Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Indoor plants

How to move your vegetable gardening indoors for a winter harvest

The best plants for indoor winter gardening

Kiera Baron
By

When the growing season ends, it’s often assumed that means you have to stop growing fresh crops until the next spring. For some gardeners, that means taking a break and pursuing other interests. For other gardeners, that sounds unappealing. If you fall into that category, why not try indoor winter gardening?

Moving your vegetable garden indoors to have a winter harvest can be a bit challenging due to limited daylight, but it’s also rewarding. Here's what you need to know and the best plants for indoor winter gardening.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

45 minutes

What You Need

  • Neem oil or another pest repellent

  • Grow light

  • Seeds or seedlings

  • Pots or containers

  • Soil

  • Seedling heating mat

A tossed salad with fresh ingredients
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Why move your vegetable garden indoors for the winter?

Moving your vegetable garden indoors for the colder months means that you get to enjoy a fresh harvest for even longer. By doing ample research and understanding the differences between outdoor gardening and indoor gardening, you’ll get to experience fruitful results of your hard work year-round instead of only during the active growing season.

Not only that, but you get to control more aspects of the growing process than you would if the plant were outdoors. Indoor gardening eliminates concerns like frost, overwatering from rain, too much drought, and undeterred pests. You choose when to water, how much to water, and what kind of potting mix and nutrients the plants receive. You’ll just have to try your best to combat the challenges that come with the benefits.

With winter comes less light, and gardening indoors means the plants don’t have access to pollinating insects or wind. Luckily, there are crops you can grow that don’t require nature to fruit or grow, and those are the ones that are better suited for indoor growing.

Four pots of fresh herbs
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to properly transition your plants indoors

If the plants are coming from your garden or from outdoor containers, you’ll need to slowly transition them to an indoor environment. It unfortunately isn’t as simple as just moving them inside due to the different light and humidity levels between the two environments. Thankfully, the transition is a very simple process that only takes a bit of diligence to complete.

Step 1: Inspect your plants for any pests before bringing them indoors.

Keep an eye out for pests like aphids, spider mites, mealy bugs, and others that can potentially infest your home and indoor houseplants. If you find any, remove them with a spray of water or air and treat the plant with neem oil.

Step 2: Bring your plant indoors at night, then take them back outdoors during the day for a few days before bringing them inside for the winter.

This helps your plant adjust to the different environment indoors, reducing the threat from shock.

Related

Step 3: Invest in a grow light to compensate for the shorter days during winter.

Depending on where you live and how much sun your brightest room gets, this may not be absolutely necessary. However, having grow lights ensures that your plants are getting consistent light.

Terracotta pots with multicolored peppers
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ideal crops to plant for a winter harvest

The easiest crops to grow indoors are those like lettuces, other leafy greens, herbs, and dwarf varieties of vegetables. Think plants that don’t need a lot of room to grow (both above and below) and are suited for container growing.

Because there are no pollinating insects in your home — we hope! — you should shy away from vegetables and fruits that rely on bees, butterflies, and even birds to help pollinate the flowers. Plants like tomatoes, though, can simply be shaken lightly to help the pollen spread from one flower to another. Hot peppers and carrots are both great choices for an indoor garden. Here's how to grow them.

Step 1: Choose the right container.

Depth is important for both carrots and peppers. Hot pepper plants should be planted in pots that are at least eight inches deep. Carrots typically do best in pots that are 10 to 14 inches deep. They can be grown in more shallow pots, but keep in mind that this leads to shorter carrots.

Step 2: Plant your seeds or seedlings.

You can use a standard potting mix or seed starting mix for both carrots and peppers. Pay attention to the variety of seedlings you choose, and if you need to conserve space, look for a dwarf variety.

Step 3: Keep the soil moist and warm.

Seeds and seedlings need a lot of moisture to grow properly, and cold can stunt their growth as well. This is especially true of hot peppers, which are native to the tropics! A seedling heating mat can help keep your plants at the right temperature.

Step 4: Set the seedlings in a sunny location or beneath a grow light.

On average, your plants will need 10 hours of light each day to mature properly.

Step 5: Give your pepper plants a gentle shake once they bloom, to help the pollen spread.

Peppers are self-pollinating, and the pollen may be able to spread on its own if there is plenty of airflow. However, a gentle shake can help spread the pollen from flower to flower.

By choosing varieties that work well in containers, you’re setting your indoor garden up for success. Lettuce and herbs don’t need to grow too tall or take up a lot of space, so you can have fresh ingredients for your meals year-round. Just take the time to transition any outdoor plants into your home, and you’ll get to experience the joys of indoor winter gardening.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Kiera Baron
Kiera Baron
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kiera Baron is a freelance writer and editor, as well as a budding digital artist, based in Upstate NY. She is currently one…
Will your cactus survive the winter? What you need to know
Help your cactus thrive through winter
A woman holding a potted cactus

Cacti are notoriously hardy plants, but winter conditions can definitely pose a challenge for them, especially if they live outside during most of the year. This leaves many gardeners wondering, "Can cactus survive winter?" Don't give up on your cactus just yet! Cacti can survive the winter, and it's easier than you might think to help them thrive. This guide will answer all your questions so you can keep your cactus alive through this winter -- and many more after that!

Factors to consider when caring for your cacti during the winter
Temperature
Certain cacti can handle temperatures as low as 20 degrees below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, as some varieties hail from cold desert regions. These plants might have spines or hairs that keep out frost, or they may expel water (which will make them look slightly deflated) to avoid stem freeze. Many cacti, however, can't handle frost or subzero temperatures. Whenever you consider buying a cactus, check its hardiness zone. If you live in an area below its range, bring your cactus indoors as a houseplant. To counter freezing temperatures outside, you can also insulate your cactus with row covers, tents, and frost cloths.
Humidity
Humidity, as a refresher, refers to the concentration of water vapor in the air. While they appreciate water after drying out, cacti generally prefer low humidity and good airflow. Winter is often dry, and if you keep your cactus near a heater inside, it won't be a problem. Because of wind chill, the air outside tends to be dry as well. If you live in an area where cold weather is humid, do keep an eye on the humidity. Most cacti prefer a relative humidity of 40 to 60 percent, so you may want to bring your cactus inside if the humidity rises above those levels.
Precipitation
Related to humidity is precipitation; clouds fill with water vapor, which can lead to rain or snow. Heavy precipitation can be problematic because a cactus that receives too much moisture will experience root or stem rot. To rescue an overwatered cactus, cut off rotting parts immediately and add drainage to your soil. You can offer your cacti physical protection when it rains—the most obvious is to bring them inside your house. If you keep your plants outside, propping a tent over your cacti or covering them with a plastic tarp keeps water out during rain or snow.

Read more
How to press roses and save your treasured memories
Here are 3 easy ways to press roses
Pressed flowers

Roses make lovely additions to gardens, but they’re also great for bringing your craft projects to the next level. In most cases, you’re probably not going to be using fresh roses, so pressed ones are the way to go. Pressed roses can add a whimsical, elevated feel to many DIY ventures, and they’re pretty easy to make. If you’re wondering how to press roses, then read ahead to learn three different methods for preserving your treasured memories.

3 methods for pressing roses
1. How to press roses with a book 
Pressing your roses between a book is perhaps the most traditional and least hands-on way to go about preserving them. All you need is a heavy book, your roses, and two sheets of paper — you can use blotting paper, paper towels, or newspapers. Gently arrange your flowers as you wish, then place them between the two sheets of paper. For the heaviest weight on the flowers possible, choose a section toward the end of your book, and then put the covered roses in between the pages and close the book.

Read more
If you’re curious about growing tomatoes indoors during winter, here’s what to do
Want to grow tomatoes during winter? Here's how
Five grown tomatoes

When you picture a tomato plant, you most likely picture it outside. If you do think about indoor tomatoes, you might picture a greenhouse or a fancy hydroponics system. Houseplants are usually limited to flowers and small leafy plants. However, you can in fact grow your tomatoes indoors.

If you’re new to growing indoor crops, tomatoes are a relatively easy one to start with. The care of indoor tomatoes is similar to that of ones grown outdoors, except the plant is in a container. They’re an easy one to start out with, and you can even practice growing tomatoes indoors in winter!

Read more