When we want to grow veggies inside, we talk a lot about how important light is. Now, what about the weather? Find out how to choose the best veggies for growing indoors here.
This winter and early spring, when I post about my indoor growing projects, I get a lot more questions on social media. That’s great! How hot or cold should it be to grow veggies indoors? That one stood out to me. That’s what I’m writing today! I’m going to go right into my indoor setup and explain how I grow my veggies there.
Room Temperature
Some of the rules that work for growing veggies outside still work for growing vegetables inside. One example is that you still need to choose your crops based on how the area where you want to grow them is.
Making changes to the growing factors is harder than this in every way. You have more chances to try things out outside, but it’s harder to do inside, where the weather and humidity are mostly controlled by the people who live there. My family might not be able to handle big changes in conditions to make a few plants happy.
Most of the time, when we talk about indoor farming, we mean growing plants inside at room temperature. But different people have different ideas about what “room temperature” means. Our old, drafty house doesn’t have any new heating, so my family and I live in it. It’s usually cold in the morning, but after starting a fire in the afternoon, it gets to about 18 degrees Celsius. This is how it is in the winter. In another home, on the other hand, the temperature inside might stay around 75 degrees (24 degrees Celsius) all day.
If you want to grow veggies inside, you should know that most plants do better in cooler temperatures. The most sensible thing for you to do would be to enjoy where you are now instead of wishing for a space you don’t have and might not be able to make right now.
Heat and Light
Light—a grow light or several—is the most important thing you need to grow indoors in the winter and early spring. The plants should get light from the grow light for 12 to 16 hours a day. Ideally during the day, so that the plants can also rest in the dark at night. It is easier to change your grow light if it has a timer.
Then what about the temperature? The plants grow very quickly when the room is very warm. This is a crucial time for plants to get enough light so they can grow well. If the plants don’t get enough light, they get tall and weak in the heat.
If you want to eat them right away, like if you want to grow stems and small leaves, this might not be a big deal, but when you’re pre-growing plants that will be moved later, it’s very important that the light and heat levels are just right.
The plants grow slowly, though, if the room is very cold. Most of the time, this will be much better for the plants. Also, the light is important here. Plants may grow long, thin, and weak stems as they try to find any kind of light if they are in a cold place that doesn’t get enough light. Since air doesn’t dry out at the same speed, they might also do some damage if the dirt is too wet.
A suitable grow light is a must-have if you want to grow veggies inside. This page has more information on how to choose the best grow light for your needs:
Fruits And Vegetables For All Temperatures
It is possible to grow almost any food indoors. The most important thing is to find the size that works for you. Like, having a tomato plant that can grow to be 6 feet tall (about 2 meters) isn’t very useful. No matter how hot or cold the room is, some plants can still do well in it. Find out more about that below.
Keep The Room Warm
Some leafy greens, fruit veggies, and many herbs do better when it’s warmer. I saw that the greens that do well indoors also do well outside in the typical Swedish heat, and they don’t bolt.
Here are some ideas for plants that do well in warm rooms inside. There are, of course, many more, and many of them also do very well in cooler places, though they don’t grow as quickly.
- Tomato
- Pepper bell
- Watermelon
- Lettuce
- Kale
- Basil
- Different shoots
Cool Room Temperature
For veggies that grow well outside in early spring and late fall, it’s easier to get excellent results in rooms that are a little cooler. If you can, you might also want to think about putting these plants under the grow light for a few less hours each day:
- Sprouts
- Spinach
- Radish with Bok Choy
- Mizuna
- Parsley
- Basil and cilantro
- Like bean shoots
- Shoots of peas
Some Asian leafy greens and other short-day plants, like radish, spinach, bok choy, and tatsoi, tend to bolt. At very high temperatures and bright lights, they are set off to bolt. What do they do when they run away? In this case, bolting means that the plant stops making new leaves. The leaves will taste less good, and your crop will be smaller.
Some plants might not do well if you grow in places that are too cold, like stairwells, your garage, the basement, etc. If this happens, they might almost stop growing, get spots on their leaves (for example, because they can’t take nutrients in cold soil), or show other clear signs of cold damage.
No Matter What, Grow Vegetables Inside!
Still, don’t be afraid to try something new and grow veggies indoors anyway! When you garden indoors in the winter, your main goal is to grow plants that you can eat right away or to get things ready to put outside later. In the second case, you need to be more careful because the plants won’t do you any good if they don’t grow well inside.
However, if you want to do something like what I showed you in these pictures, then go for it! So, watch what grows, eat it, and plant more of what you like to eat now and what grows well.
I have a whole table lit up with grow lights in my house where I plan to grow all the little leaves I could need for my sandwiches. I can keep the house cool because I don’t live there. I mostly use it as an office and a place to store things. Every day in the winter and early spring, the room is about 62 degrees (17 degrees Celsius). I light a fire in the kitchen while I’m here working.
The heat rises in the “growing room” too, but it doesn’t last long. You could say the temperature changes. I also don’t care if it’s hot or cold. I let the plants I grow grow at their own pace, and I’ve chosen them so that I have veggies that grow both slowly and quickly.
This post should help you understand how temperature can change how we grow veggies inside. Have fun!