Hello all,

I looked through the groups and didn’t see anything focusing on the worldwide condition of having lower light. Hopefully some of the more experienced windowfarmers who have learned to work with these conditions will join in — and if not then hopefully some other new people will join, and we can learn together

I just ordered my first window farm (four column) through the kickstart page, and I’m starting my planning early so that I will hopefully have my seedlings ready to go when it arrives in March. I live in an apartment-style condo in Victoria BC, Canada, and although I have huge (approximately 6.5’ x 8’) window, it faces south-west, and there are SIX trees, including three cedars and a pine, growing in front of my balcony (so, no winter leaf loss to help out). My bedroom window gets slightly more light through, but it is smaller, and is more likely to be forgotten with the shade drawn.

I have found a couple of local stores that carry full spectrum CFL bulbs — does anyone have experience with these? Do they work as a supplemental light source?

I’ve also been researching food plants that grow well in shade; most things say that they prefer full sun, but I know that they will simply grow more slowly with less light. Salad greens are going to occupy most of my pots, but I was hoping to do some herbs as well. Mint will actually be easier to manage if it’s growing slowly, but I was wondering if there are any herbs that don’t work will in the lower light — for instance, would I be wasting my time with lavender? Or nasturtium?

Thanks for your time, I’m looking forward to sharing ideas with others