SEARCH
MENU
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
Creative & Frugal Home & Garden Ideas

Empress of Dirt

  • Grow
  • Make
  • Ideas

New here?

Dig in!

Start here

7 Winter-Busting Indoor Garden Projects to Lift Your Mood

Published on January 15, 2022 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

This post contains affiliate links.
Read full disclosure statement here.

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on PinterestShare on Email

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.

Red Amaryllis bulbs in bloom.

Indoor Garden Projects to Defy Winter

Indoor flowering bulbs by window.

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

Salad greens growing in small plastic pots indoors.

Yes, you can grow all sorts of leafy salad greens in your home. All it takes is a simple fluorescent workshop light. A sunny window can 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

  • How to Grow Salads Indoors
  • How to Grow Microgreens

2Give Peas a Chance

Edible pea plants growing in small pots indoors.

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—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

  • How to Grow Peas Indoors
  • Grow Vegetables Indoors (Easy Beginner’s Guide)

3Fall in Love With Seed Sowing

A notebook, seed packet, and seeds on a desk.

Now is the time to stock. Gather all your seeds and update your inventory list. Figure out what you want to grow this year, map it out on paper, and get your seed orders placed. For some of us, reading seed catalogs is a mini-vacation.

Resources

  • A Weekly Sowing Plan for Growing Vegetables (Starting Indoors in Late Winter)
  • How to Categorize Seeds
  • Two Smart Seed Storage Systems
  • How to Make Seed Tapes

4Get a Jump Start on Spring

Germinating seeds and image of vintage seed packet.

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)

Mail Order Seeds

  • SeedsNow | Botanical Interests United States
  • West Coast Seeds Canada

5Follow Your Curiosity

A mango fruit and mango house plant in small plastic pot.

Have you ever tried growing plants from your 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

Sowing seeds in a milk jug in winter.

Yes, the seeds we winter sow end up outdoors but you can do all of the preparation from the warmth of your home. Using plastic milk jugs or other containers that let light in, seeds are sown inside, initially taking advantage of the cold and damp (for stratification) and then the warmth within the container for germination.

Resources

  • How to Winter Sow in Milk Jugs

7Bloom Where You’re Planted

Amaryllis bulbs sprouting and flowering indoors.

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

  • How to Force Bulbs Indoors
  • Make Your African Violets Bloom Again

That should keep you busy. Dive in and enjoy it. You may like indoor gardening so much you forget it’s winter.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

Special Offer

Royal Digital Garden Bundle

Empress of Dirt
Garden Goodies Digital Bundle

9 Ebooks & Printable Garden Planner & More
by Melissa J. Will ~ Empress of Dirt

All Empress of Dirt fan-favorite garden-related digital products together—at last!

See list of everything included here | Visit Ebook Shop

These items are digital files (PDF format) you save to your device, not physical products.

Buy Now
$39 US
Buy Now
$39 CAD

PayPal, Credit Card, Apple Pay

Indoor flowering bulbs by window.
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on PinterestShare on Email

FREE NEWSLETTER

EVERY TWO WEEKS

Creative, frugal home and (mostly) garden ideas in your inbox!



Privacy Policy


Melissa J. Will - Empress of DirtWelcome!
I’m Melissa J. Will a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt (Ontario, Canada).
Join me as I share creative + frugal home & garden ideas with a dash of humor.
More: Contact/About
New here? Dig in!  |  Our Podcast
Free tools: Soil Calculator | Garden Name Generator

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

Some articles on this site contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Affiliate and Ad Disclosure | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Empress of Dirt Creative + Frugal Home & Garden Ideas