Indoor food garden ideas

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Indoor food garden ideas:

Where are the herbs? I always keep herbs on my kitchen window but I didn’t include herbs in the below list of indoor food garden ideas. Why? Because I’ve already written about growing herbs inside in this detailed article. That said, my favorite herbs for the windowsill include basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and oregano, the ones I find myself using the most. And, as you’ll find out below, I often grow herbs like basil and cilantro indoors as microgreens to add bold and bright flavor to our salads and stir-fries.

Microgreens

They may cost a pretty penny at fancy restaurants, but did you know that microgreens are easy to grow at home? They’re also quick with most ready to harvest just 10 to 25 days from seeding, depending on the crop. Microgreens are vegetables, herbs, or even flowers that are seeded densely and harvested at the cotyledon or first true leaf stage. They’re flavorful and nutritious and can be sprinkled on salads, sandwiches, pastas, and other dishes. 

Seed companies offer individual packets of microgreen seeds for vegetables like broccoli, arugula, lettuce, chard, and radishes, as well as microgreen mixes which are often divided into ‘mild’ or ‘spicy’. Herbs like cilantro, basil, and dill also make excellent microgreens, or flowers like sunflowers or celosia. There are so many flavors and colors so don’t be shy about trying new-to-you microgreens. To learn more about the many, MANY plants that can be grown as microgreens, check out this detailed chart from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

You can grow microgreens in pots or trays filled with a high quality potting mix or coconut coir or hemp fibre mats. If using potting mix, I like to use a shallow seeding tray or recycled clear plastic salad container as you only need to use 1 to 1 1/2 inches of potting mix. If growing microgreens in a basement or room with little air circulation, use an oscillating fan to move air and reduce disease issues like damping off. A heating mat is also useful at speeding up germination and growth. If your microgreen garden is on your kitchen counter, you may want to grow in wooden microgreen kits that look more stylish than plastic trays.  

For a non-stop supply of tasty microgreens, sow new trays every few weeks. And there’s no need to have a different tray for each type of crop. You can sow bands of different seeds in a single tray. Just try to group crops that take about the same amount of time to grow together. 

Here are four steps to growing microgreens:

Step 1 – Place your growing medium in the trays or flats. I pre-water the potting mix to ensure an even distribution of moisture. 

Step 2 – Sow seeds densely, about a quarter inch apart. Press the seeds lightly to ensure good soil-seed contact. Cover with a scant 1/8 inch of potting mix or vermiculite. Water from the bottom (to avoid dislodging the seeds) or spritz the soil surface with a hand sprayer. 

Step 3 – Place planted microgreens beneath a growlight (leaving it on for sixteen hours a day) or in a sunny window. Water often, keeping the soil lightly moist, not wet. 

Step 4 – Read the seed packet for harvest information, but most microgreens are harvseted with clean scissors or herb snips when they have developed their first set of true leaves – about two to four weeks. Rinse to remove any seed coats that may still be sticking to the tiny plants and enjoy! 

Sprouts

If you’re looking for quick and easy indoor food garden ideas, consider growing sprouts. Sprouts require no fancy equipment or grow lights, and can be grown right on your kitchen counter. Plus, they’re ready to harvest in mere days! 

I recommend buying organic seeds sold for sprouting as they won’t have been grown using pesticides or herbicides. One of my local garden centres has a wall of sprouting seeds, along with jars, and other equipment, but you can also buy bags of sprouting seed online. 

A word about seed sprouting equipment:

You don’t need much to grow sprouts. I use clean quart-sized jars fitted with sprouting tops to allow air circulation and good drainage. Instead of a sporting top you can also use a piece of cheesecloth secured to the jar with a rubber band. If you’re serious about sprouting, you may want to buy seed spouter trays, which nestle together and allow you to grow several varieties at a time. 

How to grow sprouts indoors:

Step 1 – Once you’ve gathered your materials, read the seed packet to see how many tablespoons of seeds to place in the jar – this can vary by type of seed. I learned from Jessica (in this excellent article) to disinfect the seeds first by soaking them in a mixture of one cup water and two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. After ten minutes, drain and rinse the seeds with clean water. 

Step 2 – Place the seeds in the jar and fill it with clean water. Leave the seeds to soak overnight, or for eight hours. After the allotted time is up, drain the water from the jar and then place it on its side on a plate or tray. It should be placed out of direct sunlight. 

Step 3 – Continue to rinse and drain the seeds twice each day (I do this first thing in the morning and before I go to bed at night). 

Step 4 – It takes about three to five days for the seeds to sprout and start to show a little green. At this point, they’ll likely almost fill the jar. Use them anytime. When ready, I remove the sprouts from the jar and place them in a lidded plastic container lined with paper towels. We use them within five days. 

Kale

There are four ways to grow kale indoors: as a sprout, microgreen, baby salad green, or full-sized plant. You’ll find instructions for growing sprouts and microgreens above so I’d like to focus here on growing kale as a baby salad green and mature plant. 

It’s also important to note that there are many types of kale with varied plant sizes, leaf colors and textures, and maturity times. My favorites for indoor growing are the standard variety Red Russian and dinosaur kale. Both are relatively fast-growing and make excellent baby greens.   

• Growing kale for salad greens – Kale is very nutritious and the young leaves make tender salad greens. Growing kale for salads means you probably want to harvest quite a bit at once. Although you can also selectively harvest leaves to add to mixed green salads or sandwiches. For maximum production, sow seeds in a tray or seeding flat filled with potting mix. Space seeds one inch apart and cover them with a scant quarter inch of potting mix. Keep the tray consistently moist to promote good germination. Once the seedlings are four to five inches tall, you can start to harvest by pinching leaves off with your fingers or clipping them with herb snips. With proper care, your mini kale garden should continue to provide you with fresh leaves for four to six weeks. 
• Growing a mature kale plant – To grow a good-sized kale plant on your windowsill, start by selecting a pot that has drainage holes. Fill it with a high quality potting mix and direct seed three to four kale seeds, sowing them a quarter of an inch deep. Keep the soil consistently moist to promote good germination and early growth. Once the plants are eight to ten inches tall, remove the smallest seedlings, leaving behind one healthy plant (eat the seedlings you remove or lift them carefully and move them to their own pots). Fertilize with an organic liquid food every month and keep the plant in a bright sunny window, or add a spotlight grow light if you can’t provide enough natural light. I love the form and foliage of kale and think it makes an excellent edible houseplant.

Re-growing veggies (the most unique of my indoor food garden ideas!)

This is one of my favorite indoor food garden ideas, especially for kids!  It’s fun to plant up the stem end of supermarket vegetables like lettuce, scallions, and celery after you eat the tops of the plants. You can even plant the top of your pineapple once you’ve eaten the fruit and it will grow a new plant and eventually another pineapple. Of course this is not the most productive way to grow food indoors. It’s more like a science experiment with benefits! You get to watch the plant grow and then eat the fresh shoots.

Depending on what type of vegetable you’re re-growing, you can put it in a jar of water or plant it up in potting mix. Find suggestions for each method below. Read more about this fun subject in the awesome book, No-Waste Kitchen Gardening.

• Vegetables to re-grow in water – celery, scallions, leeks, lemongrass, lettuce, beets, turnips, radishes.
• Vegetables to plant in potting mix (they should have some roots still attached) – scallions, lettuce, garlic, onions, ginger, turmeric,

Citrus

Growing citrus trees like lemons, limes, and oranges indoors is becoming increasing popular as these plants can make excellent houseplants. Most citrus plants sold for indoor or container growing are grafted to dwarf rootstock so the plants stay compact. The challenge then becomes keeping the subtropical plants happy inside a home where humidity and light can vary. 

If you’re new to citrus, start with a Meyer lemon, which is considered the easiest type to grow inside. It’s a cross between lemons and mandarin oranges and flowers and fruits throughout the year. And the flowers are enough of a reason to grow this plant as they have an incredible fragrance. As the flowers open, hand pollinate by transferring pollen between blossoms with a cotton swab. As the fruits mature, harvest them for lemonade or cooking. 

Keeping indoor citrus plants happy:

• Light – Citrus trees need light. A lot of light! Place them in a room where they get ten to twelve hours of light each day. In northern regions, a supplemental grow light from late autumn through late winter is helpful. 
• Humidity – Most citrus plants appreciate high humidity, which is a challenge when growing indoors. To boost humidity, place the pot on a saucer or tray filled with pebbles. When you water, the extra moisture will collect on the tray and increase humidity around the plant as it evaporates. 
• Watering – When dry, citrus plants curl their leaves, a sure sign of stress. Water deeply, but infrequently aiming to keep the soil lightly moist, but not too wet or too dry.