Easiest edible food to grow indoors?

Discussion in 'Gardening, Plant Propegation, & Farming' started by QtheMyst, Jun 12, 2016.

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  1. QtheMyst

    QtheMyst Member
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    I don't have a lot of space in the yard now but I have some extra room in my living area for some plants. What do you guys think are some easy, edible things I could start with inside? I don't have a great track record for houseplants but I really want to keep trying!

    I think growing things I can eat or use would be better, so what else besides my aloe vera plant should I try next?
     
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  2. filmjunkie08

    filmjunkie08 Active Member
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    I am currently experimenting with growing green beans indoors. I have a window that I have dedicated to growing the green beans and have the pot sitting directly in front of the window. So far, I have 4 vines and hoping for a fifth vine. You will need to have thin trellis or small branches that can be placed in the dirt to wrap each vine around. Make sure that when the dirt is dry to water them. Good luck.
     
  3. Tom Williams

    Tom Williams Moderator Staff Member
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    With two small grow lights from walmart 20 bucks for the two we grow alot indoors year round llight water soil seeds and little effort is all it takes
     
  4. willywonka

    willywonka Member
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    I like to grow tomatoes because they grow in abundance. Once that tomato plant starts it just keeps on giving and giving. The same with any summer squash, but they have to be watered often and they grow big. If you have less space then I say tomatoes because you can put them up in a planter and hang them.
     
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  5. Endure

    Endure Expert Member
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    Carrots can grow indoors and are good source of a variety of vitamins and minerals: thiamin, niacin, folate, manganese, potassium, and vitamins B6, A, C, and K.

    To sow carrots, Look for carrot seeds and a big pot or window box that’s at least a foot and a half deep and wide, with drainage holes at the bottom. Fill the container to within an inch of the top with humus rich potting mix. Water the soil before planting the seeds. Plant the seeds one inch apart in rows that are six inches apart from each other, pressing the seeds gently into the soil and covering them with a thin layer of soil. Pour water afterwards. Place the container in an area that receives light. Keep the soil moist, but not soaked. To help preserve moisture, soak some peat moss in water overnight and then spread it on top of the seeds. Expect the seeds to germinate in around two weeks.
     
  6. Tom Williams

    Tom Williams Moderator Staff Member
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    We have a small but normal garden year round herbs lettuce radishs peppers tomatoes onions all in a small corner of the house 5gal buckets window trays pots a shipping container box 4x3 with 3ft walls all we need to grow my mrs and daughter in law tend the gardens indoor and out daughter in law loves the fresh veggies year round she took to the gardens like a duck to water and mothers over them
     
  7. Corzhens

    Corzhens Master Survivalist
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    The only indoor food source I can think of right now are mushroom and bean sprouts. I have no experience with mushroom but I understand that they can be grown indoors using a rough wood slats as the bed for spores to grow on. With bean sprouts, we used the green mung beans although there is the yellow variety of mung bean which we also call mongo beans. It is very easy since all you need to do is to soak the beans in water overnight before placing it on the planting medium, can be a cloth matting that is wet all the time. I forgot how long but the beans would sprout with a long stem in a day or two. That sprout can be eaten raw as a salad or cooked as ingredient in vegetable dishes.
     
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  8. John Snort

    John Snort Well-Known Member
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    If you like kales they can do well with being planted indoors in containers. Move them to a spot where they'll get some sunlight during the day and you'll have a "constant supply" of veggies.

    Onions can be do well too when grown indoors. You could also try growing mushrooms.
     
  9. DecMikashimota

    DecMikashimota New Member
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    I guess cherry tomatoes and some forms of small peppers would be great start for you. Research some simple herbs, they won't take up too much space and the will be fairly simple to grow as they will thrive on their own according to season. Begin with some rosemary and try growing it in a moistened soilless blend. When it roots you will be able to dry it out and use it for a variety of things such as oils and recipes.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2016
  10. Tom Williams

    Tom Williams Moderator Staff Member
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    Allmost any plant will grow anywhere with light soil water and temp. 5Gallon buckets work greatdont make this hard people iti isnt
     
  11. Lisa Davis

    Lisa Davis Active Member
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    Indoors in a non-greenhouse setting, I have grown tomatoes, lettuce, and herbs. Other than those three, everything else I have planted has been outdoors. I have seen other people have success with these three things, too, but most people I know don't try to grow much else indoors because they have some sort of outdoor space to do so. These three things at least stay fairly contained to a small space and will continue to output a crop multiple times, which is good for something indoors and a small footprint.
     
  12. SirJoe

    SirJoe Expert Member
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    I think one of the easiest things that you can grow are strawberries, but you can grow practically anything just as long as the container is big enough. There are certain plants that need more sun light then others. Before you choose your plants don't forget to see how what their water and sunlight requirements are.
     
  13. My3Sons_NJ

    My3Sons_NJ New Member
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    I would avoid strawberries and cherry tomato plants since the former is a 'creeping' plant and the latter grows to a fairly significant size. I agree with the small and/or hot pepper recommendation but, be aware, those plants tend to grow best when the soil temperature is in the 77-86F range which is a somewhat uncomfortable indoor temperature. If you can have a pot that is at least 20" in depth, carrots are a plant that tends to grow fairly well indoors.
     
  14. QtheMyst

    QtheMyst Member
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    Wow you guys have some great suggestions! I don't have a lot of natural light in most of the house because it is very shaded, so I will have to see what might work for me. I totally forgot about bean sprouts though, I love those and I remember growing them in grade school, they were super easy! So I think I will start here and then just add more as I do more research. Thanks for all these great ideas!
     
  15. My3Sons_NJ

    My3Sons_NJ New Member
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    On further reflection, scallions, kale and lettuce would probably be among your best bets since they can grow well in partial shade, requiring less than four hours of sunlight daily. Most other rooted vegetables might need four or five hours of sun daily which sounds like that might be a challenge given your house's orientation.
     
  16. Tumbleweed

    Tumbleweed Expert Member
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    One thing that just about anyone can grow inside is sprouts. There are a lot of legumes that can be sprouted, and also most grains, providing they are whole grains and not processed.
    Once they are sprouted, some can be eaten raw as a salad green, and others need to be cooked after sprouting.
    Just soaking grains and legumes overnight will actually start the sprouting process, which increases the nutrients to many times over what they are before they begin to germinate.

    I have sprouted wheat, and then you can added the little sprouts into bread, cooked cereal, or even soups. If you let the wheat grow a little longer until it looks green, then you have wheatgrass.
    This can’t really be digested as it is, but if you put it in the blender with some water and make a liquid of it, then you can add that to soups, and it will supply a lot of healthy vitamins and minerals.

    I have never tried sprouting rice; but I was just watching a video today about this, and it appears to be about the same as for sprouting wheat. I am not sure that white rice would still sprout because the hull has been milled off of it; but the video didn’t say that only brown rice would sprout, so I am going to test it out and see.

    In a survival situation, it would be important to have greens of some sort, and sprouts can be grown inside and even in the coldest winter when any wild greens are buried under several feet of snow.

     
  17. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
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    And think about it, sprouts are what gets your sour mash started! They are the core of the malting process.
     
  18. Crys B.

    Crys B. Active Member
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    Definitely. Years ago, before my health got in the way, I used to grow tomatoes.

    Plus, as an added benefit, there is nothing like home grown tomatoes.
     
  19. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
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    A lot of herbs can be grown effectively indoors. One of the advantages with herbs is that you don't need a lot of them to make a useful amount. Fresh herbs in cooking add a depth of flavor not offered by store bought dried spices. Some of them are also rather aromatic and can even be rather pretty. I like coriander in hanging baskets for example.
     
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  20. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
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  21. Richa94

    Richa94 New Member
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    I think Green Onions, basil, tomatoes, and carrots are good options to consider because these are good for health as well as grown indoor easily.
     
  22. Desert Girl

    Desert Girl Active Member
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    I found a book a couple years ago that changed indoor growing for me. Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening by Peter Burke is awesome for anyone wanting to grow easy food indoors without lights or other equipment. I know a lot of books claim awesome results but this one actually delivers. I got the kindle edition and have been enjoying amazing salads since. I get my seed from trueleafmarket.com because I like their variety and prices but microgreens have become very popular so even amazon is selling the seeds now. These little greens will grow even with very little light and they're more nutritious then sprouts. From planting to harvest for me is about 5 to 10 days. Lovin' it!
     
  23. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
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    Sorry, but here's the deal, greenhouses are dynamite for the germination of seeds and the growing of these seedlings into plants that can be planted outside. If you gotta have big production, then you gotta have the space, depth in addition to length and width.
     
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  24. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
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    I will try out the trueleafmarket.com people. I love growing microgreens indoors especially in winter when the outdoor gardens are dormant. And it's not a bad skill to have for serious SHTF-time, when OPSEC is critically important. No one needs to know that we have fresh greens to eat, even in the dead of winter! This combined with "micro-livestock" will ensure good nourishment long after the last buckets of "beans-n-rice" are gone.

    As you probably already know, some seeds are short lived and can't be stored for too long. Those are the seeds that I make sure to sprout on a regular basis to keep my stock rotated. Others last for five or more years. Lambsquarters can last up to 20 years!

    Here is one of the charts that I like to use to help me keep on top of things:

    https://www.johnnyseeds.com/on/dema...4d0/assets/information/seed-storage-guide.pdf

    I like to harvest seeds from the wild as well, such as lambsquarters, amaranth, etc.

    Lambsquarter seeds last a LONG time and the plant is prolific (72,500 - 176,000 seeds per plant!). I keep a patch of it growing every year, just for harvesting seeds. "Half of the seeds produced survive 12 years. One study, states Michigan State University’s profile on the weed, showed 32% of seeds are still viable at 20 years." https://www.growingproduce.com/vegetables/field-scouting-guide-common-lambsquarters/

    Hmmm...I wonder if the other species in the Chenopodium genus (amaranth, magenta spreen, etc.) will last many years as well? They are all delicious, but I need to watch how much of it I consume uncooked because of their high oxalic acid content. (Cooking reduces this problem: http://www.mofga.org/Publications/The-Maine-Organic-Farmer-Gardener/Summer-2011/Lambsquarters)

    Amaranth seeds last a long time, too. At least a good five years or more. I keep a patch of amaranth growing as well for seed harvesting. (I prefer the shorter Calaloo kind that is so popular in the Caribbean.)


    .
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2019
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  25. Sonofliberty

    Sonofliberty Master Survivalist
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    GA, can you expand upon your micro-livestock comment?
     
  26. coffee

    coffee Expert Member
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    100%----- grow sprouts---- very healthy and take up almost no space. For your yard, if you are afraid of others seeing you pick vegs., grow flowers that you can eat the parts: flowers, leaves, and some roots. And some medicinal plants have parts that can be eaten as well, or grow spinach or some other green.
     
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  27. coffee

    coffee Expert Member
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    Look into the Tom Thump seeds. I have used them...grow in pots...peas, corn.
     
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  28. coffee

    coffee Expert Member
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    I want to build an attached greenhouse out of glass, attached to my living quarters, for protection of the plants from man and/or beast/or weather/or natural & man-made disasters. I also want to grow in raised beds, and cold frames, and still have a regular garden. I also plan on sporadically planting plants and flowers that have parts that you can eat all over the place, some that can live in part sun in and around the trees and maybe greens or root crops for border in front yard. And medicinal plants like rose-hip rose bushes under bedroom windows, etc.....
     
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  29. coffee

    coffee Expert Member
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    Thought of one more, I plan to make a fake grave site with a rock headstone and grow plants on it too.
     
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  30. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
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    Sonofliberty and TMT Tactical like this.
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