Posted on August 5, 2022 by Hunter Hulbert - Home

The Smart Garden 9 comes with features such as automatic watering, LED pro-grow lights and sufficient oxygenation at root level. Photo courtesy of Gadget Flow

Growing your own edible plants is an idea that’s come around again, given the ever-higher cost of putting food on the table.   

Out in the suburbs, perhaps you’re digging up lawns, putting in veggie patches and looking forward to bragging rights when the crops come in. Or maybe you’re on the 14th floor of a city high-rise building wondering if all you’ve got is a serious case of plant envy.         

Can you still grow thriving edibles in these space-starved situations? Maybe — if you tailor your expectations and bear in mind the effort-to-reward ratio.  

The first thing to know is that plants want what they want, and it’s up to you to provide it.  

Take sunlight, the essential fuel of plant growth. The sunniest window sill is no match for the intensity of light outside. Ordinary glass reflects and diffuses direct sunlight, leaving it 50% weaker than outdoors.  

Most of the houseplants we grow are tropical understory plants adapted to low light levels. A great deal more sun is required by plants expected to produce the starches and sugars representing food and flavor.  

If you have a south-facing window, you can grow herbs in individual containers of potting soil. Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Plants, like tomatoes and eggplants, further crave heat and humidity — they don’t call these “warm weather crops” for nothing. Your crisply air-conditioned condo is anathema to these plants. And with neither wind nor insects inside, pollination won’t occur unless you do it yourself with a paint brush and a lot of patience, dabbing pollen from male flowers to female.  

Plants also need water, and giving them a drink is not the same as filling a glass. Water must drain though the soil in which they are growing since plant roots need air as well as water if they are not to rot.   

This means that your potted plants need a saucer or a reservoir to catch excess water. It should be obvious that you can’t just hang a premade, fabric “vertical garden” with planting pockets on your apartment wall. Damage to walls and floors could put your security deposit in jeopardy, and constant moisture promotes mold.  

So — if you’re not going to keep your salad bowl filled with a couple of lettuces or raise an award-winning tomato indoors, what can you do for fun and profit? Grow herbs, a practical and satisfying proposition.  

Half a dozen herbs won’t take up much room and will give you basil for your tomato salads, cilantro for your tacos and oregano for your pizza and tomato sauces.  Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Since you only need a few leaves or cuttings at a time, a single plant of your favorite culinary herbs can give you lasting pleasure. Bundles of fresh herbs you typically buy are fairly pricey, and seldom do you use them all before they wilt, turn brown or get slimy.  

The kitchen is the right place for your indoor herb garden, both for its higher warmth and humidity and for the likelihood of looking at — and tending to — your plants daily. Half a dozen herbs won’t take up much room and will give you basil for your tomato salads, cilantro for your tacos and oregano for your pizza and tomato sauces. Now you’re cooking!  

If you have a south-facing window, you can grow herbs in individual containers of potting soil. If no such luck, look into the compact growing kits that incorporate a grow light, planting pods and a reservoir to catch water. Some are hydroponic systems, circulating a nutrient solution for true low-maintenance growing.  

The AeroGarden Harvest Elite has LED grow lights for full spectrum, optimal lighting as well as up to 12 inches of grow height for herbs, lettuces and more. Photo courtesy of Home Depot

The simplest and least expensive, the AeroGarden Harvest Elite, goes for about $160 and holds six plants. The nine-plant Smart Garden 9 retails for $230 and the 12-plant Rise Garden Single Family sells for about $670.  

Raise up some herbs, and your menus will get an upgrade while your inner farmer basks in the feeling of accomplishment. It’s a win-win. Bon appétit!  

Valerie Sudol was formerly a garden writer and columnist for The Star-Ledger. Her freelance work has included gardening articles for The New York Times, Inside Jersey and In Jersey magazines, and the New Jersey Flower & Garden Show.    

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of Jersey’s Best. Subscribe here for in-depth access to everything that makes the Garden State great.

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