what to grow?

[rachelappel]

as we currently have 5 pigs under our care (with another litter on the way), veggies can get kind of spendy. i'd like to start growing some of my own stuff but i unfortunately do not have a green thumb, or know the first thing about gardening. my husband is lawn guy/landscaper and knows some, but he's busy working 14 hour days to provide for us. soo...my questions are:
1. what are some plants/herbs you can easily grow indoors? we live in minnesota and winters here can be brutal. i'd like to be able to grow some stuff indoors if its possible.
2. what are some "easier" veggies to garden that are good for pigs?
3. what is the average size space needed, or what size do you use for your gardens?
4. what's the best way to start a garden?
i am really a complete newbie at this so any and all help is appreciated!

[shc1192]

Hi! I'm growing veggies for my guinea pig and for my family as well. I'm growing green and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, snap peas, spinach, and tomatoes.
I live in an apartment with a porch, so I'm growing them all in large pots on my porch, so they don't take much room at all! I used a name-brand potting mix as soil and all I do is water them every evening and they're all growing great and producing fruit. I've had vegetable gardens as well, they're more difficult because you need to weed often and bugs and animals are more likely to go after your veggies, but if you want to grow lots of things a garden is probably the way to go.
I grow herbs as well. In my experience, most herbs do well indoors and aren't difficult to grow at all. Just follow the instructions on the little tag that comes with the herbs, they usually have indoors and outdoors instructions.
Hope this helps!

[RodentCuddles]

(with another litter on the way)

Do you breed your guinea pigs? The fact that you said 'another litter' sounds to me like you do?

[rachelappel]

@shc1192 thanks so much for the tips. i have a friend who grows just about every type of herb you can imagine inside, so i figured they'd be pretty easy, even for me what size pots do you use? and how much produce does your garden output? and this may seem like a really stupid question, but do you have to replant them after you pick them? or just every year? i'd assume they aren't like perennials that grow back every year, but i have no idea.

@RodentCuddles i do not breed pigs. we rescued 4 pigs that were abandoned at a shelter. there were a male and female together so i'm assuming that she's pregnant again (the other 2 pigs were their offspring). i do not condone or agree with breeding. i separated the male as soon as i could, but if they were together for any time after she had the other batch, i'm sure she's pregnant again, which was unfortunately out of my control.

[shc1192]

I use deep 12.5 inch pots for the peppers, peas, and the cucumbers. The cucumbers I have growing along the railing of my porch, but you could also use stakes. The tomatoes are in upside-down planters, which I'm having very good luck with but some people have a more difficult time with those. If you want to use a pot, a 12.5 or larger would be good for those and you will want to use tomato cages. The spinach is in a pot that is 8 inches deep and I think about 6 inches across.
You can keep picking vegetables off your plants until it becomes too cold for your plants (they'll start to get brown/yellow, that's when you pull them out). You replant vegetables every year. If you want to continue to grow potted vegetables in the winter, take them inside when it starts being colder out and invest in grow lights (any local gardening shop should be able to help you out if you don't know what to get). Put the plants by a window, and then turn on the grow lights for a few hours once the sun starts to set, to simulate the amount of sun they get in the summer.