Countertop Vegetable Gardens: Grow Veggies Indoors Year-Round

Just because it’s cold outside, doesn’t mean that gardeners don’t yearn to grow food. Thanks to handy gadgets like AeroGardens, it’s possible to grow just about any fruit or veggie indoors
nowadays. And you can often grow vegetables right on your countertop.

Inspiration for Indoor Growing: Countertop Gardens by Shelly Levis

The book Countertop Gardens: Easily Grow Kitchen Edibles Indoors for Year-Round Enjoyment
gives you plenty of direction for growing your own indoor garden. Author Shelly Levis started
countertop gardening years ago when she was living in a two-bedroom apartment with the only outdoor space being a tiny balcony. Over the years, she’s learned to grow just about any veggie indoors. She even got an education in horticulture and started a business as a small space indoor garden designer for chefs.

Tools and Techniques for Indoor Vegetable Gardens

Given the easy to use indoor gardening tools today, including grow light systems, it’s much
easier to have a bountiful indoor vegetable garden harvest than it was in year’s past, says Levi, who writes the blog, “Sow & Dipity.”

The book is chock full of easy and effective ways to grow your own produce indoors. In addition to planting in soil in a wide variety of containers, Levi covers growing aquaponically. She offers good advice for converting soil growing plants so that they thrive in water. There’s also info on growing plants from seed.

Growing Basics: Lighting, Fertilizing, and Soil pH

The “Growing Basics” chapter covers important information on topics like proper lighting,
including the role of photosynthesis. There are tips on fertilizing, watering and the importance
of soil pH.

Best Edibles for Countertop Gardens

If you’re wondering what types of plants to grow in your indoor garden, the chapter, “Best
Edibles for Countertop Gardens,” will clear things up for you. The book includes a wide variety
of edibles ideal for indoor growing, including microgreens and sprouts. You’ll also learn how to grow other favorites like carrots, radishes, onions, potatoes, peppers, strawberries,
determinate tomatoes, herbs, mushrooms, ginger and edible flowers.

When you grow tasty produce indoors, you need recipes, so you can enjoy the veggies. Levi
includes recipes throughout the book. These include a tomato and sprout sandwich, creamy
cilantro dressing, dianthus syrup and an egg and cress sandwich.

Creative Containers for Indoor Gardens

See examples of the many types of containers you can use to grow vegetables as houseplants. Essentially, you can let your imagination take over. It’s possible to grow in hanging baskets, for instance, as well as grow bags. Or simply roots and grow various veggies in Mason jars. There’s even a how-to on how to plant up and grow a space-saving terra-cotta stacked planter.
Countertop Gardens offers a plethora of options for growing vegetables indoors at any time of the year. Enjoy growing your own vegetables as you garden in the Great Indoors!