I once grew parsley and other herbs successfully in a very cold enclosed porch under 48" fluorescent lights supplemented by 4 incandescents. That was years ago. Typically a sunny window doesn't provide enough sun in winter. I have thyme and rosemary in my SW living room window now. The rosemary is ok but the thyme looks light starved and unhappy. I have 2 250 w fluorescents supplementing them, but it is not enough. On top of that it is too warm for them even though I keep the heat around 65.

Music garlic is a type that offers a single layer of big cloves. Its hard neck and is suitable for the north. Garlic is only available for planting in early fall, where it does need the winter to grow. You do have to order it early. Cut off the stiff stalks (scapes) in early summer when they emerge. If the stalks/scapes are not removed they can take away nurishment from the cloves, and the bulb ends up being much smaller. Soft neck garlic doesn't do well in Z6 or below. I have tried all kinds and Music garlic is the best I have ever planted and harvested. I also add some bone meal to the planting row prior to dropping in each clove. In spring I use a fertilizer from Dixondale which gives my garlic, onions and shallots a not more growing size. I used mostly nursery bought garlic. I had a few cloves from my batch that were also planted next to the nursery seed suppler. Usually you don't get as big a bulb of garlic if you use some from supermarket bought or from your own crop.

If it is not absolutely essential to have fresh basil leaves in all your prepared foods, may I recommend that you make a simple pesto of olive oil and fresh basil instead. Upon searching the subject on the web, the idea that worked best is placing the pesto in plastic bags. Then you flatten them out and freeze them. I use this simple pesto as a seasoning only. Whenever I make a tomato sauce I just break off a chunk and add it in. You don't need much, as it is extremely strong. And when I make pizza, I just add a little to the garlic and olive oil mixture which I brush on the crust before adding the other ingredients. I would imagine that, if you wanted a traditional pesto, then you could thaw it and add the remaining cheeses and pine nuts. Since you are able to grow a large number of plants, a good stash of pesto would go a long way to reduce costs during the winter months. You would then only have to purchase a smaller amount of fresh when you absolutely need to sprinkle a few fresh leaves on a dish. When growing basil, keep pinching it back to keep the plant productive and bushy. Ideally, try to keep it from flowering. Usually when it starts to try blooming, I harvest it at this point. Parsley should do well for you, but it's at its best in cooler fall weather. My heat zone is a little cooler than yours, and I've harvested it well into November. With regard to rabbits, just buy a roll of that galvanized fencing which has smaller squares near rhe bottom and that should help. If in a garden area, I just purchase 3/4 inch PVC tubing, cut it in half and use it to prop up the fence. Or you can cut the fence to size to make cages for your plants. When used for seasoning, you can also make a simple parsley pesto as well, freeze as above, and use the fresh only when needed for garnishing. In addition, a quick search on the web also resulted in an oregano pesto. However, my inclination would be again to keep it simple using only the herb and oil and save it for seasoning purposes. Perhaps you could connect with an area farmer to grow the additional herbs you need. Happy cooking and much success to your restaurant!

You might be talking about the Aerogarden "machine". I have one of these. It was gifted to me by someone years ago. The newer Aerogardens have LED lights instead of fluorescent lights like the old models. An Aerogarden works pretty well for growing certain kinds of herbs, not at all for others - faster growing, "weedy" types of herbs like basil do best in it, it doesn't work at all for rosemary, for instance. It also only works for herbs that grow readily from seed. It grows the plants in a tank of water, to which you add plant food, and the whole thing is one single unit that you plug in. Aerogardens are pretty expensive and cost even more once you start buying the seed "kits", replacement lights, etc. And they don't really do all the work for you - they still need a fair amount of fussing and they are especially cumbersome to clean out when your "crop" is finished and it's time to plant another. You still have to add water and plant food periodically - although it has warning lights to remind you to do this, you still have to pay enough attention to it to notice the lights. To a certain extent you can control the cost of the Aerogarden by making some DIY supplies instead of buying the replacement grow kits, but if you're paying enough attention to do that, you might as well just set up basic grow lights and plants in pots or trays in the first place. Bottom line, you can't grow plants without remembering to take care of them. If you get that part sorted out, you still will have an obstacle in growing herbs indoors because they mostly need more light than the proverbial "sunny windowsill" can provide, unless your windows are really massive and you actually live in a greenhouse. Grow lights can easily provide enough light to grow herbs indoors, but windowsills generally can't.