The simple answer is, most of them!

What vegetables should I grow indoors? Well, that is a more interesting question…

The whole idea behind the Tub to Table experiment is to to see which vegetables grow really well indoors. What makes sense to grow indoors, what might save money, what saves packaging, what gets food to your table. Obviously, there are plenty of websites and books dedicated to growing vegetables. The pages on this website, however, are dedicated to my experience growing this stuff inside. Only inside.

Here is the garden just 45 days after a complete re-haul. Every few years, we remove all of the plants and start off fresh…

Growing vegetables indoors has some key differences from traditional outdoor gardening. Typically, it takes any crop longer to grow, and especially, longer to set fruit under artificial lights. So, over the years, I’ve gravitated more towards the faster crops such as the work horse lettuces (very reliable indoors), radishes (easy to grow), and herbs (always nice to have on hand).

But the fun of this experiment has really been in the longer-growing vegetables. Tomatoes, for example, have been a surprisingly reliable crop for us. Peppers, peas, beets and carrots have done unexpectedly well. And we’ve had fun trialing new seeds and new varieties constantly. Just remember, anything that takes a long time outside, is going to take even longer in your indoor garden. But, with patience, it can happen.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way and we’ve learned a lot from this little garden. We’ve dealt with irrigation issues, light questions, soil health, self-pollination and even indoor pests. Let me tell you about my trials and errors, so you don’t have to repeat them! To get started, take a look at our “How to build an indoor garden“ page for lots of ideas and methods.

Are there any vegetables or particular varieties you’d like to see us trial here at Tub to Table? Let me know in the comments section. Check back often as we are always updating our trials with new varieties!

The Indoor Vegetable Growing Guide A-Z

Arugula (A+)

Arugula is everything you’re looking for in an indoor crop. It is easy to grow, fast-growing, and doesn’t take up a lot of space or depth. And the TASTE!!! It is so superior to supermarket arugula.

Asparagus (F)

Don’t do it. I love asparagus but they will take years to produce an edible crop and the space is too valuable.

Beans (A-)

Provider (Bush). Dragon’s Tongue. Toyha (Soy). So far the beans are growing like something out of Jack’s beanstalk! Scored an A- only because they do take up a lot of room in the Tub Garden.

Celery (B+)

Coming Soon Tango. So sadly, the celery was growing gorgeously but got pulled early when we mislabeled it as parsnips. Whoops, gotta start over with that. It is currently at seed stage.

Cucumbers (B+)

Cucumbers – Coming soon. Diva. Straight Eight. They have been growing gangbusters but refusing to set fruit, mostly male flowers so far. Will continue trialing…

Eggplant (A -)

Eggplants are easy to grow indoors, a beautiful color in the garden and taste better than the store varieties. They are a tropical plant so indoor growing is actually a pretty small leap for them. They take some time but are definitely worth it. Next up will try some different varieties including Black Beauty.

Herbs (A +)

Cilantro/Coriander, Basil, Rosemary, Tarragon, Parsley, Thyme . So far, herbs have been a slam dunk in the indoor garden but we are working currently on slower-bolting varieties..

Kohlrabi (B-)

Kohlrabi grows in the indoor garden. But it needs a lot of room to grow and will crowd out anything growing near it. But it sure does look neat.

Lemons (B+)

Lemons are a fun and rewarding indoor endeavor. However, they take time and considerable space, and typically are not grown from seed.

Lettuce & Greens (A+)

Lettuce absolutely thrives in the indoor garden. All varieties have been quick and remarkably easy to grow.

Microgreens (A+)

Microgreens are quick and easy and very successful in the indoor garden.

Onions (B+)

Non-bulbing onion types like green onions and leeks do very well in the indoor garden. Bulbing onions like white or red or yellow onions have been more of a challenge so far.

Parsnips (B+)

Parsnips are a great crop to grow indoors, healthy and delicious. They don’t take up much room, grow easily and are low maintenance in the garden. The main detractors were their long period to harvest, and the fact that my kids won’t eat them. Otherwise they would have scored a bit higher.

Radishes (A+)

Coming soon. French Breakfast, Rover, D’Avignon. Radishes have been too much fun to take notes on yet, we just keep eating them before I can get a taste trial going, but we are getting there.

Peas (A+)

Coming soon…Sugar snap, Avalanche (snow) Peas have already been a huge hit with the kids, easy to grow and delicious. Currently trialing 4 different varieties.

Peppers (A-)

Ace, Olympus, Sprinter. The first crop of peppers fell to disease. The second set took forever to finally turn red on the vine. Currently trialing Sprinter and Ace part 2, looking very healthy so far. Results coming soon…

Squash (B+)

Squash. Coming soon. Dunja. Not the most promising indoor crop so far. Working on a new varietal currently that is looking much more promising, but still only predominately male flowers. Results coming soon…