Even if you don’t mind winter, as gardeners we can’t help but think ahead to those beautiful spring days when we can start getting our hands in the dirt again. I gathered these indoor projects to stimulate those garden-loving endorphins and carry us through.
This is also a good time to prepare Christmas and Thanksgiving Cactuses and Poinsettias for reblooming.
Indoor Garden Projects to Defy Winter
Whether your winter is just a few months long or takes up most of the year, at some point we all say enough is enough. I need my garden fix!
And that’s where the power of indoor gardening can help.
I don’t know what it is about getting our hands in soil, sowing seeds, and caring for and coaxing them on, but it works. You can’t help but feel better when you’re growing stuff.
Have a look at the ideas, try what appeals to you, and before we know it, it will be spring planting time.
1Grow a Salad in Your Living Room
Yes, you can grow all sorts of leafy salad greens in your home. All it takes is a simple fluorescent workshop light or LED grow lights (Amazon). A sunny window can also work in a pinch.
Leafy greens grow quickly and—good news—many are cut-and-come-again, meaning you can harvest what you need and the plants will continue producing more leaves.
Resources
2Give Peas a Chance
This is quirky and fun. Plus, you get flowers and edible peas!
If you sow pea seeds indoors, they will grow much like they do outdoors.
I provide trellis for mine and, no disrespect to tropical houseplants, but all that greenery makes it so cheerful inside.
And how crazy is it to walk just a few steps to harvest peas for dinner?
Resources
3Fall in Love With Seed Sowing
Now is the time to take stock.
Gather all your seeds and update your inventory list.
Note the age of your seeds and mark them so the older ones get used first.
Figure out what you want to grow this year, map it out on paper, and get your seed orders placed.
There is a printable digital garden planner in my shop if you like some structure.
For some of us, just reading seed catalogs is a mini-vacation.
Resources
- Seed Viability Chart: How Long Seeds Last in Storage
- How to Categorize Seeds
- Two Smart Seed Storage Systems
- A Weekly Sowing Plan for Growing Vegetables (Starting Indoors in Late Winter)
- How to Make Seed Tapes
4Get a Jump Start on Spring
Become an indoor seed sower.
There are so many advantages to starting seeds indoors.
Not only do we get a jump start on the outdoor growing season, allowing us to inexpensively grow plants that need more time to mature than outdoor conditions allow, but we also get more growing options and lots of them.
No longer restricted by the offerings at local plant nurseries, we can grow whatever our hearts desire.
Resources
- Seed Starting for Beginners: Sow Inside Grow Outside
- What I Use to Start Seeds Indoors (Low-Cost Supplies)
LED Grow Lights
Recommended LED Lights
Seedlings | Barrina Super Bright White LED Lights | Amazon
These lights work nicely for indoor seed starting and growing young plants until it’s time for outdoor transplanting.
Indoor Flowering & Fruiting | Barrina Full-Spectrum LED Lights | Amazon
If you need lights for long-term growing including plants that can flower and fruit indoors, choose full-spectrum bulbs.
Mail Order Seeds
- SeedsNow | Botanical Interests United States
- West Coast Seeds Canada
5Follow Your Curiosity
Have you ever tried growing plants from food scraps?
There are lots of viable seeds and stems in our kitchen compost bin.
Popular options include sprouting avocado pits, mango seeds, ginger root, and citrus seeds including lemons, grapefruit, and oranges.
Resources
- 39 Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs to Regrow From Scraps
- How to Grow Avocado From Seed
- How to Grow Mango From Seed
6Explore the World of Winter Sowing
There are two easy ways to “winter sow” seeds. You can do all the preparations indoors.
The “milk jug” method uses clear, closed containers. They don’t have to be milk jugs.
My favorite way is simply to sow seeds in open pots.
Either way, after sowing you put everything outdoors and let the cold weather work its magic.
Resources
7Bloom Where You’re Planted
I love having something in bloom in the house when it’s snowing outside.
You can force (make bloom) a number of different bulbs either in potting mix or water.
Options include amaryllis (Hippeastrum), crocus, hyacinth, tulip, snowdrops, and dwarf iris.
Several of them flower quickly: 2 to 3 weeks after planting.
Resources
Ebook
Christmas, Thanksgiving, & Easter
Holiday Cactus Handbook
Year-round Care Tips
by Melissa J. Will
About This Ebook | Visit Ebook Shop
This ebook is a digital file (PDF format) you save to your device. It is not a physical product.
PayPal, Credit Card, Apple Pay
Available in 
United States & 
Canada only
That should keep you busy. Dive in and enjoy it. You might enjoy it so much you forget it’s winter.
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛
