kitchen garden

Biofriendly Way to Grow Food Indoors

While your front or backyard may be a wonderful place to put a garden, where you can grow your own fruits and vegetables, not everyone has the space to do so. Some people have very small yards. Other people have no yards at all. For this reason, we wanted to share some tips from the gang here at Biofriendly Planet Magazine on how to grow (and regrow) food indoors.

With these biofriendly tips, you can set up your own indoor garden and begin growing your own food right from the comfort of home.

Another great benefit of growing food indoors is you can do so regardless of the weather outside. This means your garden can be a year-round food source.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Determine What You Want to Plant

The first step you’re going to need to take is to determine what you want to plant. Do you want a nice herb garden? Would you like to plant a “salsa garden”? Are you looking to grow only certain vegetables? Do you want to grow from seed, from food scraps or from both? Are you looking for fast growing vegetables that are super easy to grow?

The choice is up to you, of course, but here are some of the more popular herbs and vegetables grown in indoor gardens:

  • Green onions/Chives
  • Basil
  • Rosemary
  • Cilantro
  • Parsley
  • Sage
  • Thyme
  • Lavender
  • Microgreens
  • Lettuce
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Carrots



Fortunately, there are quite a few healthy, edible plants to grow indoors. You simply need to decide what’s right for you, based on your needs and the needs of your family.

Once you figure this out, then you’ll be able to move on to the next step.

Photo by Harry Grout on Unsplash
Photo by Harry Grout on Unsplash

Decide Where Your Garden Will Go

Based on what types of vegetables, herbs and fruits you want to grow, you now need to decide where your garden will go. If your home allows for it, you might want to consider a nice window garden. An herb garden also works well on the counter, where you can snip and clip herbs for cooking as the need arises. Another suggestion would be to take an old dresser or desk and put it in the dining room as a base for your indoor garden.

Lighting should also be considered when determining where your indoor garden will go. Some indoor gardens will need more sunlight than others. The key is to do your research ahead of time.

Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash
Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash

Repurpose Items as Garden Planters

Having brought up using an old dresser or desk for the base of your indoor garden, we suggest repurposing garden planters too.

For example, if you want to get your kids involved, you might consider having them pick out toys they no longer use and repurpose those into garden planters. A toy truck, an old sand bucket, a wagon, a doll house or even a toy bin would all work well.

You can also do the same with items you may have laying around the house. Maybe you turn an unused lampshade upside down, glue it to a plate and add in some soil? Perhaps take a few drawers out of the broken dresser you were about to throw away? What about some of the pots you never use? Even the cracked teapot you don’t want to part with could be a creative garden planter. The options are endless.

If you’re feeling really creative, and you don’t necessarily have a lot of space, you should consider a DIY vertical herb garden. Although many people have incorporated vertical gardens into their outdoor spaces, these work great indoors as well. They’re even better when you use repurposed items to build them.

Image by Maya A. P from Pixabay
Image by Maya A. P from Pixabay 

Consider Regrowing Food

While many of the herbs and vegetables you’ll want to have in your indoor garden will be grown from seed, you should give strong consideration to regrowing food too.

Regrowing food from scraps cuts down on food waste and allows you to have some of the foods to love, right at your fingertips, without having to go buy more or wait for them to grow from seed.

In all honesty, there are numerous vegetables you can regrow from scratch. Some of the main ones you can regrow with very little effort (often times just a mason jar with water or, perhaps, one of your existing planters) include:

  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Celery
  • Carrots
  • Lettuce
  • Cabbage
  • Green Onions
  • Shallots
  • Fennel
  • Ginger
  • Mushrooms
  • Potatoes
  • Pineapple
  • Turnips
  • Beets
  • Basil
  • Cilantro
  • and more.



Regrowing herbs and vegetables is a smart way to save money and cut down on unnecessary food waste. It’s also one of many biofriendly habits worthy of being passed down to your kids.

NOTE: Food scraps you can’t regrow can often be added to compost bins and used to help nourish your indoor garden. Win-win all around.

Photo by Jill Wellington from Pexels
Photo by Jill Wellington from Pexels

Benefits of Growing (and Regrowing) Food Indoors

Health is one of the primary benefits of growing (and regrowing) food indoors. When you grow your own, you know exactly what you are getting. You can grow organically without the use of harmful pesticides. This is good for the health of you and your family.

Having an indoor garden encourages eating at home. Growing your own also means your food is sourced about as locally as it can be. Having your own garden saves money too. You can get as creative as you want when putting together your own DIY, indoor garden. You can get the whole family involved. Your house will smell great, naturally. You can grow year-round, regardless of the temperatures outside. I could go on and on.

So, if you’re not doing so already, I strongly suggest you consider growing (and regrowing) your own food indoors. I’d love to see what you put together!

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