Spring in Winter?

Since moving to northwestern Minnesota last April, everyone has been trying to prepare me for a long and weary winter season. Coming from Tennessee, I worry the snow will get the best of me but, again all the neighbors advise it will be the -20 below days that will get me! lol. After hearing all the warnings, I've decided on a few winter projects to keep me busy. One will be to bring a little bit of Spring to my Winter. How do I plan to do it, you ask? Simple, now I have a full basement and intend on using part of it to grow some indoor veggies. I've been brainstorming for a while now with some of my frugal gal pals on yahoo so all the research has been done, I just have to get my project going.

First I plan to grow a potato plant in a garbage bag. I've got my tater rooting in the window sill right now. As soon as it's got some good roots, I'll transplant it to a big rolled down garbage bag with some cheap garden soil. As the plant grows, you roll up a little of the bag and add more dirt. Once the the flowers start to die off, you can reach in and pick a few "new" potatoes. The potatoes have matured once all the greenery starts to die off.

Next on the list is growing tomato & bell pepper plants from hanging milk jugs. My tomatoes didn't do so well from the garden this year so I'd love to have a few more around this winter. It would also be great if I had some fresh maters and peppers to give in some of my cooking gift baskets this Christmas. I've got tons of milk jugs so I just need a little rope, tomato plants or seedlings, dirt and a heat lamp. Based on all the information I've gotten, it's more difficult to grow tomatoes indoors but I'm determined to make it work!

I'm hoping to turn my basement garden into a learning opportunity for the kids too. Wouldn't it be just the neatest thing for my son to bring fresh grown veggies to show and tell! I can only imagine what his teacher would think!

I'd also like to grow carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnips too but we'll see how the first three growing projects go before I get too wild and crazy with it. If anyone's got any other creative and frugal ideas to help keep us occupied this winter, I'd love to hear them!!!!