Norway is not exactly the first country you have in mind when thinking about tomatoes, basil, peppers, coriander and parsley. But if you start planting seeds in early April indoors and move it outside in a warm corner in late May, you can be 100% self-sufficient to at least late September.
We have this awesome balcony which is sunny and warm almost the entire day. It also heats up our apartment to almost unbearable temperatures during the summer, since very few norwegian homes has air-condition (for obvious reasons). Luckily I love heat!
Since I´m decent chef and love fresh foods, I would have spent a lot of money on herbs. A quick calculation shows what we´re saving at least 10$ a week and 40$ a month by growing our own. We also get a surplus of dried herbs for the winter which we use for soups and stews.
It´s just a really small operation going on..nothing to brag about, but it´s just to show how darn easy it is, and one of many ways to save some bucks.
Last summer we also planted a coriander which we bought at the grocery-store - out in the front yard. And it actually survived the winter and is going mental this summer. I had no idea that coriander was that tuff. Thyme, Chives and Oregano are native to Norway, so we can find those pretty much anywhere. I´m also really looking forward to the berry-season. I know this insane raspberry-field where you can literally pick kilos of the stuff.
I grew up in rural Massachusetts, and my mother grew lots of things like this, especially lots of tomatoes. A good third of the growing season was indoors, so they were all over every window! One of the things I miss most since moving to the city is fresh tomatoes. Store bought once are an incredibly poor substitute.
Must have been a beautiful place to grow up. Looking at pictures it looks really amazing. Always wanted to visit those areas of the US. For some reason I always ended up in Florida or L.A :) You´re right about tomatoes. The ones we buy don´t even smell tomatoes. Not even the organic ones. I´m not a huge fan of fresh tomatoes (even though I love tomatoes in food..I use tomatoes in probably 50% of everything i eat) but those homegrown ones are just irresistible! Thank you for your comment. I´ll check out your profile and probably follow! :)
this is great, nice to see you making the most of your space by doing this. I am trying to grow some garlic at the moment lol wouldn't mind growing a few herbs too.. maybe next year! :)
Garlic..never crossed my mind to grow that. But I suppose it grows in the dirt as well..hmm..Ill try that next season!
good stuff man
Thanks bud!
Fresh herbs are delightful. What a cool way to DIY!
Thans nickelnerds!