Grow Food at Home

Small space growers should also look for early varieties, especially if the availability of sunshine to your garden is limited. Early varieties mature a crop in fewer days than is typical for the species.

Chard, dill, lettuce, peas, radishes, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, beans, eggplant, and corn all are available in compact forms that will give good results in a 5-gallon container, or in some cases even smaller

Compact and “Early” Cultivars

Leafy crops can grow in as little as 4 inches of depth of potting medium. Root crops need 6 inches of depth to develop properly.

Good choices for an indoor windowsill garden include arugula, cilantro, lettuce, parsley, spinach, radish, and pea shoots. (You will need more light to get peas to bloom and make pods.)

Remove or raise the window screen, if there is one. Screens greatly reduce the light intensity.

Compared to being on the outside of the window, the sunlight reaching the windowsill likely is only half as intense.