Indoor Garden

Your Own Indoor Garden!

Have you ever considered having an indoor garden? As the weather continues to transition away from the cold winter chills to spring, it’s time to restart gardening and indoor planting season. While you prune, clean and perform basic maintenance on your garden and indoors, you can start looking forward to planting some tasty vegetables that you and your family can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. In this article, we’re going to suggest some of the easiest vegetables that can be grown without too much hassle. Considering the fact that many grown foods require certain ingredients to thrive, i.e. water and fertilizers, growing your own can be easy, even for first timers. The list of vegetables and herbs which you can grow at home is a lot. We’ve narrowed it down to a few of our favorites. Happy growing!

Carrots

Carrots are some of the easiest veggies you can grow in your backyard. The top recommendation here is to plant them in soil that is free of stones and rocks. Generally, you can grow carrots throughout the year. They don’t require an insane amount of care either. They can also be grown in your indoor garden too, in a fairly deep pot or container. This option is perfect if you don’t have a lot of space in or around your home. After growing and harvesting your carrots, they can be enjoyed in a variety of ways (use in salads or simply eat as a snack).

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a popular ingredient in many dishes, including salads, smoothies, soups and many more. So much so, that they are seldom mistaken for vegetables. However, you can save a lot of cash by growing and enjoying this fruit in your indoor garden, starting this spring! All you need is a sunny spot in your home, young seedlings, nutrient rich soil, some organic fertilizer, and of course water! If you want to grow a variety of tomatoes, there are many available resources online which can provide some pointers. Cherry tomatoes are probably the easiest variety to grow at home.

Peppers

For those who fancy a splash of spicy flavours, you’re in luck, because you can add peppers to the list of plants which you can grow in your indoor garden. The key to growing peppers without hassle is to pay attention to the varieties that are available, as some may take a longer time to produce, and some don’t grow as big as others. Once you’ve settled on the variety (Jalapeno, Habanero), you can buy some seeds at your local nursery. The next step is to make sure to make enough room to grow them properly. For indoor growers, you’ll need an area that has good ventilation and is sunlit too. Here’s a helpful DIY guide to growing peppers properly at the first try.

Lettuce

Of course the big benefit of growing your own greens is the convenience of having easy access versus making the journey to a grocery store. This factor makes lettuce another easy option to grow at home. Much like carrots, lettuce can be grown in containers in your indoor garden if you can keep a closer eye on them. However, keep in mind that these need a good amount of sunlight to thrive, so try not to keep them hidden.

Mint

Mint plants are herbs which aid with good digestive health. They act as an ingredient which compliments many meals and snacks, which you can enjoy on a regular basis. There are many things to cherish about mint plants, which make them a welcome addition to your indoor garden. There can sometimes be anxiety when it comes to growing mint plants and them taking over your garden. Fear not, for you can contain mint plants if you grow them with proper attention. For example, you can place them in strong and deep containers so that the roots don’t grow out of control.

Why Go Through the Trouble?

You may be thinking, why go through the trouble of growing my own vegetables? After all, you can buy them at the store. Well, the practice of home growing your vegetables and herbs extends beyond that thought. First of all, you benefit from having fresh greens available to you in close proximity. The fact that you can get them within touching distance, means that you get to save some money too. After all, who doesn’t like extra savings?

It’s also a great learning experience for both gardening and food prep. By growing your own vegetables and herbs, you’ll start to get creative with recipes and become accustomed to new gardening techniques. In addition, there will be the knowledge that the foods you make and eat have come directly from your own efforts. And finally, the most popular case for gardening and home growing is the stress relieving aspect. You will feel at peace when you garden, by growing your own plants. You’re establishing a direct connection with nature and improving your mood. All of this with the simple acts of planting seeds, watering and pruning!

What’s Next?

Now that we’ve given you some recommendations of easy to grow veggies for your home, what’s next? Well all you have to do now is exercise some patience and reap the benefits of growing your own at home. In some ways, you can even consider this small scale farming.

Don’t expect perfection if this is your first time trying to create an indoor garden. Look at it as an opportunity to learn and have fun. If you want, you can also engage your whole family in the activity to strengthen bonds. You could even start fostering a community, by reaching out to neighbours. If things go extremely well, there’s a case to be made for having a neighborhood community garden. In the meantime, take baby steps and set attainable goals. Grow from them once you start to get a hang of home growing and its benefits. Make sure to stay up to date with our blog for a healthy dose of relevant posts and keep an eye out for our specials!