Strawberries in December

Last winter, I didn't get any plants because there was a big gap in the dog door that allowed sub-zero winds to blow into the room.  I don't know how cold it got, but it was cold enough that nothing grew.

We replaced the dog door this year, and, after a mostly unproductive summer (too hot), I'm actually getting strawberries!  I bought a cheap thermometer that records high/low temperatures over a 24-hour period.  So far, even with outside temperatures approaching zero, the room temperature has only gone as low as 48 degrees Fahrenheit.

I've only got a few strawberries and a couple of basil plants.  In November, I had a cantaloupe plant that actually flowered, but then it wilted.  Because I've only got one fish left, I turned off the water flow to the bed that the cantaloupe was growing in.

Aquaponic Strawberries - December 2012

Aquaponic Basil

My lone trout is getting pretty big.  I haven't decided what to name him.  "Silvery 1" doesn't sound right.  He's kind of fat, so I thought about "Fatty," but I decided that was a bad idea, since the grow lights in my window already have my neighbors suspicious.  Maybe "Big Fat Grandpa Fish."  The bigger he gets, the harder it is for me to think about...harvesting...him.  I'll probably get a new batch of little trout in the spring.  I hope he doesn't become Big Fat Bully Fish.  

I tried to take some video of him, but he just sat there...until I brought out the still camera and the flash freaked him out and he wouldn't sit still.  Crazy fish.  

Big Fat Grandpa Fish