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What Are My Options For Growing Plants Indoors? 

Once fall creeps in and winter grows ever closer, you may be starting to get that garden itch—but it’s too cold! You know what that means! Indoor gardening! 

There are a variety of things you can choose to grow indoors, including: 

• Sprouts 
• Herbs 
• Succulents/Other Decorative Plants 
• Plants from Seed 

In this post, we’ll mostly go over what to do when starting vegetables or other edibles from seed. You can follow the indoor gardening series to find out more about some of the other options mentioned.

Where Do I Start?

A great way to decide what you want to grow is to just think about the foods you like to eat!

Your selection of plant seeds expands significantly when you buy online. Just make sure you’ve done your research to know that plant’s needs, especially if you’re just getting a headstart and will be later transplanting what you’ve grown from seed into your outdoor garden. 

Best Vegetables For Growing Indoors 

If you’re like me, you love the idea of getting a headstart on something. But you should know that some vegetables are more inclined to being started indoors than others. For others not on this list, you will just need to be very careful when transplanting them outdoors so they don’t get damaged. 

Here are the plants that do great starting indoors: 

• Tomato
• Peppers 
• Cucumbers
• Onion
• Cabbage
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Eggplant
• Sweet potato

Best Indoor Plant Containers 

The great thing about containers is that you can recycle! If you’re just starting from seed, things like eggshells, folded newspaper (into a box shape), egg cartons, recycled plastic (from yogurt, large packages of greens, etc.) work great!

For succulents or other decorative plants you can also always shop thrift stores for containers, just make sure you thoroughly disinfect them before using. 

If you’re starting sprouts, mason jars with cheesecloth work great!

What Soil Do I Use? 

Peat pellets are also a great way to start seeds. They just need moisture to expand and make great plant containers. It not only makes starting seeds and later transplanting into outdoor soil really easy, but it’s also great for preventing mildew and fungus diseases. Just remember to take the surrounding mesh off before transplanting because it will be very hard to remove once it’s in the ground. 

Some great options for peat pellets are below.

You can actually purchase pots made of dried peat, which work mostly the same way. You just add some potting soil mixed with sand. 

If you choose to go with normal trays or recycled containers filled with soil, use a combination of two-thirds compost, potting soil, and one-third sand. 

Carefully follow sowing directions on your seed packets for optimum results. Some seeds need light to germinate, while others don’t, this will determine how much you should cover with soil.

Once you have sown several seeds, covered them in soil, and lightly watered them, you can cover them with some plastic to retain moisture and warmth for the soil. Just make sure you remember to take the plastic off as soon as you start seeing sprouts. 

You’ll need to thin the plants out once you start seeing true leaves. 

What Temperature Do They Like?

The ambient temperature of a room with live plants should be kept between sixty-five and seventy-five degrees throughout the day. Plants need to be in an environment that isn’t too warm or cold for them to grow.

A good trick is to start your seeds on top of your fridge since this provides extra heat and ventilation. Otherwise, if you don’t want your house to be really warm during the cold season, you could use a heat lamp on organic plants instead. You can also try using artificial lighting to help. 

There are a variety of different “grow lights” you can purchase online or at stores, including this one here. 

When your seeds sprout, they won’t need the warmth they needed to germinate. It’s important to move the plants away from any heat source as they grow larger.

Let’s Shed Some Light On the Subject

One of the problems people have when trying to grow organic plants indoors is a lack of natural light. If you live in a home or apartment that doesn’t get great sunlight you may want to consider growing plants designed to grow in low or medium-light environments.

 If this is not an option, or you have your heart set on a particular type of plant, consider adding additional grow lights instead.

It’s recommended to look for full-spectrum CFLs or LEDs and to keep the lights about six inches over the plants (the height of the lights will need to be adjusted as the seedlings grow so keep this in mind). 

I Need Waterrrrrr

Giving your indoor plants the right amount of water is a huge challenge. You’ll want to make sure you have drainage holes in the bottom of your containers in cases of overwatering, and that you check the dampness of the soil with your finger in cases of underwatering (the water needs to be getting all the way down to the roots). Some people even use a spray bottle so they don’t go overboard.

Once again, consult the seed packet to see what specific needs your plant has for water. 

Does This Help? 

Hopefully, this is enough to get you started on your own indoor garden. It may seem like a lot at first glance, but the important thing is to start! Don’t feel overwhelmed! There are so many resources to turn to if you have questions once you get started—so what are you waiting for? 

The benefits are so worth it! 

Tell Us How It Went!

We’d love to hear about your experience if you have tried or are trying to start your indoor garden and have used any of our tips! If you’re wanting tips on starting your organic garden outdoors, read our guide here.