Indoor grown herbs can be disappointing as the reduced sun light in winter can result in very slow growth. A southern window would be preferable, but we have what we have ;-)

Your best bet would be onions and garlic grown for their greens. Get onion sets or garlic cloves, don't bother with seeds for either. The reason these work well is that the bulbs/cloves contain all the plants need to push up green matter. They will even do it in total darkness. If you have any garlic or onions that 'go bad' (meaning they have sprouted in storagge), these can certainly be planted and used for greens. There are limits, of course, as the food reserves in the bulb will eventually exhaust themselves, but lack of sunlight won't stop them from growing.

I don't know how cold your winters get, but chives are quite cold hardy. In my area we can get to -10F. I have pulled up chives from the garden in the fall, tossed them root side up on the compost pile and seen them grow through the snow. I suspect they may have gotten some warmth from the compost pile, but still. Snow was able to cover it. Again, there is a limit to their cold hardiness, but you can container grow chives in the warm season and then either grow them on outside in a cold frame, *or* bring them in and treat as an edible houseplant. Their growth will slow in winter regardless, but chives can generally be kept around for fresh use all year with a little planning even in very cold climates.

Most other herbs do little growing in the winter though due to lack of light and short days. You can try bringing in plants from outside and harvesting from them as long as they keep going though.

Also, get yourself a book or other guide on preserving herbs for winter use. Heart healthy olive oil can be infused with nearly anything and the oil will taste just like what the herb did. We aren't talking about some wimpy 'hint' of flavor, but the full boldness and glory of the herb. Some herbs are just fine dried, others not so much. Some herbs freeze well, others not so much.

In most cases though you can continue to taste fresh or nearly fresh herb flavors all year, even when the plants won't grow.

That's a great bit of advice there. Thanks
I have dozens of garlic cloves left over from the fall planting so IÂll try a few of them and some garlic chives too.

I like the idea of infusing olive oil with herbs. I put olive oil in tubs in the fridge with a bit of salt and use it like margarine. It tastes awesome and like you said it's healthy. What method do you use to combine your fresh herbs and olive oil? I am very interested in this.

I'm 27 so i have a LOT to learn and experience to gain. I love all the great ideas on this forum. It's like owning 100 gardening books and having them all open at once.

Thanks again for the great reply justaguy2
By the way. I looked up a few herb preserving books. Which one do you recommend?

charlieee, just a guy2 gave some good ideas. I have grown chives from seed easily in a western window. Also, cilantro and parsley. Granted, the growth is slowed considerably, but any green in the winter in the north is welcomed. Also, scented geraniums would do fine (although they prefer an east window). You could also supplement your natural light with a grow light. There are some that are made to fit into any lamp now.
For herb preservation ideas, I love Emily Tolley's book, "The Herbal Pantry". An oldie, but a goodie, it has recipes for herbed oils, butters, chutneys, liqueurs, mustards, etc. I've always had great success with the recipes. Good luck.

I had always had zero luck growing herbs inside, summer or winter. A couple of winters ago I had gotten a bunch of basil for cooking and stuck the extra sprigs in water. A few days later I noticed some root growth (I'm also not very good at cleaning out the fridge on a timely basis) and the rest is history. I moved them to the windowsill out of curiosoty to see how long I could keep them going and they lasted all winter in tap water. Growing them in water brings out the "skunky" quality of the herb but the cuttings are fine for cooking. I've since tried growing other herbs hydroponically and have had luck with those with "woodier" stems-basil, rosemary, oregano but not parsley. They don't come close to fresh herbs from the garden but was able to use snips in soups, eggs and herb breads all winter-and sometimes root the stems in soil in the spring. I'm currently trying some jars of mixed hers with glass marbles or river stones to anchor the stems (pretty, too).

Would anyone else want to query Charlie's assumption that the thyme is not edible? I'm not sure what s/he means by 'broadleaf' but if it is a true thyme it is edible. Have you tried it?

I like the idea of infusing olive oil with herbs. I put olive oil in tubs in the fridge with a bit of salt and use it like margarine. It tastes awesome and like you said it's healthy. What method do you use to combine your fresh herbs and olive oil? I am very interested in this.

It is fantastically easy. Just take the oil and stuff it full of the chosen herb whose flavor you wish to capture. Leave it sit in a sealed container for a few weeks. Tasting the oil on occasion to determine when it is 'done' is perfectly fine and is the best way to determine when it is how you want it in terms of strength/flavor.

Once the oil is how you want it, strain out the herbs and put it into a sealed container and it will store for a long time. If stored in transparent containers it is a nice touch to place a single sprig of the herb in the container with the oil. Not to add more flavor, but to readily identify what herb the oil is infused with and it looks classy/fancy to boot. By the way. I looked up a few herb preserving books. Which one do you recommend?

None, really. I have read a number of herb growing and preserving books and while they differ in terms of writing style, they all (that I have read) cover the basics pretty darn well. Most herb use really is quite basic and has been around for a very long time.

Using and preserving herbs isn't anything new, it is just largely forgotten in our fast paced, busy lifestyles.

Yes, it does take some learning, but the good news is the knowledge isn't rapidly changing, instead there are fairly longstanding techniques that our great, great grandparents used in ways that don't differ much from what we do today.

Pretty much any book will cover which herbs dry well, freeze well etc. There is no such thing as an herb that won't infuse oil well and the technique is the same for all herbs.