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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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Keywords:

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

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

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Garden checklist for week of May 10

Take it easy during that high heat – then get to work! Your garden is calling.

* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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