Indoor vegetable garden: 8 plants easy to grow at home
No garden or balcony? Discover 8 plants suitable for an indoor vegetable garden, from basil to cherry tomatoes, and our tips for choosing the easiest crops to start with.
No garden? No balcony? That’s no reason to give up on growing something at home.
An indoor vegetable garden can fit on a windowsill, a countertop, or in a small corner of the kitchen. And with proper lighting, it even becomes possible to rely less on natural light.
The real question isn’t "can you grow food in an apartment?", but rather:
which plants should you choose to get started without making things complicated?
Here are 8 crops that are particularly great for beginners.
1. Basil 🌿
If you only had to choose one, this would likely be it.
Basil takes up little space, grows relatively quickly, and can be harvested gradually. A few leaves are enough to garnish pasta, a salad, or make some pesto.
It particularly loves heat and light. In fact, the Royal Horticultural Society considers it perfectly suited for indoor cultivation on a bright windowsill.
Good to know: regularly harvesting the tips of the stems encourages the plant to become bushier. Removing the flowers also helps extend leaf production.
Level: very accessible.
2. Lettuce 🥬
Lettuce is an excellent candidate for a first indoor garden.
It stays compact, and leafy greens are among the crops commonly used in hydroponic setups. Notably, Penn State reports on the cultivation of several varieties of lettuce under horticultural lighting in a home system.
Some varieties can be harvested leaf by leaf rather than removing the entire plant at once.
This allows you to have a few fresh leaves available throughout your meals.
Level: very accessible.
3. Parsley 🌱
Parsley requires a little more patience during germination, but it then becomes a particularly practical crop for the kitchen.
Once established, you can cut only the stems you need and let the plant continue to grow.
Its other advantage is its size: it remains much easier to integrate into a small space than an imposing fruit-bearing plant.
Parsley, basil, cilantro, and several other herbs are among the plants successfully grown in the hydroponic systems described by Penn State.
Level: easy, with a bit of patience.
4. Cilantro 🌿
Cilantro is particularly interesting if you use it regularly in your cooking.
It lends itself well to small-scale cultivation and can be sown gradually to renew harvests.
Its main drawback? It can quickly bolt to seed when conditions become too hot or stressful.
To enjoy it for longer, it is better to prioritize several small, successive sowings rather than hoping to keep the same plant forever.
Level: easy.
5. Chives 🌱
Chives are compact, useful almost every day, and take up relatively little room.
They are therefore particularly suited for small spaces.
You simply harvest a portion of the leaves while leaving the base of the plant to continue growing.
Eggs, salads, sauces, potatoes: it is also one of those crops where a few centimeters harvested can immediately end up on your plate.
Level: very accessible.
6. Strawberries 🍓
Yes, it is possible to grow strawberries indoors.
However, we are moving up slightly in difficulty here.
Unlike lettuce, a strawberry must produce flowers and then fruit. This means higher light requirements and, indoors, pollination that may require a little helping hand.
Nevertheless, they remain particularly interesting for an indoor garden, especially when using compact varieties.
Level: intermediate.
7. Cherry Tomatoes 🍅
Tomatoes are often among the first crops that come to mind when imagining your own vegetable garden.
They can be grown indoors and hydroponically, but they require much more space and light than herbs or lettuce.
It is best to favor compact or dwarf varieties and plan for sufficient height.
Indoors, you must also think about pollinating the flowers. A slight vibration or shaking of the flowers can help, especially when wind and insects are not present.
Tomatoes are certainly among the plants that can be grown in hydroponic setups, but they therefore deserve more attention.
Level: intermediate.
8. Chili Peppers 🌶️
To finish: chili peppers.
They are perfectly capable of growing indoors, but like tomatoes, they are not necessarily the best choice for a very first experience.
They require time, a good amount of light, and enough space to develop.
However, a single plant can become a very satisfying crop when you enjoy cooking with your own chili peppers.
Level: intermediate.
What to choose for your first indoor garden?
The temptation is great to start directly with tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, and a dozen herbs.
That is not necessarily the best strategy.
To discover indoor gardening, start instead with two or three simple crops: basil, lettuce, and parsley, for example.
You will learn much more easily to observe germination, growth, light needs, and water consumption.
Once these first plants are mastered, move on to fruit-bearing crops.
What if your apartment lacks light?
This is one of the main difficulties of indoor gardening.
A window that seems bright to us does not necessarily provide enough light to a plant throughout the day. Many edible plants require significant exposure; the University of Minnesota notes, for example, that basil appreciates at least six to eight hours of bright light per day.
There are two solutions.
The first is to reserve the brightest areas of the apartment for your crops.
The second is to use horticultural lighting, which allows you to artificially provide the light plants need.
This is precisely the principle that allows many hydroponic gardens to be installed directly in a kitchen.
Soil or hydroponics for an indoor garden?
Both work.
Classic pots are perfectly suitable if you have a good window and don't mind the watering.
Hydroponics becomes particularly interesting when the goal is to grow in a small space while having more control over water, nutrients, and potentially light.
If the principle is still unknown to you, we have actually dedicated our first blog guide to the topic:
→ What is hydroponics? The simple guide to understanding and getting started
Start small 🌱
An indoor garden doesn't need to produce all your vegetables to be worthwhile.
Start with some basil.
Add a lettuce.
Watch your first seeds germinate.
Then harvest a few leaves directly before cooking.
The best garden is, above all, the one you will actually enjoy growing.
And if you want to understand the basics before planting your first seed, our free guide "Getting Started with Gardening" covers the essential needs of a plant, the most frequent mistakes, and the principle of hydroponics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this article replace the user manual?
No. It provides context and real-world cases. For installation, connections, and specifications, follow the product page and the manual provided in the box.
Is soil needed to grow plants?
No. Hydroponics nourishes plants through water and nutrients. You have no soil to manage, nor bags of substrate to store.
How long until the first harvest?
Herbs can often be harvested after 3 to 4 weeks. Lettuce follows shortly after. Cherry tomatoes and strawberries require a longer cycle: allow for several weeks of growth under the lamp.
Which garden should I start with?
Verdia Mini if you want a compact size. Verdia One for a complete starter indoor garden. Verdia Plus if you want more growing space. The guide above details the technique, not the model to buy.
Can I use my own seeds?
Yes. Belverdia hydroponic gardens are compatible with most vegetable and herb seeds. No proprietary pods are required.
You are not obligated to buy seeds from our site: if you cannot find the variety you need, buy it elsewhere and sow it in the provided sponges.
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