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When it's minus twenty outside there is nothing more rewarding than still being able to pick a fresh tomato off the vine. And no- I am not talking about the vine fresh tomatoes that you can get from the super market these days. I am speaking of growing some of it in your own home. You don't have to out produce the organic green house down the road, nor should you aim for eliminating your reliance on the vegetable supermarket.

However, in the middle of our northern winters it is a psychologically healthy thing to do. And in this article I mean to provide some helpful hints on winter gardening that are based on my own experience.

The best thing to start with when considering growing indoors for the winter is what to grow. I can tell you that cucumbers appear to be out. They are very finicky about the conditions that they are kept in. Tomatoes on the other hand are actually quite resilient. So is a nice box of fresh herbs kept over winter. Peppers work out very well inside. And so far I am quite happy about the development of the arugulla that I've planted. Often times as with the tomatoes and peppers, over wintered plants can be put out in the summer, as very mature high yeild stock.

You don't need to be very specialized, either, in terms of picking a location for your plants. Of course a south facing window is an ideal feature. Even up until this time of year, if you start your plants in a south window, they will do fine without supplementary light. But for growing and fruit production I highly recommend supplementary light, and the supplementary light is of course dependent on your available day light. The principle here is to help your plants pretend it is still summer. For this you will need full spectrum lighting. This again does not have to be terribly specialized. If you want to go with florescent lighting you can mount a small ballast over your plants. The light you will want is called a 50 series light and is available from any hardware store. If you are unsure, simply ask for full spectrum, or daylight balanced lighting. You can also obtain daylight balanced tungsten (regular bulbs, for you non geeks out there)from any hardware or house wares store. These, too, are quite efficient, and can be put in a directional floor lamp near your indoor garden. You will want to put a timer on either of these lights. I recommend setting the timer to go off early in the morning. Firstly this is the least distracting of the two options, and secondly it helps simulate

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