20 Veggies That Grow Really Well Indoors

For all we know about the science of growing plants, gardening is more of an art form. That’s because you’ve got to take whatever Mother Nature sees fit to give you: When your plants need sunlight and warmth, it will be cloudy and cold. And when they need to stay cool, it will be blazing sun and boiling mercury. Too much rain, not enough, pests, diseases—it never ends.

If you want to take back control over your gardening endeavor, you need to take things inside. Today I’m going to tell you about 20 vegetables that grow really well indoors below. Plug in those grow lights and get those containers ready!

Lettuce

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Romaine, Buttercrunch, Grand Rapids
• Light Requirements: Most varieties do well with 4 to 6 hours of sunlight.
• Water Requirements: High, water frequently enough to keep the soil quite moist but not saturated.
• Soil Requirements: Highly fertile and well-draining.
• Maturation Time: 30 to 45 days depending on the variety.

You’ll never have an easier time growing lettuce than when growing it indoors. Even large heads tend to be space-efficient and can be grown pretty close together, and you can get multiple harvests out of it as it matures.

Watering will be the challenge: excellent drainage will help you keep control over soil moisture levels. It’s easy to overdo it and cause mold or rot! Don’t forget to keep trays drained of overflow, too.

Kale

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Lacinato, Red Russian, Dwarf Blue Curled
• Light Requirements: Pretty minimal, up to 6 hours.
• Water Requirements: Moderate. Soil should be kept consistently moist but never soggy.
• Soil Requirements: Well-draining soil is a must, and rich with organic matter.
• Maturation Time: 6 to 10 weeks.

Kale is superbly healthy and also amazingly easy to grow indoors. It grows pretty fast compared to most leafy veggies, has minimal light requirements, and is very tolerant of cold, meaning an unheated patio is the perfect location for it.

The biggest challenge is managing how much water it gets; if you don’t handle drainage properly or overwater it, the roots will start to rot, and that will kill it.

Arugula

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Wild, Astro, Rocket
• Light Requirements: Around 6 hours daily.
• Water Requirements: Modest, soil should be kept consistently moist.
• Soil Requirements: Rich and well-draining.
• Maturation Time: 4 to 6 weeks.

Arugula is peppery, tangy, and great on sandwiches and salads and in mixed greens. It’s also a cinch to grow indoors, even in small containers. Like most leafy vegetables, you can harvest from it continuously and let it keep growing.

Swiss Chard

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Fordhook Red, Ruby Giant, Bright Lights
• Light Requirements: 4 to 6 hours a day.
• Water Requirements: Soil should be kept moist.
• Soil Requirements: Rich, well-draining soil is a must.
• Maturation Time: About 2 months.

This colorful and increasingly popular salad veggie is a fine candidate for indoor growing. It is highly tolerant of reduced light, loves cooler temperatures, and grows quickly if given even the minimum of care.

You can also cut off what you need knowing that it will regrow multiple times a year. It’s highly productive!

Bok Choy

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Toy Choy, Black Summer, Shanghai Green
• Light Requirements: Up to 6 hours a day.
• Water Requirements: Needs constantly moist soil. Avoid overwatering to prevent rot.
• Soil Requirements: Organically rich and well-drained.
• Maturation Time: 4 to 6 weeks depending on the variety.

This Asian relative of common cabbage thrives in containers, grows fast, and is highly tolerant of varying soil and environmental conditions. It’s a tasty and low-maintenance option for your indoor garden.

Spinach

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Regiment, Baby Leaf
• Light Requirements: 4 to 6 hours of indirect light or gentle grow lighting.
• Water Requirements: Soil should be kept consistently moist.
• Soil Requirements: Well-draining, highly nutritious, and rich with organic matter.
• Maturation Time: 4 to 6 weeks.

Another super nutritious leafy veg, spinach is easily grown indoors provided it doesn’t get too much intense light and you can keep it cool. Higher temperatures result in bitter, tough leaves, and if you leave it in a very sunny spot, it might bolt!

Use the richest and most nutritious soil you’ve got and keep it moist. It’ll be easy if you can do that.

Carrots

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Thumbelina, Nantes, Danvers Half Long
• Light Requirements: 6 hours of sun or equivalent from grow lamps daily.
• Water Requirements: Modest, just take care to keep the soil damp.
• Soil Requirements: Sandy and well-draining is ideal.
• Maturation Time: 60 to 80 days depending on the variety. Can be harvested early as baby carrots.

One of my favorite indoor veggies, carrots are a breeze to grow indoors as long as you can manage their light requirements in a sunroom, by a window or under full-spectrum lamps.

They do great in cooler temps, and the only trick might be giving them containers that are deep enough to allow for their growth.

Don’t be afraid to pick out one of the shorter varieties listed above if you don’t have containers large enough. They will still taste great!

Peppers

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Cayenne, Jalapeño, Baby Bell
• Light Requirements: Lots, at least 6 hours and preferably 8.
• Water Requirements: Regular but infrequent watering. Let the soil dry between waterings and water again when the top inch is dry to the touch.
• Soil Requirements: Soil must be extremely well-draining. Slightly acidic to neutral pH is okay.
• Maturation Time: 2 to 3 months.

Peppers have a reputation for being fussy and difficult to care for. Honestly, I’ll agree with that! Give yourself a leg up on your next harvest by growing them indoors.

Give them lots of light, keep them warm, and you’ll have a much easier time protecting them from spurts of bad weather and voracious pests.

Since most types grow vertically and densely, they don’t take up as much room as you think.

Scallions

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: White Lisbon, Ishikura, Evergreen
• Light Requirements: Full sun or equivalent, preferably 8 hours.
• Water Requirements: Modest, soil should stay consistently moist.
• Soil Requirements: Rich, nutritious soil with lots of organic matter. Well-draining.
• Maturation Time: About 2 months.

Another well-known favorite for indoor growing, scallions, or green onions, are easily grown in any kind of container, are quite hardy, and tend to grow wonderfully quickly when kept indoors.

They will also readily regrow from cuttings, meaning you can keep yourself in a continuous harvest! Stick them in a container of rich potting mix for best results, and always leave about an inch of stem (or a little more) if you want them to regrow.

Garlic Greens

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Any softneck or hardneck variety.
• Light Requirements: Between 4 and 6 hours of sunlight or equivalent every day.
• Water Requirements: Keep soil just damp or moist. Do not overwater!
• Soil Requirements: Soil should be very well-draining with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.
• Maturation Time: Greens are ready to harvest in a month to a month and a half.

I know some gardeners are going to be surprised to see garlic on this list, considering it needs to overwinter for warm-season harvest the following year in most cases. But we’re not talking about the bulbs; we’re talking about the greens!

It’s easy to plant garlic in shallow trays or wide, short pots and then harvest the greens in just about a month. They will sprout and grow quickly with minimal care!

Note that as long as you’re willing to put in the time and patience, you can keep garlic indoors for year-round growth and harvest the bulbs according to the usual schedule. It just tends to be a big space and time commitment!

Tomatoes

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Compact or dwarf types like Patio Princess, Red Robin, and Tiny Tim
• Light Requirements: Full sun, at least 8 hours or more.
• Water Requirements: Very high. Water regularly and deeply to keep the soil very moist.
• Soil Requirements: Rich, nutritious, and well-draining.
• Maturation Time: 2 months, up to 3 depending on the variety.

Another garden favorite, and like peppers, one with a reputation for being fussy, fickle, and failure-prone.

I don’t care what anyone says, you’ll have a much easier time getting a great harvest out of your tomatoes if you grow them indoors. Stick with compact or dwarf varieties for efficiency and ease of management.

Keep them warm and make sure they get lots of light. Keeping the pests away from them is half the battle, and you’ll have that won growing them indoors.

Potatoes

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Fingerling, Red Pontiac, Yukon Gold
• Light Requirements: Around 6 hours of sunlight or equivalent daily.
• Water Requirements: High. Soil should stay moist, but be cautious of soaking them.
• Soil Requirements: Loose and sandy or loamy soil that is well-draining.
• Maturation Time: Around 3 months, plus or minus a couple of weeks.

Potatoes might seem like a strange choice for indoor gardening, but they really are easy, as long as you have the right container: raised beds in a sunroom, large garden bags, and similar will do the trick. Smaller varieties can produce a bigger yield for less work, too…

Whatever kind you are growing, ensure adequate drainage and water control to prevent rot, and be patient. Most types will take at least 3 months to mature.

Microgreens

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: All kinds!
• Light Requirements: 6 hours or a little less daily.
• Water Requirements: Minimal, damp soil and occasional misting is all they need.
• Soil Requirements: Shallow, light, loose, well-draining.
• Maturation Time: 1 to 2 weeks.

If you like them, microgreens might be the very best veggie for indoor gardening. They grow incredibly densely, sprout quickly, and need only shallow trays to grow in, making the logistics a cinch.

It’s easy to position a packed tray near a sunny window or under a single grow lamp. Just take care not to flood them, and these should be foolproof, whatever variety you like!

Herbs

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Basil, Mint, Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano
• Light Requirements: Between 4 and 6 hours daily.
• Water Requirements: Minimal. Give them a little water, enough to moisten the soil, when it feels dry.
• Soil Requirements: Light and well-draining soil is a must.
• Maturation Time: Varies, between 1 and 3 months.

Not technically a vegetable, but I would be remiss not to include herbs on a list of prospects for indoor gardening.

Considering most types grow splendidly well in containers and have minimal light requirements, these are perfect for keeping on a kitchen windowsill or anywhere else. Once these plants get established and start to produce, you can harvest from them continuously whenever you need ingredients.

Celery

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Golden Pascal, Conquistador, Tall Utah
• Light Requirements: 6 hours or more daily.
• Water Requirements: Intensive, soil should be kept consistently moist at all times.
• Soil Requirements: Very rich and very well-draining.
• Maturation Time: 3 months or a little longer.

Growing celery indoors is a great way to control conditions for this fussy vegetable, but you’ll have to be patient. It will take at least 3 months until you can harvest it.

You’ve also got to stay on top of watering because the soil cannot be allowed to dry out. As long as you can do that, you shouldn’t have any issues.

Also, note that you can grow celery from kitchen scraps whenever you want to get it started! Just plant the root end in a dish of water, then transfer it to a container of potting soil once it sprouts.

Radishes

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: French Breakfast, Cherry Belle, Easter Egg
• Light Requirements: 4 to 6 hours daily.
• Water Requirements: Soil should be kept evenly moist.
• Soil Requirements: Loose and well-draining. Most types tolerate poor soil.
• Maturation Time: 3 to 5 weeks.

Radishes are loved because they are such speedy growers and versatile ingredients. They are delicious in salads, soups, and a lot more. They are straightforward and simple to grow outdoors, and growing them indoors is so easy it’s hard to believe.

Stick them in a shallow container that’s at least 6 inches deep, give them a little water and light, and a few weeks later, enjoy your harvest.

Beets

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Golden, Red Ace, Detroit Dark Red
• Light Requirements: Preferably 6 hours or more but can tolerate a little less.
• Water Requirements: Soil should be kept moist, but avoid overwatering.
• Soil Requirements: Loose and very well-draining. pH range should be between 6.0 and 7.0.
• Maturation Time: 6 to 8 weeks.

Beets don’t grow quite as quickly as radishes, but they are a value proposition for growing indoors: both the greens and the roots are edible and tasty in their own right. Make sure you’ve got deep containers, at least 8 inches, or choose a small variety.

Cucumbers (Bush Varieties):

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Patio Snacker, Spacemaster, Bush Champion
• Light Requirements: Full sun, at least 8 hours.
• Water Requirements: Intense, should be watered deeply, allowing the top inch of soil to dry in between.
• Soil Requirements: Well-draining and highly fertile, cucumbers are big feeders.
• Maturation Time: About 2 months.

Picking the right variety of cucumbers, specifically bush varieties, will allow them to be easily grown indoors. Placing them on trellises or vertical racks will save space, and you’ll have a huge advantage because these vulnerable veggies will enjoy better protection from typical garden pests.

Dwarf Peas

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Little Marvel, Tom Thumb
• Light Requirements: Full sun, at least 6 hours daily.
• Water Requirements: Soil should be evenly moist at all times.
• Soil Requirements: Loamy, rich, and well-drained.
• Maturation Time: About 2 months.

Similar to cucumbers, peas can be grown easily indoors as long as you choose a smaller, dwarf variety. Large trough-style containers, trellises, and hanging containers are all good options, and these smaller varieties mature very quickly, in just 2 months.

Mushrooms

• Ideal Indoor Varieties: Shiitake, Oyster, White Button
• Light Requirements: None, keep them in the dark or in areas that get reflected or filtered light only.
• Water Requirements: Needs high humidity and occasional misting.
• Soil Requirements: Not soil, but substrate; wood chips, straw, shredded paper, or commercial mushroom grower.
• Maturation Time: Around 2 weeks, possibly a little longer.

Again, not technically a vegetable but too good to pass up for our purposes. Growing mushrooms indoors, or anywhere else, requires a different approach compared to actual vegetables…

But, once you understand the variables, you can get a bumper crop in a very small space. They can mature in just a couple of weeks and are ready to pick and enjoy.