Growing Herbs Indoors in Winter?

[Gilberto de Piento]

I'm thinking about growing some herbs indoors this winter. My experience with this is limited to rosemary which will grow indoors in winter in a pot though when it gets old enough you have to throw it away and start over because the leaves get really tough. I'm in the northern US so I don't have much sun.

What herbs work? I mostly use chives, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil, and cilantro so those would be best but I'm open to other ideas.

In a pot or some other technique? I don't think I'm interested in paying for and setting up lights or a hydroponic system.

Are vegetables like lettuce possible?

I suppose I could google this more but the results mostly just want me to buy a kit.

[jennypenny]

Do you have a south facing window? You can do a DIY window farm for lettuce and spinach. Most herbs will work in pots with a little less light except for basil. Basil is more like a vegetable in light/heat needs. I have some seed mats that I keep under them and turn off if it gets really cold at night. I also water with warm water when it's cold in the house.

Get leafy lettuce that's suited for cold climates. Leafy is easiest because you can eat it at any size. Johnny's Seeds has some growing guides. High Mowing just sent me their winter catalog. I'm growing their Yankee Hardy and Gourmet Blend lettuce in my sunroom, as well as their arugula and micro greens.

DIY window/bottle farms I have bookmarked ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf0soLwcMiA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN6IHSv5n8A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugc71yhAfV0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OFlkJ70TCc

also: Search youtube for growing herbs from cuttings. Some can be grown in water.

[Gilberto de Piento]

The bottle gardens are a neat idea. They look like something from a dystopian future movie. If I ever need to be evicted I will be sure to put one in the window.

I watched the kratky video but I didn't hear why growing the plants in water is better than potting soil. Do you know?

I had some rosemary and thyme cuttings left over from Thanksgiving so I'm trying to start them in some cups of water now. I'll figure out where to put them if they root. Fun!

[fiby41]

Tulsi? Requires a source of light for growing. Indoors lighting will do if room is in use throughout the day. Else lamppost/spotlight will be needed.

[Gilberto de Piento]

Update: I put the rosemary in water and it died. The thyme is also in water and is still alive but it hasn't produced any roots. I may put it in wet potting soil today to see if that works better. Maybe I need some rooting hormone.

[cmonkey]

There is a time frame during the winter where nothing will grow, even if its warm and indoors. It has to do with light levels. I think the timeframe is mid-December through mid-February. Patrick from One Yard Revolution (youtube) did a video on it a few years ago.

The goals should be to get your winter crops to a point where you can harvest during that 2 month timeframe without taking the whole plant because it will be dormant.

Here's is a recent video.

[sky]

https://imgur.com/a/Txocp

https://imgur.com/a/zyY8V