Norway is not exactly the first country you have in mind when thinking about tomatoes, basil, peppers, coriander and parsley. But if you start planting seeds in early April indoors and move it outside in a warm corner in late May, you can be 100% self-sufficient to at least late September.
We have this awesome balcony which is sunny and warm almost the entire day. It also heats up our apartment to almost unbearable temperatures during the summer, since very few norwegian homes has air-condition (for obvious reasons). Luckily I love heat!
Since I´m decent chef and love fresh foods, I would have spent a lot of money on herbs. A quick calculation shows what we´re saving at least 10$ a week and 40$ a month by growing our own. We also get a surplus of dried herbs for the winter which we use for soups and stews.
It´s just a really small operation going on..nothing to brag about, but it´s just to show how darn easy it is, and one of many ways to save some bucks.
Last summer we also planted a coriander which we bought at the grocery-store - out in the front yard. And it actually survived the winter and is going mental this summer. I had no idea that coriander was that tuff. Thyme, Chives and Oregano are native to Norway, so we can find those pretty much anywhere. I´m also really looking forward to the berry-season. I know this insane raspberry-field where you can literally pick kilos of the stuff.