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FIMBY: Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Think small, think green -- and have plenty of good light

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED DEC 23, 2025

With enough sunlight or artificial light, a Meyer lemon tree can be grown as a houseplant instead of outdoors. Kathy Morrison

This is another installment in our year-long Food in My Back Yard series, devoted to edible gardening.

In these dark days of early winter, a gardener's thoughts turn to green, and lots of it. But it's so wet outside, and spring is too far off. No greenhouse available. Is there anything that can be grown now, indoors?

Without getting into cultivating a certain weed, the answer is yes, but ... be aware that most plants need plenty of light to grow and thrive. Grow lights that mimic daylight or excellent window light (south- or west-facing is best) is needed for most plants.

Here are some ideas, with links to detailed instructions:

-- Microgreens. This is probably the easiest category of grown-indoors edible plants. Microgreens are greens, herbs or vegetables that have just started to sprout. They can be clipped and added to sandwiches, sprinkled on salad or pizza, and stirred into light sauces.

This post from the UC master gardeners of Butte County has excellent, straightforward directions on growing microgreens. Note that fancy kits aren't necessary. I would emphasize that containers and any tools used on microgreens need to be very clean, and the soil should be a sterile mix to avoid pathogens.

For a deep dive, watch this webinar from Contra Costa County master gardener Andrea Salzman.

-- Herbs. Many herbs used in winter dishes can be grown inside, on a sunny window sill offering six or more hours of sunlight per day. Look for small or compact varieties, and keep each variety in its own pot.

Chives, parsley and mint are good "cut and come again" herbs. Cilantro and basil also can be grown indoors; best to start with small transplants for those.

The Sonoma master gardeners have put together excellent instructions for Winter Herbs Indoors.

-- Citrus. Yes, you can grow citrus fruit indoors. The tree should be a dwarf variety with small fruit, such as kumquats or Meyer lemons. Light is absolutely important here: 8 to 12 hours' worth, according to Four Winds Growers. If adequate sunlight isn't available, be prepared to supplement it.

Four Winds' instructions for citrus as houseplants can be found here.

-- Lettuce. It's easy to grow lettuce in winter outdoors in our climate, as long as there's no freeze warnings. But if desired some varieties can be grown indoors -- and others at least started there.

For indoor crops, stick to looseleaf varieties, such as Oakleaf or Lolla Rosa, or butterhead types. Again, watch the light -- and watch the temperature, too. Germination of lettuce seeds is best at about 65 degrees; keep plants away from direct heat sources in the house. Seeds and soil need to be moist but not soggy; containers with good drainage are essential. Looseleaf varieties need containers at least 6 inches deep.

Harvest the whole plant or "cut and come again" to continue production. Do successive seeding in several smaller containers to keep lettuce coming all winter.

This Solano County master gardener article on growing lettuce in containers can be adapted for indoor growing.

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FIMBY Food in My Back Yard herbs microgreens lettuce citrus container gardening edible gardens December winter Sacramento gardening UC master gardeners

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

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March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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