Knowledgebase
indoor garding #800479
Asked July 11, 2022, 11:41 AM EDT
Prince George's County Maryland
Expert Response
Our four-part blog article, An Introduction to Gardening Under Lights, discusses many aspects of light selection if you're interested in some of the nuance in using artificial lights. Technical familiarity with light types, terms, and measurements isn't necessary for success, though it can help you compare fixtures under consideration for purchase and can help you assess how lighting is affecting your plants.
Miri
The best approach is to try using natural light that you can supplement with artificial light as needed (like to extend how many hours of light plants get in the winter months). A west- or south-facing window is best, as they are the brightest. Herbs are fairly compact and somewhat easy to grow indoors because you don't have to worry about fruit, though some herbs are more finicky than others.
One challenge for indoor cultivation of edible plants is the ambient humidity of our homes is too low for them to thrive, though you can use a room humidifier to boost it. Some plants enjoy the mild temperatures of indoor cultivation (like basil, which is cold-sensitive and doesn't survive our winters outdoors) while others prefer to stay cool in winter (50s-60s, cooler than most households are kept, like rosemary, lavender, and citrus). Bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) can be grown indoors with bright light, though eventually grows several feet tall and may not fit well under a light fixture after a few years of good growth.
While strawberries are compact fruit plants, they are not regularly grown indoors. Aside from light and space issues, pollination would need to be done manually since you won't have bees to do the job (and they do it best). Brambles (raspberries and blackberries) are too large, as are most fruit trees with the exception of dwarf citrus. Commonplace fruits like apple, cherry, peach, grapes, etc. will not be successful for a variety of reasons, lighting being one of them. Even our regional conservatory greenhouses at botanic gardens tend not to grow any edible crops indoors (under glass) except citrus and herbs because these conditions don't suit the plant's needs and no pollinators can fertilize the flowers. You could experiment with coffee for fun if you'd like, as very young plants are sold at nurseries, but this is mainly for the novelty of growing the plant, not to produce a sizeable harvest of beans. (You would then need to process them anyway in order to brew coffee.)
Miri