While growing vegetables in containers indoors does have its challenges—they’ll take more care and may not yield as much—it is possible to find great success. Start off on the right foot by choosing one of these easy-to-grow indoor varieties, and you’ll be harvesting vegetables in no time.
The Pros and Cons of Indoor Gardening
When gardening indoors, you ultimately control all aspects of the plant’s growth and environment. You maintain its water, soil quality, and fertilization. A big plus is that your plants are not at the mercy of the weather or outside critters, and you’ll hopefully have vegetables year-round. However, gardening indoors does have its challenges, including a lack of adequate light, pollinating insects, and wind. Plus, proper air circulation is vital for flooding the plant with carbon dioxide as well as pollinating any flowers. Also, you might have some houseplant pests to contend with. There are a few tips to keep in mind if you’re considering growing vegetables indoors.
Choose containers that have ample holes to allow for adequate drainage and are sized correctly for the particular plant you’re growing. Shallow and rooted greens may only need about a 2-inch depth, but deep-rooted tomatoes will need at least 12 inches of soil. Use a good quality potting mix, not garden soil. Mixes dedicated to potting usually have vermiculite or perlite, which allows for better drainage. Consider some type of supplemental lighting if your home doesn’t offer enough natural light.
Here are the seven of the best vegetables for indoor gardening. Smaller carrot varieties are the easiest to grow inside; they need less space and mature more quickly. A long container, such as a window box, is ideal. Lightly cover the seeds with damp peat moss, so the seeds don’t dry out. Keep the soil moist, and your seeds should germinate within two weeks, though the number of days to maturity will depend on the variety you are growing. Start harvesting when they grow to 8 to 10 inches long by cutting off just what you need and leaving the rest (you generally only get one flush of growth from each clove). They may sprout again, but the quality declines each time. So start new cloves when you begin harvesting the current crop. Don’t anticipate yielding a bulb of garlic. You need a particular temperature to start forming bulbs, and that won’t happen indoors. However, garlic greens are an excellent substitute. They boast a milder taste, similar to a cross between garlic and scallions. Use a container that is at least 8 inches tall, and ensure that your peppers get at least 10 hours of light each day. Additionally, allow the container to dry out between waterings, so you don’t risk drowning the plant. Peppers are self-pollinating, but you may need to help them along. You can do so by either jostling the plants to shake the pollen from one flower to another or using a cotton swab to dust each flower with pollen. Allow the plants to grow at least 4 to 6 inches before you start harvesting. Cut or pull the outer leaves and allow the center of the plant to continue growing. Because these greens will be harvested as seedlings, you don’t need much soil; a shallow tray about 2 inches deep typically works well. Fill it with moist soil, and scatter your seeds, barely covering them with a top layer of soil (just press gently so that the seeds make good contact with the damp soil and won’t dry out). Spray to keep the soil moist, and you should see germination within a few days. Start harvesting when seedlings have developed two sets of true leaves. Use scissors to snip them off at the soil level, and you may get another spurt of growth. When the roots have reached a couple inches long, move them to a shallow container of potting mix to continue growing. Harvest the green tops, leaving about an inch of the stem to regrow. Once the seedlings are 4 inches tall, move them to a permanent pot, and make sure they have at least 10 hours of light per day. The lighting quota might sound excessive, but if you want fruits that is what this plant needs all year. You can also boost your luck by feeding your tomato plant with a water-soluble organic fertilizer after repotting. Once the plants start setting flowers, shake them periodically to allow the pollen to fall from flower to flower. You need to perform this manual pollination; without it, no fruits will form. You can expect the plants to become top-heavy, so staking or using a tomato cage is a must.
