If your garden or patio is covered in a few inches of snow or the temperatures don’t get much above 45F, you’re likely not growing much in the way of vegetables right now. However, that doesn’t mean you have to go without fresh, homegrown edibles. How to grow edibles indoors, you’re thinking. Well, you can! And, I’m going to show you how.

How to Grow Edibles Indoors This Winter – What You Need

Given the right conditions, it’s possible to grow a wide variety of edibles inside your home — from microgreens and lettuce, to beets and tomatoes. For this to happen an indoor growing environment needs to address five physical considerations. They can be met by a variety of ways and in a range of expense. The objective, of course, is to recreate as perfectly as possible the outdoor environment within the confines of a home.

How to Grow Edibles Indoors This Winter – Physical Considerations

Light.

The summer outdoor garden provides minimally eight and typically more hours of good sunlight. We’re looking to give our indoor-grown veggies (any indoor plant, really) anywhere from six to 10 hours of light. This could be a sunny, south-facing window, a simple table lamp or a long “shop lamp” style light fitted with a bulb or bulbs used specifically for growing plants, although a regular shop light can sometimes work just fine. Either grow your plants on a windowsill or set up a shelf or table under growing lights. Be sure to position lamps directly above the plants, keeping within 4 to 6 inches above the leaves. This will help prevent the plants from ‘etiolating’ (becoming pale and skinny).

Growing Media.

Any plant grown out of Mother Earth will need a potting mix. This helps to ensure proper water drainage, root growth and nutrition. I don’t recommend bringing soil from outside to fill an indoor container. It likely contains diseases and / or pests that will activate in the home’s warmer temperature. Instead, use either a special seed-growing mix or a regular potting mix formulated for container plants. A bonus of many commercial potting mixes is that they include a boost of slow-release fertilizer or beneficial soil organisms, postponing the need for adding nutrition immediately.

Humidity.

The winter environment within a home can be as dry as a desert due to home heating systems, particularly if the heat is produced from natural gas. Dry air will cause a plant to desiccate pretty quickly. There are a few ways to add humidity to the air around a plant to help grow edibles indoors. One is to place the plant pot on top of a pebble-filled tray, then fill with water to the top of the pebbles. A home humidifier will also do the trick. Alternatively, an environment that is too humid encourages the growth of fungal diseases, so keep a careful eye on the moisture in the growing environment.

Temperature.

Again, we want to recreate the ideal outdoor environment indoors. This means keeping the temperature comfortable for your plants. The general rule of thumb is if you’re comfortable then your plants are comfortable. I recommend keeping the temperature between 65F and 80F.

Air Circulation.

Plants grown indoors are typically seeded or planted close together. Close proximity can encourage plant diseases and pests such as fungus gnats. The presence of a small fan will move the air and keeps humidity levels balanced. Some research also indicates that air movement rustles the leaves, and that this “brushing” movement actually encourages growth.

Reboot Expectations

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of what you can grow inside, I want to stress the importance of resetting your produce expectations. Due to the limitations in space, you may need to harvest your crops at a smaller size than you would have outside. Perhaps your carrots are smaller than a pinky, or your beets just the size of a marble. Maybe you grow them for their leaves rather than their roots (carrot tops make excellent pesto!). It’s possible to grow onions indoors, but you’ll likely harvest them when they are the size of scallions. And, while heirloom tomatoes might be possible in a greenhouse, your home may limit you to the small tomato varieties used in patio containers.

Going hand in hand with realistic expectations, approach growing edibles indoors with a plan and a journal. Start small to test the waters. See how your plants perform on the windowsill. Experiment with a single lamp and a single type of vegetable. The first question to answer: is indoor plant care is something you have time for? Remember, it’s a different season with different obligations and schedules. If growing indoors gets you really excited after the first harvest, then feel free to keep adding to the size of your indoor growing experience.

Which Vegetables Can You Grow?

Some vegetables just don’t translate to growing inside a home. Cucumbers and pole beans? If your room can spare height and lots of space, sure. But, most in-home gardens are limited in all directions. Start simply. Try easy-to-germinate greens such as:

• Lettuce
• “Baby” versions of kale or chard
• Arugula
• Spinach

These plants grow quickly and can be harvested from smaller versions of their outdoor selves. They can also be harvested as “cut-and-come-again” greens—that is, cut with scissors about an inch or so above the soil, allowing the growing tip in the center to keep growing for another harvest.

Which Herbs Can You Grow?

Herbs are also a nice crop for indoors. Consider planting a container or two of the herbs you are constantly restocking from the grocery store, such as:

• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Thyme

These will keep growing for many months. I suggest grouping them together under their own growing light and with your other crops cycling in-and-out under a different set of lights.

Which Rooting Crops Can You Grow?

Next up, try growing root crops in deeper pots, such as:

• Beets
• Radishes
• Carrots
• Onions
• Garlic

As I noted above, the below-ground portion of these crops may not get as large as their outdoor versions. Still, you’ll find them to be tender and with tasty leaves.

Which ‘Tall’ Crops Can You Grow?

I did jest about cucumbers and pole beans, but it is possible to grow them given enough space and light. When you are ready to “up your game” in regard to the number of indoor lights and the space dedicated to indoor gardening, you’ll be able to grow:

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Green beans
• Cole crops (cabbage, etc.)
• Potatoes

Fabric ‘grow bags’. By the way, are a good method for growing potatoes indoors. You might also consider using grow bags with carrots.

Try Something Different

There are other veggies that suit themselves to growing indoors. Although they are not typically found growing in an outdoor garden, they can be fun to add to your indoor garden (and tasty, too).

Mushrooms.

There are a few easy-to-use kits on the market that allow you to grow a crop of mushrooms using composted materials such as coffee grounds. I’m currently using a ‘Back to The Roots’ mushroom kit that produces two crops of oyster mushrooms. The composted material is seeded with mushroom spores. With a little spritzing and some indirect light, it will produce a harvest in about 12 days.

Sprouts.

With a shallow dish, some paper towel or growing mat, and a dark closet, you can grow some tasty sprouts to use in sandwiches or salads in less than seven days. Microgreens are similar but are grown in soil and harvested by snipping a bit after about two weeks. Both versions are packed with nutrients. Popular types are mung bean, broccoli and alfalfa. Look online to find more varieties and sources.

Re-growing from Scraps.

This may be the technique that gets your kids involved in indoor growing. It’s possible to regrow a head of leaf lettuce, for instance, by placing the core end of the lettuce plant in a shallow dish of water and under a light. Once roots start to grow, replant into some potting mix. Try this with celery, pineapple, garlic, onions, celery and radishes.

Cat Grass.

Indoor edibles don’t have to be only for you! Order some “cat grass” or, if you planted a winter rye cover crop in your outdoor garden, use some of that seed. It’ll be a quick-growing treat for your kitty.

There’s clearly no need to put-off vegetable gardening through the dark and cold months ahead. While you may need to downsize the ‘plot’ and to adjust your harvesting expectations, there’s still plenty of food that can come from an indoor vegetable garden. The daily anticipation of how the crops are progressing is just as exciting as growing outdoors — and without the muddy shoes.

Happy New Year!