When you think of an indoor garden, your mind likely goes to abundant tropical plants offering plenty of ornamental value. But, this isn’t the only possibility for growing plants indoors. There are actually lots of edible indoor plants that can turn your indoor jungle into a multi-sensory experience.
Alongside the best indoor plants, enhance your indoor garden with aromatic herbs, vegetables, and even fruit trees. That’s right, it’s possible to grow some of your favorite elements of your kitchen garden indoors.
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5 Delicious Edible Indoor Plants
The best edible indoor plants don’t just include your indoor herb garden. There are plenty of kitchen garden crops that can be grown indoors for ornamental and edible (‘edimental’) value.
1. Rosemary
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This is an aromatic herb that will fill your kitchen with a delicious perfume. Plus, the tall sprigs of rosemary add some height to herb displays. When growing rosemary indoors, there are a few requirements to meet.
‘Rosemary requires bright light to do well indoors. Place the plant in front of a southern window or under full-spectrum lighting that is on 14 hours a day,’ advises Julie Bawden-Davis, indoor plant expert at Healthy Houseplants.
‘Avoid overwatering the plant, especially in the winter months, as they are susceptible to root rot,’ she adds.
To harvest rosemary so it continues growing, use these herb snips from Amazon to take just the green leafy stems, not the woody parts.
Find a rosemary plant from Walmart.
Julie Bawden-Davis
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Indoor Plant Expert
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden author and University of California Certified Master Gardener, who has written several gardening books, including Indoor Gardening The Organic Way. In addition to running HealthyHouseplants.com, she shares indoor gardening advice on her YouTube channel @HealthyHouseplants.
2. Lemon Tree
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It may surprise you to have a fruit tree indoors, but there are plenty of them that can grow well in an indoor environment. In fact, if you live in a colder clime, it can even be ideal for some fruit trees to grow indoors.
The trick to getting them to fruit indoors is choosing a fruit tree that is self-pollinating, not dependent on pollinators for fruit production. A lemon tree is the perfect fit, though hand-pollination will increase the likelihood of a greater harvest.
‘Place them in front of a southern or western window or under full-spectrum grow lights that are on 16 hours a day,’ Julie advises. ‘Keep the soil moist but not soggy, and fertilize your lemon tree two or three times a year with a citrus fertilizer (from Amazon),’ she adds.
To be successful with growing a lemon tree indoors, consider also choosing varieties more suited for indoor growing. This includes ‘Improved Meyer’ (plant from Amazon) and ‘Ponderosa’ (plant from Amazon).
‘If your home is cooler than 75 degrees on a consistent basis, place the plant pot on a seedling heat mat (from Amazon) to keep the roots warm,’ Julie adds.
3. Chili Peppers
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If you’re looking for vegetables you can grow indoors, then turn to chili peppers. When grown as edible indoor plants, they offer pops of color among green foliage.
There are actually ornamental peppers, which are primarily grown for their aesthetic value, and not taste. Or, you can choose from varieties suited to an indoor environment, like some jalapenos (seeds from Burpee) or habanero peppers (seeds from Burpee), and other chili varieties for containers.
Something to note is that it isn’t the easiest to grow chili peppers indoors, as it is with other edible plants, which is why Julie advises: ‘If your home is not 75 degrees or warmer, it’s necessary to place the plant pot on a seedling heating mat, which will keep the soil warm.’
Likewise, Julie notes you should ‘avoid overwatering’. Water when the top inch to two inches has dried or a soil moisture meter (from Amazon) indicates nearly dry.
4. Basil
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Basil makes one of the best edible indoor plants not only for its flavor, but also its bushy nature that fills spots on windowsills.
It’s one of the easiest herbs to grow, so is definitely a great choice for a beginner indoor gardener. You can grow basil quite quickly with these basil seeds from Amazon.
‘Initially, basil needs a lot of water, so water it every five days in spring, every two or three days in summer, and once a week in fall,’ advises Plantum indoor plant expert Marina Prokaten. ‘You’ll need to adjust the watering regime for winter, just watering roughly every 10 days.’
To make the most of basil as an edible indoor plant, take steps to get basil to grow bigger and last longer. This includes regularly harvesting basil leaves from the top of the plant, encouraging fuller growth.
Find a basil plant at Walmart.
Marina Prokaten
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Indoor Plant Expert
Marina Prokaten is a resident plant expert for the Plantum app, which helps users identify plant species, diagnose their conditions, and get specific care advice. She has three years of experience consulting on botany-related topics for Plantum.
5. Mustard Microgreens
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You should consider adding microgreens to your roster of edible indoor plants because they provide an influx of green foliage and fast, delicious harvests.
Mustard microgreens are a good choice, especially if you want to engage children with gardening. You can plant mustard microgreen seeds (from Amazon) and harvest in just seven to 10 days.
They make for a great filler in an indoor herb planter, which can make an attractive indoor plant display on a coffee table or windowsill.
FAQsAre There Any Edible Traditional Indoor plants?
There are not many classic houseplants, like tropical evergreens, that are edible. In fact, many are likely to be toxic and can cause you to become unwell if ingested. However, there are plenty of herbs, fruits, and vegetable plants that can be grown indoors as edible indoor plants for both ornamental and edible value.
These edible indoor plants bring beauty and taste to the home. If you want to take your indoor garden to the next level, try growing these plants in a vertical indoor garden set-up.
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