If you are looking to enjoy the taste of farm fresh produce at your house, take a look at our list of 11 easiest edible plants to grow indoors.
Buying fruits and vegetables at the local grocery store make people wonder a lot of things – were these grown in a healthy organic way? Were they sprayed with too much pesticide? Is it healthy to consume them? Well, all these questions, though justified, will escape your mind when you start growing your basic staples right at home. That seems like a mammoth task but it’s really not that difficult. All you need is a little bit of time and a couple of windows that will allow sunshine to reach the plants. If you live in an area where the sun is a rare sight, you can always use a grow light which is an artificial source of light designed to aid the growth of plants. And if you intend to make some money off of your hard work, you can always consult our article on 10 high margin agricultural products to grow.
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To compile this list of 11 easiest edible plants to grow indoors, we resorted to specialized portals like Greatist, Nature Hacks, and Minq, among others. From there, we selected 10 which were the most recommended and came up with the following. Let’s take a look, shall we?
11. Rosemary
This herb that flavors every dish it is added to, with its strong yet delicious fragrance, is also extremely healthy. And for it to be the healthiest it can be, the plant needs to be exposed to sunlight for approximately six hours on a daily basis. You should be careful not to remove all of the leaves at once, leaving the plant bare, but instead just to remove a few. And when you have a few tasty leaves, pair them with all sorts of beautiful protein dishes for yourself and your family.
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10. Mint
Mint is used in a variety of things, but mint tea is especially famous for its relaxing effect on the entire body. In fact, it is known to improve the digestion system as well. And we all know that a case of bad breath can be solved immediately with a little mint. So who wouldn’t want to grow this advantageous herb inside their house? It is quite a simple process. The only thing to ensure is to plant the herb in a comparatively deep container and never let it go dry. You do not want to let the leaves wither up and die.
9. Ginger
Up next on our list of easiest edible plants to grow indoors is Ginger, which is extensively used in South Asian cuisine, and if you are fond of it, you could start planting it indoors. You don’t even have to purchase seeds or a young plant for this one, as all you need is a fresh piece of ginger. Bury it in the soil, wait and reap your success. You can remove the entire plant at the time of harvest and plant it again by using yet another piece of ginger, or you can gently dig into the soil, cut off as much as you like and replace the soil back in the pot. You can obtain more details on growing ginger here.
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8. Basil
Up next on our list of easiest edible plants to grow indoors is Basil or “king of herbs”, how often it is called, which is used mostly in Italian cuisine. Growing basil is extremely simple; the only prerequisite is that you possess a container with good drainage holes and a width of at least four inches. There are also four different varieties to choose from: sweet (the most common), purple, lemon and Thai. Make sure you expose the plant to warm temperatures and lots of sunlight – a minimum of six hours and give it plenty of water: once a day in case of scorching heat and once every other day on regular sunny days. To maximize yield, prune the plant when it reaches a good heightfertilizesilize it once a month.
7. Scallion
Scallion, or “scally-onion”, is a vegetable belonging to the Allium family. Not only does it taste like a milder version of onion, allowing it to be used raw in most dishes, it is also believed to be vital in preventing cancer. Like the other plants on our list of the 11 easiest edible plants to grow indoors, growing scallion doesn’t require much effort. Let’s start off with the fact that no seeds or cuttings are needed; all you have to do is tie a couple of these together and place them in a glass with an inch of water. In about a week or so, new shoots will appear, and the roots will have doubled in length, in which case you can transplant them to the pot. For harvesting, snip off the greens, or pull out the entire plant to use the whole vegetable.
6. Mushroom
We are continuing our list of easiest edible plants to grow indoors with Mushrooms. Who doesn’t love a good mushroom, be it a white button variety on pizza, a shiitake mushroom often used in Asian cuisine, or a touch of truffle on lobster? If you’re a mushroom lover like me, you’ll be happy to know that they don’t require too much effort to be grown indoors. The easiest way to do it is to buy a kit or grow them in a laundry basket in a dark and cool place. Assuming you really want to get into it, you might want to see this helpful guide on How To Grow Mushrooms.
5. Mandarin Orange
This relative of the common orange provides loads of antioxidants and vitamin C, not to mention a couple of other nutrients. Mandarin oranges rank 5th on our list of easiest edible plants to grow indoors. They are usually peeled and eaten fresh, but they’re also used in salads and desserts. The best part is that you don’t need to start from scratch for growing this sweet fruit; all you need to do is purchase a dwarf mandarin orange tree, which is freely available on the market, and plant it in a well-drained pot. Give it plenty of water, sunshine, and love, and before you know it, the fruits will turn orange, ready for you to pick.
4. Tomato
Let’s start off with a fact about tomatoes that you might not know: these red, juicy succulents are actually fruits! The common tomato is so versatile and diverse that it’s used in practically everything, especially sauces. They also have many antioxidants which help prevent heart disease. What would one do without tomatoes? Growing them yourself would thus definitely help save a few bucks. The size of the pot you select depends on how many plants you wish to grow. To ensure an abundant supply, start a new plant every two weeks. Initially, plant the seeds in a standard potting mix, but when they germinate, move the plants to potting soil. Sunshine is essential, so keep turning the plant to provide all its sides with sufficient sunlight. Water too is very important. When the tomatoes turn bright red and are slightly soft to the touch, it’s time to harvest. For more details, you might want to check out this guide. And now, let’s see the top three easiest edible plants to grow indoors.
3. Lemon
Lemons, with their particularly sour taste, are a staple for many. Not only are they widely used in sweet dishes, but they’re also the base for lemonade, a necessity on a hot summer day. The health benefits of lemons include abundance in vitamin C and antioxidants, and they’re considered good cleansing agents which rid the body of toxins. Again, like mandarin oranges, the best way to start growing lemons is to purchase a lemon tree from the market. Make sure you use a soil particularly for lemons and place the tree where it can soak up at least 12 hours of sun. Give it water on a regular basis, but remember not to give too much, for that will hinder growth. When the fruits are yellow, feel them for ripeness and harvest accordingly.
2. Carrot
If you’re concerned about your eyes, carrots, the numer two ono ur list of easiest edible plants to grow indoors, are the way to go. Full of carotenoids, this root vegetable, helps greatly in improving eye health. It’s also full of other important nutrients. Carrots come in many different varieties: orange, red, purple, yellow, and even, amazingly, black, and white! To grow them indoors, obtain a couple of seeds, and plant them in a deep container. Don’t forget to press them gently and layer them with thin soil on top. As with lemons, be careful about the amount of water you give: you don’t want to soak the plant completely. When three-quarters of the plant pokes out of the soil, your carrots are ready for harvest.
1. Avocado
Number 1 on our list of the 11 easiest edible plants to grow indoors is Avocado. This fruit is renowned for its unique taste and incredibly smooth texture. It’s a part of several different cuisines worldwide and is conveniently easy to grow. You might be tempted to start with an avocado pit, but its yield is often inedible, so it’s best if you stick to the dwarf trees available commercially. Water regularly, try not to over-soak the soil. As your plant grows, it might be best to keep it in a room with high ceilings, as it is not unusual for the grown tree to attain 10 feet or more in height. Harvest according to the required color of the variety you have selected, and enjoy!
