Edible gardening is an interesting invention – not exactly modern, as growing up vegetables in homes, and harvesting them accordingly has been a feature in history since before the dawn of human evolution itself. But in the era of today, where mass production is a force of mechanics, and nature, the era of home gardening, and its revival is a decidedly crucial endeavor. People have taken over the small scale edible gardening once more, in an effort to revert back to the fresh, crisp tastes of home grown vegetables, with least amount of human intervention, and the enthusiasm is real. But with a shortage of space, especially green areas, outside of suburbs, it has become difficult to achieve the requisite area for gardening a small vegetable patch of their own. In an era where indoor gardening has become a thing, now growing an indoor vegetable garden is not a big deal. On that note, we would like to discuss 8 vegetables that you can grow inside your home, for a better, greener, and fresher life style.
1. Carrots
Carrots are one of the healthier vegetables – loaded with vitamins, and minerals, it is also a staple for many home cooked dishes, and salads. It is also one of the vegetables that could be grown in an enclosed space in the indoors, provided that they be properly taken care of. What you have to do is, take a deep enough planter – terra cotta or otherwise, while making sure that it is deep enough to handle the root growth of the carrot seed. Ideal dimension would be a foot, or foot and a half deep. Now fill it up to within an inch of the top with humus rich potting mix, and water the soil before planting the seeds. Make sure that you appropriately water the plant, and put it in a spot that receives proper sunlight, and soon, the carrots would grow.
2. Garlic Greens
Not many people are aware of the difference between a garlic bulb, and a garlic green; which is most definitely like a scallion. Long winded, and wiry in composition, it is pungent, and a natural repellent against cancerous cells, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease. You can grow garlic greens from original garlic cloves. All you have to do is buys a few bulbs – do not be leery of the open rooted ones – pick them apart, clove by clove, and put them aside. Now take a planting pot with drain holes at the bottom, fill it to below an inch of soil, and bury ten to eleven cloves of garlic half an inch inside. Water, and sunlight adequately, and you’ve got yourself an indoor garlic green plant.
3. Lemons
Most people have only ever seen a lemon tree in full bloom – tall, and sprawling, heavy with green-yellow fruits just waiting to be harvested. Well, now you can have your very own miniature lemon tree right inside of a tiny pot. The planting technique might be a little complicated, but the end results are well worth the effort – just choose a potting plant with drainage holes, fill up the drainage dish with stones for air circulation, and fill up the put with soil adapting to citrus trees. Plant the seeds, and place the plant in a spot where it might receive a minimum of ten hours of sunlight, and eventually, you’ll have yourself a beautiful, bite sized lemon tree.
4. Micro-Greens
A little leafy indoor vegetable garden provides not only fresh, crisp fodder for home grown salads, and such, but is also easy to grow indoors. All you have to do is buy a shallow tray of two inch depth, fill it with potting mix, and sprinkle a plethora of seeds in such a fashion that they are close, but not touching – beets, basil, radishes. Layer it up with another layer of soil, and make sure that the soil is always moist but never waterlogged. Given the right temperature and an adequate amount of sunlight, the seeds would start to germinate in five to six days.
5. Salad Leaves
Another staple for salads, and other homemade dishes, the salad leaf is an easy vegetable to grow indoors. Just buy a planter box, with drainage holes, fill it up with composite soil mixture, and plant the seeds. If you water adequately, and provide it with enough sunlight, the seeds would germinate into beautiful, green, vitamin rich salad leaves.
6. Tomatoes
Tomatoes grow in sprawling vines all over the outside, and could become a charming window sill box vine, if planted adequately. Rich in lycopene, it is healthy, and an essential for any hard, or soft cooked homemade dish. To grow it out indoors, one would need a foot deep pot, fill it with potting mix, and plant the seeds. Put it in adequate sunlight, water it enough, and the seeds would sprout into a beautiful tomato plant.
7. Basil
Essentially an herb, it is used in cooking most dishes, and is pretty handy to be a homegrown green. All you have to do is buy a four inch deep container and fill it with potting mix, plant the seeds, and always keep it moist. With enough sunlight and watering, your plant would thrive.
8. Cilantro
Another staple in home cooking, this one is an herb that is easy to grow indoors. Buy an eight inch deep planting tray with drainage holes and put in the seeds. Water the soil to a constant moist, and cover it with plastic, making the interior air tight. You can remove the plastic once the seeds germinate and start to push against the plastic.
