Some people who live and garden in the really cold regions, like the southern Great Lakes region, often have to be creative, when it comes to satisfying their gardening urges, during the cooler months of the year. When outdoor gardening activities wind down for the season, their attentions naturally turn to indoor gardening pursuits. Top of the list, are cultivating and growing houseplants, maintaining cuttings for next year’s garden, indoor herb gardening, and starting seeds, in the latter part of the cold weather months.

One good activity that is often overlooked, is growing vegetables indoors. I know an eyebrow or two might be raised at the suggestion of indoor vegetable gardening, but it can be done, within limits. Certainly pumpkins, squash, and sweet corn are not going to be items grown inside the average home! But, many leafy crops, root crops, tomatoes, and other vegetables can be grown indoors, during the cold months of the year.

The rules are a little different, when growing vegetables indoors. Temperature, pollination, and light requirements need more careful consideration, than when one grows produce outside. The fertilization needs are also a bit different, when gardening crops indoors. Nevertheless, there are some good vegetables that can be grown inside, and it is an activity that gardeners should explore.

First of all, we need to look into the particulars of growing vegetables indoors. There are some points to keep in mind:

Vegetable seeds are sometimes hard to come by, in the late summer, to early fall. A good plan is to buy the seeds when they are in abundance, in the late winter, to early spring. Store them, according to their needs, and start your indoor vegetable garden in the fall.

Most leaf crops, such as lettuce, endive, swiss chard and the like, require cooler indoor temperatures. If you have a bright room, which is more, or less unused, it might make a good place, to grow some of these plants. Likewise, an enclosed, sunny porch where temperatures will not dip down to freezing point, would be a good place to grow leaf crops and root crops as well. These plants will tolerate daytime temperatures, in the low to mid 60’s and can take cool night time temperatures, down into the upper thirties.

Vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers and beans do require warmer daytime and night time temperatures, in order to flower and set fruit. Ideally, daytime temps should be in the upper 70’s and night time temperatures should not drop lower than 60. A south facing indoor room, with supplemental heating and one that warms up considerably in the winter, from solar heating, would be a good place to grow these crops.

The amount of light and intensity also are important factors, to consider. Outdoors, in midsummer, lighting conditions are considerably different, from the typical indoor conditions of late fall, to early spring. Varieties of a given plant need to be chosen, that will do better in shorter day situations, and supplemental lighting may very well be required, to insure success. At least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight are required, and the plants need to be situated very close to a light source. The problem with more tender plants might be coldness, radiating from the windows, during the coldest part of the year. If that is the case, then supplemental lighting, with a combination of cool-white and warm-white fluorescent lighting, will be necessary.

Soil requirements are different to those we are used to encountering, when gardening outdoors. Whatever you do, do not use ordinary garden soil, no matter how rich it might be, for indoor vegetable gardening! Lightweight soil mixes are the best, garden soil can harbour diseases and insects that are more difficult to control in a confined indoor space, and even the best-quality garden soil can compact, when used indoors, in containers. A good mix for indoor vegetables would be 1 part potting soil, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part peat, and 1 part perlite.

Vegetables will need to be watered daily, or every other day, due to the confined space in which they are growing and the lack of indoor humidity, during the heating season. Because frequent watering can deplete nutrients, a supplemental feeding, every two weeks, will be necessary. Use a balanced organic fertilizer, for best results.

One benefit of growing vegetables indoors, is the lack of pests commonly found, when the same plants are grown outdoors. Cucumber beetles, tomato hornworms, and cutworms are a few examples of pests, that will be avoided, when growing indoor crops. On the other hand, there are still potential pest problems, even when growing vegetables indoors. Insect pests common to houseplants, will also be attracted to vegetable plants. These include whitefly, spider mites, and in some instances, mealy bugs. Treatment would be the same as for houseplants, and insecticidal soaps are very useful, to have on hand.

As a rule of thumb, ensure that all plants have about 8 inches of soil depth and also about 8 inches diameter, in which to spread out. Sowing instructions for seeds, are normally found on the seed pack, but if in doubt, I usually allow 2, to 3 times the diameter of the seed. In other words, if a tomato pip is an eighth of an inch in diameter, then bury it about three eighths of an inch deep.

Remember too, that the containers need proper drainage, to prevent roots from rotting, so allow for a tray, under each pot, to prevent a mess in your home.

Pollination is something that will have to be done manually. An artist’s brush helps to distribute pollen, from one flower to the next, and is an indispensable tool to have on hand.

Here are a few vegetables to consider for indoor growing:

Cherry tomatoes
Gypsy peppers
Hungarian sweet peppers
Various hot peppers
Short-vined cucumbers
Short-vined squash
Leaf Lettuce of all types
Bush beans
Endive
Small-rooted carrots
Small-rooted beets
Radishes
Miniature cabbage
Bunching onions
Swiss Chard
Spinach
Eggplant

Another thing to keep in mind, is that most vegetables grown indoors, will not have the size, or yield, of those same varieties grown outdoors. But, you can have hanging baskets, pots, and planters, filled with various crops, that will perform fairly well, if lighting, pollinating, watering, fertilizing, and temperature requirements are met. It might not be quite the same, as growing the same plants outdoors, but it can be quite fun, to tend an indoor vegetable garden, when the snows are blowing and the winds are roaring outdoors! Your family and friends will be delightfully surprised, when your serve that salad, with those green onions and cherry tomatoes and they discover that you harvested them that day! So, try your hand at growing a few vegetables indoors, this year! 

If you long to have a beautiful garden, whether that means flowers, or vegetables, indoors, or out, this book should be of real value to you. The book called The Gardener’s Handbook will give you lots more advice. This is the secret to having a beautiful garden. It is available here http://dersalsites.com/ghand/

Sally Robson is an up and coming, South African internet marketer, with a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet. She and her husband Derek, have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. She also has a passion for gardening.

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