Indoor Hydroponic Organic Gardening At Home

Photo-Illustration: Warner Bros.

Even before the coronavirus triggered a renewed interest in Victory Gardens, indoor gardening was already experiencing a comeback. The 2018 National Gardening Survey noted a serious upswing of people growing herbs and other edible plants inside. But for city dwellers, growing fresh greenery might feel like a whimsical fantasy: rooftops, backyards, or balconies are usually a luxury, and not everyone has enough direct sunlight streaming through their windows to keep a basil plant alive. Luckily, the variety and quality of indoor gardening and grow kits are better than they've ever been before.

According to many of the experts we spoke with, your best bet is to choose a kit that's not overly complicated. "The best indoor gardens are the ones you can keep by your windowsill and water less than once a week," says Krissie Nagy, owner of gardening company BK Bumpkin. As for the actual plants: "Know the lighting requirements of the different plant or plants you're trying to grow, since they all require varying degrees of light." For areas that get at least four hours of direct light daily, Nagy suggests cacti, succulents, miniature citrus trees, and herbs. For full-exposure sunny windowsills, she suggests growing basil, peppermint, chives, and shiso. But even if you're dealing with a seriously dim space, there are still plenty of indoor gardening options to choose from. You'll just need to make sure the kit you buy comes with (or can accommodate) artificial grow lights.

"My clients often want a year-round herb garden in their kitchen for cooking and making fun cocktails," says Sera Rogue, owner of Brooklyn gardening company Red Fern. "Unfortunately, this can be a challenge: Generally, city kitchens do not have the full sun required to keep herbs alive. Also, the roots of herbs are somewhat simplistic. They require daily watering." Her top pick for a kit that solves issues with watering and sunlight snafus is this click-and-grow style: a self-watering planter with a built-in grow light, as well as "cool Keurig-style plant pods featuring 'NASA-inspired smart soil,' so you can watch your specimens grow from seeds," Rogue says. She recommends watching the brand's "helpful, straightforward" videos on how to put the system together.

Click and Grow Smart Garden 9 Indoor Home Garden

This larger version of the Smart Garden planter from Click and Grow can accommodate nine plants and includes seed pods for growing cherry tomatoes, basil, and green-leaf lettuce. George Pisegna, deputy director and chief of horticulture at the Horticulture Society of New York, recommends it (in addition to the Smart Garden 3) because it offers a complete growing system, with a self-watering container and an LED grow light. It comes with the plants, too. Pisegna says both systems are foolproof and would work in any home or apartment.

This grow house is great for growing basil, mint, rosemary, parsley, arugula, and watercress; it's pricier but beautifully designed. And if you're short on counter space, the grow house comes with hardware so you can hang it anywhere you want. "It suits apartment life well, as it is modestly sized and has a solid, quality-looking feel — no more plastic decor," says Sofija Sutton, general manager of Sprout Home in Brooklyn, of this Modern Sprout Growhouse. It's also got a fancy "tranquil fading" feature when the light transitions on or off, to mimic the effect of dawn or dusk. Download the Modern Sprout phone app to control lights or set them on a timer.

AeroGarden™ Harvest with Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit in Black

Here's another reliable option that Pisegna recommends. This soil-free kit includes a built-in LED light and an auto timer to control it, and it comes with with Genovese basil, curly parsley, and dill seed pods to get you started.

Worth Garden Self-Drippping Vertical Garden Wall Planters, Tera Cotta

Vertical or pocket gardens are another great choice for growing herbs (as well as tropical plants and succulents). "These are visually amazing because they 'grow' on the wall," says Gennaro Brooks-Church, director of landscaping firm Eco Brooklyn Living Walls. Just be sure to be ultradiligent with watering. "The one drawback is that these systems dry out fast," he says.

Director of Design and Build at rooftop farm Brooklyn Grange, Ceci de Corral recommends using these Wally Pro Pockets in areas where space is limited because "They're easy to plant in and great for installing custom vegetation configurations." She recommends installing the pockets close together, and "prioritizing plants with creeping/climbing tendency which will give you a very lush end product."

"I love this for its simplicity. It's self watering and easy to do. Simply transfer an herb from a 4" grower's pot straight into the container," recommends Sara Gatanas, General Manager at Urban Garden Center. She also notes that, for best results, place your herbs in a bright, sunny room and "before you know it, you will be enjoying some fresh mint in your mojito." The planters also come in tangerine, lime green, and turquoise to add a pop of color to any room.

Plant Nanny Recycle a Plastic Bottle Stake Set

When it comes to watering, Liana Blomquist, master gardener and founder of Brooklyn Rooftop Botanicals, says she prefers these watering stakes to self-watering planters because they are the most foolproof way to water plants without overwatering them (both indoors and out). "They use gravity to drip water directly into your plant's roots. As the soil dries, it breaks the pressure lock created which then releases more water into the soil," she says. These terracotta watering stakes are her favorite because water is released slowly and consistently through the porous clay material, leading to better plant health and less risk of root rot. Just fill an old plastic water bottle and insert it upside down into the stakes.

In addition to herbs, consider diminutively proportioned plants. "Microgreens come in so many flavors, and they're extremely healthy and fast to grow," explains Nicolas Mazard, U.S. general manager of microgreens company Koppert Cress. Those who like spicy foods should opt for microradish and micromustard microgreens. While miniature versions of greens will bloom more quickly than their full-size counterparts, patience is still necessary for microbasil, which takes 21 days to grow. For something a bit speedier, try microradish, micropea shoots, microbroccoli, and microarugula, all of which take one week to grow. This sleek, compact set comes with soil, non-GMO, organic heirloom seeds from Seattle Seeds, and detailed instructions specifically tailored to each type of plant.

This garden–fish tank hybrid comes with a three-month supply of microgreens and wheatgrass. "If you Google 'aquaponics,' you will see a world of gear that can be intimidating," Rogue says. "This kit is more straightforward: It has a single Beta fish that provides nutrients for your plants in a fish-fertilizing, self-cleaning system." This could work for microgreens or for herbs.

Photo: Liza Corsillo

If the Click & Grow and Aerogarden kits don't look like they'll yield enough produce for your family, you might want to upgrade to a Rise Garden. We tested this one at home last winter and were blown away by the variety of different vegetables (and sheer volume of food) we could grow inside. The bookshelf-size Rise Single Family Garden feels like having a real backyard vegetable plot in your own home. It has space for a dozen large plants and enough height between the "garden bed" and the LED light panel to allow you to grow full-size peppers and tomato plants. It comes with 16 seed pods, including Swiss chard, curly kale, cilantro, parsley, sage, basil, cherry tomatoes, snacking peppers, and a variety of salad mixes, like arugula and mustard greens. There's also plant food, an additive that adjusts the pH balance of your tap water, and a "seed nursery" that acts as a greenhouse until the seedlings are big enough to transfer to the main garden. Aside from growing more vegetables, it grows better tasting vegetables that cut trips to the grocery store for produce in half. Rise also makes a countertop version of their garden with space for eight plants for those with fewer mouths to feed.

Hydrofarm Hydroponic Salad Garden Box Kit

Lindsey Arnell, owner of The Grow Room, an NYC-based gardening store that specializes in hydroponics and indoor growing recommends this "easy to set up, eight-site countertop hydroponic system" to grow your favorite lettuce at home. The electricity-free hydroponic kit uses "a wicking method (also known as the "Kratky method") for delivering water and nutrients directly to the plants' roots," she explains. This method can grow vegetables up to thirty percent faster than growing in soil. Plus, "since it's relatively low-maintenance, it makes a great intro system for those new to hydroponic gardening."

The tower garden is a vertical aeroponic garden that comes with non-GMO seeds (beefsteak tomato, bell pepper, cherry tomato, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, and basil) and accessories for planting (i.e., germination kit) and tending to (pH test kit, plant food, etc.) your new greens. "Many of the schools we work with in New York and Chicago use our donated seedlings in their classrooms with tower gardens," says Nicole Baum, director of marketing and partnerships at Gotham Greens. This one is self watering.

Keter Urban Bloomer 1.2 ft x 3 ft Plastic Raised Garden

We featured this raised-bed planter in our story about COVID gardening. A small balcony or rooftop space would be plenty big enough for the Keter Urban Bloomer. But you could also use it indoors in a very well-lit corner of your apartment or with some grow lights. The height makes gardening easier on your back and positions plants closer to your windows without the need for any additional furniture. The Urban Bloomer Bed is self-watering with a reservoir in the bottom that plants can draw from when needed. The drainage tap makes it easy to get rid of excess water without spilling all over the floor.

Hydrofarm Jump Start Germination Station with Heat Mat Tray

For a scrappier, DIY approach: "If you're trying to start seeds indoors or supplement your ambient lighting, a basic grow kit and a high-quality grow light are all you need," Nagy says. She suggests Hydrofarm's Jump Start Germination Station, when paired with lighting kits from Hydrofarm's Agrobrite brand. Nagy suggests growing heirloom tomato and pepper seedlings with this combo.

Hydrofarm Jump Start T5 Light Timer System

This adjustable grow light and stand lets you start out with the lamp just inches from your seeds and raise the light as the plants grow taller. It comes with a timer, so you can set it to the optimal number of hours your plants need and then forget it.

Hydrofarm Hydroponic Megagarden Ebb & Flow System

For a more advanced indoor hydroponic system that is still suitable for beginners, Arnell recommends the Hydrofarm Hydroponic Megagarden. "It uses 'Ebb and Flow' technology, to pump water and nutrients from the lower reservoir up into the growing tray (controlled by a timer), feeding your plants throughout the day and night for maximum growth," she explains. And because the MegaGarden has 15 plant sites, "you can grow a decent variety of herbs, veggies or flowers all at one time." The kit also includes seed-starter cubes, nutrients, and a pH test kit.

SunBlaster Mini Greenhouse Kit with NanoDome

While this kit can also be used for herbs, Arnell says it is "perfect for starting seeds, or for catering to your humidity-loving diva plants in our dry New York winters." The kit comes with a high quality 10 by 20 inch tray, a humidity dome and a high-output fluorescent grow light with a reflector that mounts directly onto the dome, she adds.

Back to the Roots Organic Mushroom Growing Kit

A fun grow-at-home option is a mushroom kit. "It brings almost-instant gratification" Rogue says. Just mist the organic soil infused with mushroom spawn, and you'll have your own umami-packed caps and stems in a few days. As an added bonus, you can use the same kit for more than one mini-crop of mushrooms. Pisegna is also a fan of these kits, but he does warn about keeping your mushrooms out of reach of your cat or dog, if you have one. "I found out the hard way that my cat really loved mushrooms," he says. Although Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms aren't poisonous, per se, his cat did eat enough of them to get quite sick. And she didn't leave any for him.

— Additional reporting by Dominique Pariso

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best women's jeans , rolling luggage , bed sheets , coffee makers , and bath towels . We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.