Most people think about gardens and planting only in the spring time, and again as harvest time comes. This is certainly true, but there is no reason you cannot plant and grow crops all year around, and one way to do this is by growing an inside herb garden during the winter. What do you need to have a nice inside herb garden, just a window that gets some southern exposure, and even that's not necessary.

Lets say you do have a window with southern exposure, you need something to grow your herbs in, and a place to set them. If you have a bay type window with large sills, your in luck, if not, then you will need to either create a plant box, which can be as wide as your window is, and set it on a stand or fasten it securely to the wall or window sill. Other options are to simply move a stand or table near the window, or use one of them metal shelf units that can be bought for as little as $25 in stores, these multi shelf units can be perfect for growing a large inside herb garden.

If you don't have a window that gets much southern sun exposure, you can still grow all the herbs you want inside, by investing in a simple fluorescent light, the ones used in work shops works fine, or if you wish you can buy a plant growing light fixture, but either works fine.

Growing herbs is great fun, and really anyone can do it, there is nothing like being able to pick fresh herbs whenever you wish from your own crops. You will also save a lot of money because you won't have to pay the high prices for herbs in the stores, and if you want you can even sell any herbs that you don't use for personal reasons.
Food is good, but good tasting food is even better, and nothing beats adding fresh herbs to a favorite dish. If you do any cooking, you will know how wonderful fresh herbs can be to add flavor and zip to any meal.

And, the best thing is you will have a room filled with the wonder of green herbs, and the scents they give off while growing in your home, it also makes the cold months of winter, seem a lot warmer by having all the beauty of the plants growing inside, and the plants will be making oxygen to help you breather better and feel more energetic.

Here are just a few of the herbs you can grow inside, and some of the uses of each:

Basil - Tomato Sauce, Vinegars, Salads, Noodles
Bay - Stews, Soups. Chervil - Stews, Soups
Chives - Soups, Seafood
Lemon Verbena - Herbal Teas
Marjoram - Tea, Soups, Meats
Mint - Salads, Tea, Mint jelly
Oregano - Grilled Meats, Pizza, Tomato Sauces, Fried Vegetables
Parsley - Garnish, Fish, Poultry, Vegetables
Rosemary - Roast Potatoes, Marinade for Lamb
Sage - Stuffing, Potatoes, Fried Sausage
Tarragon - Chicken, Fish
Thyme - Seafood, Tomato Sauces, Vegetables

If you don't want to bother buying pots or making a window box, you can still enjoy growing herbs inside, by buying one of the smaller, complete indoor herb growing kits, these are available at most Walmart, and Kmart stores, and at numerous online stores. Growing your own herb garden inside, is not only easy and fun, it also healthy, and it's a great way to help fight the winter blues.

There is a website that describes numerous activities and other methods to help eliminate the Winter Blues, this website is called: Winter Activities - and it may be found at this url: http://www.winter-activities.com

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