not short though. They do elongate. But they are still edible.

I didn't wait for the heads to mature. I plucked leaves to eat and let the plants keep growing.

Try Dill too - it makes a good salad green.

I did this for a couple of years, and then just went back to alfalfa sprouts. Easier, faster, takes less space and less light, good nutrition if you let them green up well, and they make a good salad by themselves.

 

[CrimsonRose]

Radish greens seem to be a tad easier to grow indoors for me than the lettuce greens... you just have to like a tad of spice to your salad!