Wake up gardeners. Just because it is winter doesn't mean you have to hang it up.
Imagine winter as the perfect time to enjoy the culinary kick a fresh-cut herb can give to cold-weather staples like vegetable soup or homemade spaghetti sauce.
Interested? Then start an indoor winter herb garden and grow your own parsley, thyme, cilantro, chives, rosemary, basil, dill and oregano.
Many herbs grow easily and require only minimal care. And there's more good news.
Indoor gardening these days comes with options for getting started - some high-tech and some low-tech.
If you want to grow herbs in a traditional way, there are herb-garden kits for under $50 or - for even less - good, old fashioned seeds and terracotta pots make for a sufficient garden start.
The herb garden kit is designed to help you start herbs in your own kitchen or window sill with a greenhouse box, and they usually come with parsley, thyme, cilantro, basil, dill, oregano, chives. Some come with grow lights, others don't.
Claudia Smith of Blossom Hill Farm in Auburn said that most indoor gardens require some kind of added light in the winter.
"Unless you have a really well-lit area, you need a light of some sort," she said.
She recommends putting the herbs under fluorescent lights for 14 hours a day and to keep the lights 6-to-8-inches away from the tops of the plants.
Basil, chives, oregano, rosemary, sage and parsley all can flourish in this setting.
Smith is a professional organic grower who sells her produce through the Foothill Farmers Market.
Smith said that she, as a vendor who supplies herbs to market goers, has seen a change in the demands of her customers in the past two years as more people have expanded into cooking with fresh herbs.
"It has taken a while, but people are now warmed up to the idea," she said. "People like to be able to know where their food has come from."
That is the appeal for the average cook.
"There is pride in being able to grow your food and then use it at the table," she said.
Smith continues to garden outdoors in the winter but also has a commercial greenhouse, she said.
One suggestion she has for the winter home gardener is to grow each type of herb in a separate container.
"A lot of herbs require different watering, so it's best to keep them separate," she said.
She also encourages growers to follow the guidelines on the package, even indoors.
"A lot of growing herbs well is learned through trial and error," she said. "I always read up on the specifics of what I grow and follow instructions."
Smith says one lesson she can pass on is for growers is to plan to add nutrients to the pots as the herbs grow.
"When you grow herbs in pots and water them, the water will take a lot of the nutrients with it," she said.
Smith said she uses a "very diluted" fish emulsion as her food.
Other than the usual water and light, Smith says herbs are easy to grow in a confined area and should germinate in two to three weeks.
"It is a relatively short process," she said.
For those into high-tech, one of this year's holiday season gift "must haves" for someone who is "more than your average cook" is the AeroGarden.
The gadget is marketed as taking indoor growing to a new level. It allows just about anyone with a few feet of counter space to create fresh herbs, as well as lettuce, tomatoes and more - all year-round.
The technology works with built-in grow lights. It is self-watering, self-feeding and is capable of growing plants up to five times faster than those tilled in soil.
That's right, no soil. The roots are suspended in air instead of in soil or water.
The product made its debut in 2006 and a few specialty retailers stocked it last holiday season. This year, however, it is more widely available at stores such as Macy's and Bed, Bath and Beyond. It costs approximately $150 for the basic model.
The gardens consist of a base that houses the growing plants and a hood with the grow lights.
According to Mike Goldscheitter with AeroGrow International, all you have to do is pop seed pods into the base, fill the garden with water and nutrient pills, and then plug it in.
"It really is easy to use," he said.
The grow lights and water go on and off according to a timer and for those with a brown thumb, a light comes on every two weeks as a reminder to add water and nutrients.
The target market, since the product inception, has been home cooks.
"People are drawn to using fresh ingredients and this offers an easy and attractive way to do it in the home," Goldscheitter said.
One drawback, however, is that the garden does not grow with ordinary seeds. The grower must use seed pods that are only available from the manufacturer for roughly $20; an herb starter kit comes free with the kit.
Nevertheless, the guarantee is that you'll have fresh herbs, vegetables or even flowers in a month or two right on the counter.
