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13 Indoor Vegetable Gardening Ideas

You don’t have to wait until spring to start growing a vegetable garden. With the right approach, it’s possible to grow delicious and nutritious food indoors all year long.

Discover what’s possible with this list of indoor vegetable gardening ideas. From salad greens to green beans and even bell peppers, you may be surprised at what you can grow indoors!

With this list, you’ll get tons of ideas for growing vegetables indoors, plus tips and tricks on how to do it. I’ll even give you some recommendations for supplies to help you do it successfully.

Keep reading to see how you can start an indoor vegetable garden today!

Onions growing on a windowsill is one of several indoor vegetable gardening ideas.

Indoor Vegetable Gardening Ideas to Try

Growing tasty vegetables indoors is possible every month of the year. If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at this list of indoor vegetable gardening ideas to get you started. Whether you want a large indoor garden or just a small windowsill garden, you’ll find something on this list that works for your space.

Growing Vegetables Indoors

Herbs and dwarf tomatoes being grown indoors.

Many vegetables can be grown from seed to harvest completely indoors. With the right tools and a little TLC, growing vegetables indoors is not only possible but incredibly rewarding as well.


1. Microgreens

Closeup of microgreens, a popular indoor vegetable gardening idea.

Microgreens are packed with nutrients and they’re some of the quickest vegetables to grow indoors. Growing microgreens is easy with a Microgreen Growing Kit. Kits come in all different sizes and price ranges, so you can find one that works for your space and your budget.

Microgreens to Grow Indoors:


2. Lettuce

Growing lettuce indoors.

Perfect on salads and sandwiches, lettuce is a great option for growing greens indoors. Leaf varieties are the best option because they’re easier to harvest than heads. You can begin harvesting when the leaves are just 3-5 inches long.

Lettuce Varieties to Grow Indoors


3. Kale

Closeup of kale seedling and label.

Kale is delicious when grown as baby greens or larger salad greens. If you have the space and a good light source, kale can be grown to full size completely indoors.

To grow a large kale plant, choose a good-sized pot and fill it with high-quality potting soil to feed your plant as it grows. Keep kale under a grow light or in front of a sunny window to make sure it has plenty of light.

Kale Varieties to Grow Indoors


4. Arugula

Arugula seedlings.

This peppery green is easy and quick to grow. Arugula is perfect for salads and it makes a tasty sandwich, burger, or pizza topping. Arugula grows well in medium-sized containers. Pluck off a few leaves at a time as you need them and it will just keep growing.

Arugula Varieties to Grow Indoors


5. Peppers

A potted chili pepper plant.

Hot pepper plants are prolific and compact, making them one of the best vegetables for indoor gardening. Start pepper plants from seeds inside, or bring in your potted plants for the winter.

If you have the space, you can grow larger varieties like bell peppers as well.

Peppers need a lot of heat and light. Make sure you have a warm location with plenty of direct sunlight or a grow light. A heat mat is handy for keeping the soil warm and pepper plants happy.

Pepper Varieties to grow indoors:


6. Tomatoes

An indoor cherry tomato plant.

Nothing beats the flavor of a fresh, homegrown tomato. It’s possible to enjoy that delicious flavor year-round by growing tomatoes indoors.

Because tomato plants can get quite large, dwarf and determinate varieties do better indoors than indeterminate varieties. Give your plants plenty of light and keep them warm for the best results.

Tomato Varieties to Grow Indoors:


7. Green Beans

Bean seedlings.

This popular garden plant grows well indoors as well! For a continual harvest, start a few seeds at a time then wait a few weeks before planting more. As plants grow they’ll mature at different times giving you a prolonged harvest.

Use a long thin planter to grow green beans indoors. Bush and pole varieties both work well. If growing a pole variety, make sure to add some sort of support when planting for the beans to climb on.

Green Bean Varieties to Grow Indoors


8. Radishes

Radishes harvested from planter container.

Radishes are some of the easiest and fastest vegetables to grow indoors. They don’t need much space and you can plant them over and over again for a continual harvest.

Radish Varieties to Grow Indoors


9. Carrots

Potted carrots being grown indoors.

The flavor of homegrown carrots is divine. For the best results, choose a deep container to grow carrots. If you don’t have a deep container, try growing a shorter variety like Oxhart.

Carrot Varieties to Grow Indoors


Regrow Food From Scraps (Yes, Scraps!)

Regrowing food from scraps is one of the most eco-friendly and economical indoor vegetable gardening ideas. Instead of throwing the scraps away, use them to grow more food!

Here are three vegetables that are easy to grow from scraps.


10. Lettuce

Rooting a lettuce head scrap.

Choose a variety with long leaves like romaine, or green leaf, rather than a rounded head variety like iceberg lettuce.

Cut the leaves off of the stem leaving about 1-2 inches at the bottom. Put the lettuce stem into a jar or glass of water. The water should cover about halfway up the bottom of the stem. Don’t fully submerge it.

Give the lettuce plenty of light and change the water every other day. You’ll see noticeable leaf growth within a few days.


11. Celery

Rooting a celery scrap.

From a bunch of celery, cut the tops off of the stem leaving about two inches at the bottom.

Place the end of the celery stem in a shallow container of water. Just like with the lettuce, you want the bottom of the stem to be in the water but don’t submerge the top. Put the dish on a sunny window sill and change the water every other day.


12. Green Onions

Rooting green onions.

Green onions or scallions are some of the easiest vegetables to regrow. Cut off the tops of the onions leaving at least an inch of the white part attached to the roots. Stick the roots in a shallow dish of water. A ramekin works well to hold several onions at once.

Put the container in a sunny location and you’ll start to see growth within a day or two. After a few days, the onions will be long enough to harvest. Snip as much as you need off the top of the onions and keep the rest growing in the container.

As with the lettuce and celery, make sure to change the water every other day.


13. Create a Windowsill Herb Garden

A windowsill herb garden.

Herbs are one of the best indoor vegetable gardening ideas if you have limited space. Most herbs are compact and don’t require a lot of space to grow. Plus herbs are easy to grow, even from seed. They don’t need much attention or maintenance in order to thrive.

Herb-growing kits are an easy way to get started. A good kit has all the tools and seeds you need right in the box.

When the weather is right you can move your herbs outside, or keep them indoors year-round.

Herbs to Grow Indoors


Supplies For Indoor Vegetable Gardening

Although indoor gardening is different from outdoor gardening, there are also a lot of similarities. You need to provide a container for the plants to grow in, a growing medium such as potting soil, water, light, and fertilizer.

Indoor vegetable gardening supplies can be complex or simple depending on what you’re growing and the space you have to work with.

Whatever you decide to grow, having the right tools makes growing vegetables indoors easier and increases the likelihood of success. Here are some ideas for indoor vegetable gardening tools to get you started.

Grow Lights

Seedlings under a grow light.

Providing enough direct sunlight can be a challenge when growing an indoor vegetable garden. A good set of grow lights makes it easy to ensure your plants have enough light to thrive.

Heat Mats

A seed starter tray and humidity dome on a heating pad for seedlings.

Heat mats are essential for heat-loving crops in cold rooms. Tomatoes and peppers need to stay warm in order to grow well.

If you’re growing cool-weather crops like leafy greens, carrots, or radishes, you likely won’t need a heat mat.

Planters

A tray of basil seedlings.

Seed starting trays are handy when starting plants from seed. Trays make it easy to start a lot of different vegetable seeds at once and they can be used over and over again.

Depending on what you’re growing, you’ll also need large, medium, and/or small containers to hold plants as they grow.

Soil

Woman filling pots with soil.

Seed starting mix is ideal for starting seeds while potting soil is necessary for larger plants. To learn about the differences between the two, check out Seed Starting Mix vs Potting Soil

Seeds

An assortment of seeds sold by Hoss Tools.

You can’t start an indoor vegetable garden without seeds! Hoss Tools is one of our favorite retailers for seeds. They have a great selection of high-quality seeds, all at reasonable prices.

Watering Tools

Sadie spraying a seedling starter tray with a water bottle.

You’ll need something to water your vegetables with. I recommend a spray bottle when starting seeds or watering very small plants. The gentle spray allows you to water without disturbing the plants.

A watering can is more practical for watering larger plants.

Accessories

Timers are handy for turning grow lights on and off.

Gardening gloves are a must when handling soil and plants.

shovel is needed for scooping soil and transplanting vegetables into different containers.

Garden Labels are helpful for identifying plants, especially when starting seeds. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started seeds without labeling them and then forgotten what I planted.

Growing Kits

Hoss Indoor Seed Starting Light Kit

If you’re just getting started with growing vegetables indoors, a seed starting kit or light kit is a good place to start. With a kit, you get a lot of tools all at once so you don’t have to purchase everything separately.

I have this light kit and love it. It sits in the corner of my kitchen and I use it to grow fresh herbs all winter long.


Wrapping Up Indoor Vegetable Gardening Ideas

Chick peas growing indoors on a windowsill.

Are you surprised at how many different kinds of vegetables you can grow indoors? Which of these indoor vegetable gardening ideas do you want to try?

To get more gardening ideas, make sure to visit our Seed Starting page on the website. You’ll find growing guides for all different kinds of plants, plus tips and tricks to help you have the best garden yet.

Whether you’re interested in indoor gardening, outdoor gardening, or both, you’re sure to find some resources to help you along the way!

Getting started on your seed growing journey? Use my seed starting guide to find care guides, helpful tips, product suggestions, and more!