Growing herbs doesn’t have to be an outdoor-only experience. With winter quickly approaching, you can have a thriving herb garden indoors that will add flavor, fragrance and variety to your meals while brightening and scenting your home. With minimal care, you can have a variety of herbs to harvest and enjoy through winter.

Good choices for indoor growing include basil, bay, chervil, chives, lemon balm, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. Begin with healthy seedlings that are full and bushy; avoid leggy seedlings – they’re already showing the effects of insufficient light.

Plant the seedlings in clean containers with a drainage hole using a sterile potting mix. Using dirty pots or regular garden soil is an invitation for disease and pests to decimate your fresh herbs.

Most herbs require at least six hours of sunlight every day. Pick the sunniest spot in your home—usually near a south-facing window. If you don’t have a spot with enough natural light, you can use two 40-watt cool white fluorescent bulbs. Place the plants 6 to 12 inches from the lights for 14 to 16 hours a day.

Temperature is as important as the right light. Herbs prefer temperatures of 65 to 70 degrees F during the day and 55 to 60 degrees F at night. Herbs will not survive indoors in temperatures below 50 degrees F.

Most herbs do best with regular watering—don’t let the soil become soggy or completely dry out. Dry indoor air can take a toll on herbs; try sitting the pots on a tray of pebbles with water to keep enough moisture in the air. Good air circulation also helps prevent them from getting stressed.

Feed your herbs every couple of weeks with a low-dose, water-soluble fertilizer. Don’t go overboard, too much fertilizer can affect the flavor and fragrance of the herbs.

If you should find any pests making a home in your herb garden, spray the plants with a weak dishwashing liquid solution (1 to 2 tablespoons dishwashing soap in 1 gallon of water). Make sure you wash any leaves you harvest before cooking and eating.

Ingredients:
 

1. 1 pre-made 12 inch pizza dough or pre-baked crust
   
2. ½ cup tomato or alfredo sauce
   
3. 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
   
4. 1 package cherry tomatoes, halved
   
5. ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
   
6. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees or as directed on package for baking pizza
   
2. Spread sauce over pizza dough or crust
   
3. Top evenly with mozzarella cheese
   
4. Arrange tomatoes cut side up on pizza
   
5. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on tomatoes
   
6. Bake as directed or until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned
   
7. Top with basil after removing from oven
   
8. Let sit for 5 minutes and serve warm

Preparation Time: 25 minutes (approximate)

Ingredients:

1. 8 ounces dry pasta
2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
3. 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4. 1 package (small basket) Cherry Tomatoes, halved
5. 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, packed
6. Shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in boiling water per package directions. Drain.
2. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a wide skillet over medium low heat.
   
3. Add garlic and stir until golden, about 2 minutes
4. Add tomatoes, increase heat to medium-high and simmer until tomatoes are softened and juicy, about 6 minutes
5. Stir in pasta and basil.
   
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste
7. Serve with parmesan cheese.

How much turkey should I buy?
-Plan on 1 ¼ pounds of uncooked bone-in bird per person (if you want leftovers).

How much wine should I buy?
-Plan on ½ bottle of wine per person. 

How many side dishes do I need?
-Plan on 4 servings of sides per person, not including bread (if you want leftovers). In other words: for 12 people, prepare recipes that add up to a total of 48 servings (for example, you could make 6 dishes that each serve 8).

How do I thaw my turkey?
-In the refrigerator: Place a still wrapped turkey on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any juices.

In cool water: Place a still wrapped turkey in a sink or cooler full of water, changing the water when it gets too cold (every 1 to 2 hours).

10 – 14 pounds: In the refrigerator, 2 – 3 days, in cool water, 5 – 8 hours.

14 – 18 pounds: In the refrigerator, 3 – 4 days, in cool water, 8 – 10 hours.

18 – 22 pounds: In the refrigerator, 4 – 5 days, in cool water, 10 – 12 hours.

Black Tea - May lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of stroke. Caffeine Per Cup: About 40 mg

Oolong Tea - May aid in weight loss. Caffeine Per Cup: About 30 mg

Green Tea - May lower the risk of cancer and heart disease. Caffeine Per Cup: About 25 mg

White tea - Has potential cardiovascular and cancer-fighting benefits. Caffeine Per Cup: About 15 mg

Herbal Tea - Chamomile tea may promote sleep; peppermint tea helps calm the stomach. Caffeine Per Cup: 0 mg

Flavored Tea - Has the same benefits as black, green, or white, depending on the type used. Caffeine Per Cup: 0 – 40 mg

     If you live in an area where the winters are typically harsh, leaving a plant in its container is not ideal.

     If it’s too late to get it into the ground, you might try putting it in a cold frame or near your compost pile, covered with leaves or a mulch of some type. The warmth generated from most compost piles combined with the protection of good mulch should improve the plants odds for surviving the winter. If you don’t have a cold frame or compost pile, try placing the pots next to a building, preferably with northern exposure, and mulch well – pile the mulch up around the pots and cover the plant stem (I assumed you’ve already pruned and trimmed the plant back).

     And if winter is dry, be sure to check them periodically and water as needed. Leaving a plant in a container is not ideal but there is nothing to lose by trying if you can’t plant it.

Good luck! 

     Winterizing your plants is one of the most important thing you can do for your plants to help them survive winter. Make sure that everything is well watered as winter begins and if winter is a dry one, and the ground not frozen, a little water to nourish them won’t. 

     Mulch your plants – preferably by late fall or early winter – when you know the plant is dormant. Dry leaves and small twigs, wood chips, straw, pine needles are good mulches and there are numerous types of mulch available at your local nursery, probably even bulk if you need it. Never pack mulch around a plant, you want it around the plant - but don’t pack it down.

     If you live where the winters are very hard; check with your local nursery about how to protect your plants. It never hurts to ask. 

     It really depends on a couple of things; what you want to plant and location. If you begin planting in early fall (maybe as late as mid-fall; depending on where you are located) a plant’s root system usually has time to establish itself. If the plant has time to really develop a root system, along with the right protection (mulching) to protect it during winter, it may be one of the hardest plants you have in the spring.

     My advice is to not plant later than mid-fall and be sure to water well when first planting. Then make sure to provide the plant with a good mulch – straw works well, or a good layer of pine tree limbs (small with needles still attached). Check with your local nursery for mulch recommendations for your area - I'm sure they'll have suggestions or at the least, product to purchase. 
 
     I watch new plants and check for frost damage/displacement. Frost can actually push a plant up so you may need to push it back (reset it) into the ground a little if you notice it looks like its lifted (I think they call it frost heaving). 

     Lastly, if winter isn’t a wet one, meaning it’s dryer than normal, you should water the new plant regularly.  

     Tuberous begonias, cannas, dahlias and many others; splash our summer with color and fragrance. It’s a shame to just toss them onto the compost pile and the end of the season.

     It just takes a little effort at the end of the season to save these plants for the growing season next year. Prepare and store these roots called tubers, rhizomes and corms over the winter by:

Rhizomes – use a little water to remove dirt and any little critters. Leave them out in the sun for a few days, allowing them to dry. Place them in a cardboard box or paper bag (don’t use plastic because they tend to hold moisture which may cause rot – and you’ll lose the rhizomes). Store them in a cool dark dry place until you’re ready to plant them in the spring.

Tubers – use a little water remove dirt and any little critters. Leave them out in the sun for a few days, allowing them to dry. The big difference here is you can use plastic bags for storing. Place a tuber in a plastic bag, cover with perlite, vermiculite, clean sawdust, sand or peat moss. If you know the name of the tuber or even just the color, write it on the plastic bag. Store in a cool place, don’t let them freeze during winter. It’s a good idea to check them several times, if they appear to dry, add a little moisture, if they appear too wet, open the bag and allow to air dry a little. If you notice any with mold, remove and toss.

Corms – After carefully digging them up, I cut the stems from the corms. I lay them out in a cool dry area with good air circulation, out of the sun, for about three weeks. You want them to dry slowly, so a placing them where there is no humidity is ideal. After about three weeks, I clean them. Don’t use water, just gently brush away dirt from the corm. Separate them from each other, using your fingers to force apart the little clusters, discard the center area (that’s the corm from the previous growing season – you don’t need it). Place the corms in a paper bag and store in a cool dry dark location like a basement or garage.  Plant again in spring.

     Because every area is different, check with your nursery for local information and tips that may be unique to your area.  

Q. - What do the Wright Brothers, Lucille Ball and Donny Osmond have in common, besides being famous?

A. - They’re all descendants of a certain Robert White and Bridget Allgar, an English couple who married in the mid 1500s; according to the towering family tree on the first floor of Salt Lake City’s expansive Family History Library, the largest facility of its kind in the world.