Indoor vegetable garden?

Question

Thanks to anyone willing to take the time to answer. I do not have a lot of gardening experience, so please be kind.
:)

I am starting my 2nd attempt at an outdoor garden, but thought it would be nice to have some veggies grow in my house... perhaps even after the outdoor season ends.

1.) What kind of vegetables can be grown indoors?

2.) How deep of soil should I have to grow veggies?

3.) Do I need fancy gardening lights, or is sunlight through the window enough?

4.) If I do need fancy lights, would the cost of the lights and the electricity come out to a lot more than buying veggies from the store?

5.) How much light do plants need in a day.

6.) If I keep them in my porch instead of in a heated room, could they die when it is cold?
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Seeds I have so far: bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, onions, scallions, broccoli, spinach, yellow squash, carrots, cucumber, brussels sprouts, banana peppers...

Thanks for answering any of these you may know.

Answer 1

What veggies you grow indoors depends on how much light you get inside and how much room you have. You could grow Dixie queen melons if you can handle 50 foot vines inside. With a skylight you can have sunflowers banging the ceiling! That's if you have the light to get away it (of course). More practical for most people is to stick to the smaller easier type items like herbs, lettuce, radishes and such. Lettuce and spinach work well indoors since they like to bolt (bloom) when it gets hot. Just snip leaves as you need them!

If you stick to the items I list it only takes a few inches of soil. A standard window box planter holds less than 10 inches of soil and is more than adequate.

If you've got a southern window that gets light throughout the day no other lighting is needed. The plants will appreciate normal dawn to dusk light.

If you're in a cold climate; yes temperate weather plants would die when the snows hit. ;-)

Of the seeds you list I'd only recommend the spinach, carrots and/or onions for a window, the others get too big. If you've got a south facing patio door that gets direct sun you could add the tomatoes, peppers and broccoli. Can you handle 10 foot vines crawling around the room? That'll allow the others. Oh yes, the larger plants need much larger pots!

All the veggies will produce more if you can hang some typical 4ft. shop lights over them. The growlight bulbs are nice but not worth the extra cost IMO. You can run them 24 hours if you like and guesstimate that your lights will add about 75Kw per month to your light bill to estimate cost (that assumes about 100 watts of lights run non-stop). Keep in mind the cost and lack of quality for winter tomatoes when you decide how to go.

Get the veggies started indoors and move them outside when it warms up. Move the peppers and tomatoes back inside when it gets cold. That gives you the best of both worlds!

Edit:

Why not turn your porch into a greenhouse? Cover the screening with clear plastic to cut wind chill and use a small electric oil-filled radiator to keep the temperature up? Those heaters don't rapidly heat an area but are insanely energy efficient! I put one in a cinder block out building and even when the temps were single digit at 300 watts per hour it kept the building in the mid-40s. Hand shop lights for extra light if need be, they won't seem so ugly on a porch as they would indoors.

Answer 2

I have a patio sized greenhouse in my living room with grow lights installed under each shelf. I intend on growing year round from here on out, as well as having my large garden outdoors in the summer.

1.) What kind of vegetables can be grown indoors?
Cherry tomatoes, herbs, salad greens and smaller variety peppers have all been said to grow well indoors/in containers.

2.) How deep of soil should I have to grow veggies?
Use at least 8" pots.

3.) Do I need fancy gardening lights, or is sunlight through the window enough?
I would recommend the lights. They are only $10 a piece at Walmart, and I've seen significant improvement in the germination rate and growth since I started using the lights.

4.) If I do need fancy lights, would the cost of the lights and the electricity come out to a lot more than buying veggies from the store?
The 75 watt 24" bulbs I use are only using the equivalent of 17 watts. Once you purchase the lights, they should last up to 5 years. There may be a tad more initial investment, but overall, it may cost less depending on how many veggies you generally buy at the market.

5.) How much light do plants need in a day.
I keep the lights on 12 hours a day. This seems to do the trick.

6.) If I keep them in my porch instead of in a heated room, could they die when it is cold?
Yes. You can purchase a patio greenhouse like mine on Walmart.com for $40

Answer 3

Are you growing a grocery vegetable aisle? I counted 12 veggies. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm for a indoor garden but is the time, space and possible disappointment worth it ? In our climate I enjoythe outdoor produce in season and make do in the off season. Some of the produce grown hydroponically or South of the Border is not bad in the winter. Some frozen veggies cooked properly are pretty good. At Costco, I can usually get great salad mix, petite french green geans, euro-cucumbers, peppers, onions year round.

Good luck. Keep up your enthusiasm despite the results-there is always the grocery store.

Answer 4

hi there im from uk indoor gardening all you need is a few pots multi purpose compost and some seeds i have currently growing in pots on my kitchen windowsill peppers ,tomatoes chillis ,peas,melon,apples.etc you can grow most things indoors even carrots they need a deep long tray no fancy lighting or treatments just place near a window and keep moist your broccoli etc should be sown outdoors make sure you apply organic slug killer and watch out for catterpillars as they will destroy your crop gardening is all about trial and error dont be afraid to try new things try try again and you will sucseed best of luck if you need further advice id be happy to help you can email me