Winter is here, but your gardening has yet to come to an end. Have you ever asked yourself: “can you grow vegetables indoors in the winter”? Well, the answer is yes.
You can grow your vegetables indoors in winter with ease. We discuss the top vegetables to grow in winter indoors as well as how to grow vegetables indoors in winter to get you started.
7 Of The Best Vegetables Plants That Grow In Winter Indoors
Winter doesn’t have to mean the end of your gardening days for the year. While the harsh winds and a light frost can spell trouble for summer vegetable crops that are grown outside, you can still have a good harvest of herbs and vegetables in spite of the snow, ice, cold temperatures, and cold weather.
It is possible to grow edible plants during the cold winter months and in colder temperatures. You can just take your gardening indoors and follow a different set of rules than you would with traditional gardening while leaving your cold hardy vegetables outside. This is a great idea to keep having the best crops any time of year.
Today, we’ll be talking about seven vegetables you can grow indoors in winter. Let’s get started!
The Key to Indoor Growing
Growing vegetables indoors is a great way and the best thing to keep your fresh vegetable gardens going, especially during the winter season, but when you grow vegetables indoors in winter it can require a different approach than if you were to grow them outdoors in the warmer temperatures of spring and summer. Here are five winter gardening tips and things you need to remember when growing edibles indoors in the winter and freezing temperatures:
- Instead of using garden soil, use a good quality potting mix. It contains peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite, which means it can absorb moisture well while resisting compaction.
- Use containers that have good drainage and are the right size for the particular plant you are growing. Shallow root crops veggies can be planted in two-inch deep containers, while deep-rooted plants such as tomatoes should be planted in at least 12-inch deep pots.
- When growing plants indoors in winter place containers in south-facing windows since these spots receive the most hours of direct sunlight during the winter or cold season. If you don’t have an area like this, you might have to use ambient light, such as supplemental lighting, to ensure that your veggies and leafy crops receive an adequate supply of light throughout winter – grow lights can also be used to start your seedlings indoors before early spring.
- When growing food indoors in winter avoid putting your containers in areas where any harsh winter draft can cause freeze burning. You should also keep them away from dry conditions like heaters which can dry them out.
- Finally, pick the right plants to grow indoors in winter. Not all vegetables are hardy enough to survive the winter weather, no matter how hard you try to control the growing environment in any long growing season. You need to pick the right crops that can survive this method of gardening to be successful. Also shade-tolerant vegetables will do the trick.
7 Veggies to Grow Indoors This Winter
1. Garlic Chives
Garlic greens or chives are flavorful herbs that you can substitute for scallions or green onions. The best part about them is that while garlic bulbs require a particular temperature to grow, these do not. Making them one of the best plants to grow indoors in winter.
All you need is to plant individual cloves of garlic in one inch of water, and they will sprout in about a week. The best time to start harvesting them is when they grow eight to ten inches long. You can also grow many different kinds of root vegetables
USDA hardiness zone: 3-9
Sun Needs: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Rich in organic matter
Color Varieties: Leaves blue-green Flowers white, pink, purple, or red
Type: Herbaceous Perennial
You Might Also Like These: Tips For Growing Herbs Indoors
2. Culinary Herbs
Don’t forget the herbs in your indoor winter vegetable garden. Herbs like:
will happily grow indoors in winter. They don’t need a lot of hours of sunlight, and they will even thrive in small pots placed by the window in your kitchen.
3. Lettuce
Lettuce is incredibly easy to grow indoors, even when the hard frosts are biting outside. These cold-resistant vegetables will grow happily in window boxes or planters placed in a sunny spot. Making it a excellent plant for indoor gardening in winter.
You can find leaf lettuce seeds in most gardening stores that you can plant in potting mix. Within a week, these will start sprouting. In about a month, they’ll grow big enough to supply you and your family with plenty of salad greens in the winter.
Don’t wait for the head to become hard, or the lettuce will have a bitter taste. Butterhead lettuce types are never going to grow into tighter heads like what you can buy at your local grocery store.
USDA hardiness zone: 3-10
Sun Needs: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Loose Soil
Color Varieties: Light green to Reddish brown
Type: Annual
4. Kale
Much like lettuce, leafy varieties of vegetables, or broad leaves vegetables, kale is also easy to grow and is a cold-tolerant plant. You can grow them in the same way you would lettuce.
However, you need to give them a lot of space, so space them farther apart since they need more room to grow. If you don’t like kale, since it can be an acquired taste, you can plant mustard greens, or swiss chard instead since they are also great plants for you indoor winter garden.
USDA hardiness zone: 7-9
Sun Needs: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Soil Needs: Loamy Soli with high Organic Matter
Color Varieties: Green, Yellow-Green, White, Red, or Purple
Type: Biennials
5. Arugula
These sharp and spicy leafy greens offer a wonderful bite to any salad, wraps, and even soup. These cold-weather plants do well in cooler temperatures and cooler weather which means you can easily grow them even in the winter. Making them one of the most popular vegetables to grow inside during winter.
Just make sure to put them in a south-facing window and avoid exposing them to heat sources, so the soil doesn’t dry out, so you still have moist soil.
USDA hardiness zone: 3-11
Sun Needs: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Slightly acidic soil
Color Varieties: Green
Type: Annual
6. Beans
Beans are extremely easy to grow regardless of the kind of weather you have. Making them one of the easiest vegetables you can grow inside in winter. A great addition to the delicious greens we’ve discussed would be green beans or pole beans. If your home needs a little pop of greenery to break the gloomy winter vibe, keep a planter of beans indoors.
You can grow them in winter or extremely cold climates in a pot fitted with bamboo poles so the beans can climb up. You can let them grow on mini trellises made from wooden frames with twine stretched across. It.
USDA hardiness zone: 2-11
Sun Needs: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Slightly Acidic to Neutral Soil
Color Varieties: Green
Type: Annuals
Peppers
Peppers grow best in potting mix. Simply plant one or two seeds in a pot and keep the growing medium moist but not soaking wet. Place containers in a south-facing window or provide additional light to keep them growing.
If you’ve started growing peppers late in the fall, you can expect them to grow fruits in about three months.
USDA hardiness zone: 9-11
Sun Needs: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Moist but Well Draining
Color Varieties: Green, Purple, Red, Orange, and Yellow
Type: Tender Perennial Fruits
You Might Also Like These: Starting Seeds Indoors Tips
More Plants To Grow Inside During Winter
- Alpine strawberries
- Brussel sprouts
- Bok choy or Chinese cabbage
- Asian greens
- Broad beans
- Lamb’s lettuces
- Winter cabbages
- Collard greens
So you see, you can grow indoors in winter whether you choose veggies or herbs or both. You don’t have to wait for spring to enjoy fresh produce and veggies, and herbs again.
Do you have any suggestions or tips for your own vegetables plants that grow in winter indoors? Please leave them in the comments below; I’d love to hear them.
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