Getting your food from local markets is an excellent option. However, growing your own nutritious edible plants can boost your mental and physical health, among other benefits. In addition, growing edible indoor plants at home saves you money and gives you peace of mind knowing where your meals come from and how it’s grown.
Indoor gardens create absolutely beautiful spaces. Plants can make a one-bedroom, urban apartment feel like a slice of paradise. So it’s best to start indoor gardening with notably more resilient plants, such as the following six nutritious plants.
Scallions
Scallions, often called green onions, are one of the easiest plants to grow. Tie the bulbs of a store-bought scallion’s bunch together with a rubber band, and lay them in a glass container filled with 1 inch of lukewarm water. Replace the water every day.
The roots will have doubled in length in about a week and can be planted in a shallow container with drainage holes.
Find a sunny spot to keep them in direct sunlight and water them daily. Then, snip off the tips once they are fully grown and ready to eat.
Microgreens
Microgreens, like soybeans and wheatgrass, are tiny but pack a lot of nutrients, including iron, potassium, copper, magnesium, and zinc.
To begin, fill a seedling tray halfway with potting mix. Next, wet the soil and adequately distribute the seeds onto the soil surface. Then, sift a layer of earth on top and spray it lightly. Set the tray near a sunny window and spray it every day.
The seeds will likely germinate in two or three days and require 12 to 14 hours of sunlight. Once they reach 1 to 2 inches, they are ready to consume.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a must-have for everyone who enjoys gardening. Smaller tomato varieties, such as cherry or Roma, are better suited to being potted and kept in the house. Tomatoes can be used in various ways. Sauces, sandwiches, salads – the list goes on and on!
For well-draining soil, fill a pot halfway with starter potting mix and sow seeds underneath a layer of soil 1/4 inches deep. Thoroughly water the mixture and place it in direct sunlight. Within 5 to 10 days, the seeds should start to germinate. Once they are three inches tall, transplant them to potting soil and thoroughly water them. When they’re red and firm, they’re ready to harvest.
Helpful tip: Start a new plant from seed every two weeks for a constant supply of tomatoes.
Pepper
Peppers are great plants to cultivate at home, with various uses. Whether bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapeños, poblano peppers, or habaneros, these can be grown in pots on a sunny windowsill with relative ease.
Sprouts
Sprouts, like microgreens, are high in folate, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, protein, and vitamins k and C, among other nutrients. Interestingly, you don’t even need soil to grow sprouts.
Here’s how to grow sprouts without using soil:
- Pour around 2 cups of water into a mason jar with several tablespoons of sprouting seeds.
- Drain the seeds and then cover them with water again.
- Dump the water out the following day and repeat the procedure.
- Repeat this method a few times a day.
- You should have a mason jar full of sprouts in 3 to 5 days!
Helpful tip: To drain and add water easily, use a cheesecloth or sprouting screen with the mason jar lid.
Lettuce
Lettuce is a fast-growing, easy-to-harvest vegetable. Simply cut the plants’ tips off. Leafy greens don’t take up a lot of space, which is ideal for compact apartments. Fill a planter with potting soil and poke finger-sized holes approximately 4 inches apart. Fill each void with a starting plant or a few seeds and delicately cover them with moist soil. Keep the soil moist by watering regularly.
Avoid Growing These Plants Indoors
Celery
Celery is a slow-growing plant that requires a lot of water to develop into the crisp stalks we’re familiar with. This might be a challenge when trying to grow an indoor or small balcony garden.
Squash
Squash is a relatively easy plant to grow, and it yields throughout the season. However, they take up a significant amount of real estate and are best for outdoor spaces. So, unless you have a sizable garden, this one should be avoided for indoor gardeners.
Carrots
Many people can agree that carrots are not challenging to grow. However, these root vegetables require a near-perfect soil bed with the proper pH levels. Before attempting this one, there are much better plants to consider cultivating at home.
Why Grow Edible Plants at Home?
There are numerous reasons to grow edible plants, including four major ones: health, sustainability, food security, and mental wellness.
Health
The healthiest foods are, without a doubt, those that are freshest. That being said, you’d think that as long as you eat fruits and veggies, you’d be fine. While this is preferable to processed foods, there are still more advantages to eating fresh foods as close to home as possible.
Large farms that mass produce must use techniques that are considerably different from those used in a regular backyard garden to keep up with demand. This involves the heavy ploughing of soils, causing organic matter to decompose and nutritional elements to be released. As a result, we’re depleting the soil by overusing it.
Sustainability
The environmental benefits of growing edible plants at home are obvious. We’re changing a lot of things by doing this. It means fewer trips to the supermarket, lowering greenhouse gas emissions connected with long-distance transport of store-bought produce (while saving you money on gas). It also entails reducing water and chemical consumption.
Food security
The nearest access to fresh food can be miles away in some areas, such as urban or rural areas. As a result, produce is significantly less fresh since it has traveled a long distance. Food insecurity is common due to these factors and a higher cost of living, which inevitably leads to less nutritious meals and health problems. These areas with limited access to affordable and healthy food are known as “food deserts.”
Kristen Fulmer, an environmental and sustainability expert, said:
Many communities that live in food deserts also suffer from poor air quality, improper healthcare, lack of green space, and funding for education. Consequently, those communities often suffer from diabetes, asthma, and lately, coronavirus.
Urban gardens in the inner city offer much-needed space for growing plants and fresh products. Although this isn’t a perfect solution, it has aided in reducing food insecurity. In addition, growing food plants at home is an excellent alternative if a community garden isn’t an option.
Mental Wellness
Growing and tending to plants (particularly seedlings) is very fulfilling and provides many mental health benefits. “Fostering plant growth brings more direct connection [with food], and the mutual benefit of becoming a caretaker to the plant will emerge as the plants start returning the care with their crop,” added Fulmer.
Growing our own food creates a closed loop that is infinitely better for our health and the environment than mass-produced food.
