what are you growing indoors this winter?

[bower]

I just potted up our cut-and-come lettuce, arugula and mizuna today in some 'windowbox' type containers.

Some bok choy went into single containers. I try to keep them as narrow as possible because of it having to be eaten up quick when it's ready. Minimize the soil required. Same for mini romaine I will pot up as singles tomorrow.

Michihili cabbage will need a medium sized pot, but we do get lots of mileage out of them, just pulling a few leaves at a time.

This time I'm trying a larger pot with Kai Lan in the middle and Yu Choy around the edge. Since Yu Choy is ready much sooner, I thought we may chow on that until it doesn't grow back, and by that time the Kai Lan will be ready to take over the space?

Cilantro and dill, as usual, are in the narrowest deep pot I can find, with individual plants sown about an inch apart.
What are you growing? What works for your winter veggies?
Any new varieties or old favorites that work really well as a winter green?

[Labradors2]

What a fabulous idea to grow Cilantro! I LOVE it!

I'm growing some Arugula, but today I cheated and bought a pot of lettuce - already big enough to harvest - from the local farmers market .

Linda

[Cole_Robbie]

Low winter humidity is the biggest challenge for anything I have tried to grow indoors.

[bower]

Cole, I have my lights in unheated rooms in the basement. They're not totally freezing because warm air does circulate there but the humidity level at about 60 F is just enough for lettuce and greens. I've tried growing in the main living area but it does get too dry for lettuce or greens.

One thing I use a lot is a mister!

[NewWestGardener]

Bower, what is a michihili cabbage? I know everything else you are saying except this one. I really like mizuna and arugula for salads.
I potted up one petunia and one impatient for making cuttings for next year, the sweet potato vine didn’t make it.
I just rooted some figs, black currents and a white grape cuttings, new roots everywhere, I have to pot them up ASAP. Very awkward timing, they can’t go outside, but then it is too warm inside. I have to make sure they all live. Black currents have to be the easiest thing to root, new roots will come out of every nodes of the cuttings, including the sections in the air.
I will try again to get some plumcot seeds I saved to germinate. No germination last year after a few months of stratification.

[bower]

NewWest, Michihili is a close relative of Napa cabbage. Slow growing dense cabbage, with sweet thick crunchy ribs. The main difference that I've noticed is that the outer leaves of Michihili are downright prickly. I haven't decided yet whether that's an advantage or a defect. Maybe deter pests in the field?
I'm finding a few crosses in the Michihili I just started - different leaf shapes, so likely different parents including Red Russian kale (red in the stem and deeply serrated) and Bok Choy (round spoon-shaped leaves without typical light serrations). But so far they are all furry or prickly on the underside. So I guess that's a dominant trait for the M.

[GoDawgs]

I'm glad I checked this thread as it has reminded me I've forgotten to start the arugula! That will be fixed this afternoon. It will eventually go into a window box and move out to the porch for the duration except for super cold nights.

[oakley]

I'm still looking for the best head type. I'll have to look ups some posted.
I'd like something like a mini romaine. Something with a bit of crunch. What I have
going looks great but so slow growing. 4-6 weeks. I would need a lot of real estate
for daily salads.
All my micros are 7-10 days and I'm often ahead of myself in volume to bag and
fridge. I start 6-10 small trays once a week. Year round.
Once a month, the winter months, I start trays of cilantro, basil, Thai basil, par-cel, leeks,
celery...
Right now I'm set up on a couple shelves in the pantry. With a couple trays of
micro tomatoes. Once they need potting up I'll move everything downstairs to the winter
seeding room.

[NewWestGardener]

I was inspired by Oakley’s micros so many times I just have to act on it
Bower, I googled and laughed, Michihili cabage, such a fancy English name, it is called plainly in Chinese “white vegetable”, one of my favourite veggies. I like it for salads, it goes really well with cilantro, sesame seeds/oil, white balsamic. My mom used to make fermented kimchi every winter.
Speaking of that, I am going to study up how to make fermented soy beans for miso and soy sauce, my mom used to make every year, every family did back then. The soy bean blocks(cooked and mashed) would sit for a few months, get dry and mouldy through the winter, then made into sauce with added water and salt in the spring.

[Nan_PA_6b]

I'm doing the F4 growout of my cross, so I've got tomato plants under lights. Pruning to one stem, of course. I'm doing a germ test on some roma bush beans; maybe I'll find a place to squeeze them onto the table.

[oakley]

We are back into winter small batch fermentation. Rotation of three jars kimchi, then 2-3
quart jars trying different krauts. Every two weeks is the perfect amount.
Kimchi pizza, kimchi bbq beef rib tacos...dumplings, lots of micro greens.
(a stack started with the rock on top)

[oakley]

I looked un Michihili as well. I should try that.

Bower, our recent last minute trip to TrinityEast, I started a stack of micro trays a
couple days before leaving...they germinated during the drive in a rubbermade crate
and we had salads a couple days after arrival. Enough for the 10 days and a couple
dinner parties. 10 small trays and looks like 3 larger on the bottom.
That is about the amount I started last mid-week for Thanksgiving.

[NewWestGardener]

Oakley, was that onions or leeks in one of trays? What do you usually grow, 10 days rotation? Do you use any peat or anything at the bottom of the tray? I’ll start some today. I have mizuna, arugula, lots of lettuce, mustard, radish and pea seeds.

[bower]

Oakley, your micros and what you do with them is super inspiring! I really admire your perseverance too, being so organized and keeping it going. This is where I fall down on the job. I pretty much have to start a bunch of things that will mature over time and will last a while, because I can't depend on myself to keep doing it week after week.
I'm by no means well versed in varieties, but for romaine I'm still using the Sherwood seed I saved last year. It really is a superb little lettuce and it is a lot faster than the Red which we liked as well. Another bonus is that they aren't a bit prone to bolt. I have a half dozen to pot up now and another sixpack can wait. They won't protest and will be fine when the time comes to bring em on.



@NewWestGardener, "white vegetable" is a lot easier to say! I bought the seeds at a local store because they didn't have Napa and it looked close. We grew it as part of our winter greens, and it was well worth it in spite of the wait. Versatile, as you said, perfectly good in salads or cook as and if you must. I'm learning year by year how big a pot to use for one thing or another, always aiming for the smallest thing that works in an indoor grow.

[bower]

Some pics of my scrawny starts and sprawly setup.

First is the leftover lettuce after potting up. I started two of these little trays densely planted in 3 rows - Merveille des 4 saisons and Iceberg together, Freckles and Sherwood together, and Astro arugula and Mizuna together. The last was a mistake - Mizuna took off and about 3X the size of the arugula - I thought they'd be the same. I try to put together things that have the same growth rate so one doesn't dwarf the other. One of these small trays went to Mom for immediate cutting and eatin, and the second one was more than enough for two rows in the windowbox containers.
I set up one of the LED shoplights over this table for the two wb's, one for me and one for mom. So this is how the plant lights real estate goes, starting with two of each, each time there is something big enough to deliver, it opens up space for something new.
The light in the window opposite has bok choy, mizuna and arugula in single containers. These tubs are about the width of a 4" pot but deeper, and seems to work well enough for the bok, maybe a little small for the romaine, so I'll put those in some square black ones which are slightly larger. You can squeeze two rows under this light if you rotate the tray. I need more pots!

My big shelf has just one LED for now but it should be okay. This is a nice space for things like romaine, michihili and kai lan when they get bigger. The sandpails work well for dill and cilantro.

The other fluorescent is in another room, over the extras and things not potted up yet - Sherwood!