A grow tent is an excellent way of growing fruits and vegetables no matter where you live. Producing your fruits and vegetables is a rewarding experience that is even more special when you have a bountiful harvest from your garden. Since some fruits and vegetables are more accessible to grow than others, choosing the right plants is essential for your grow tent.
Some of the easiest vegetables and plants to grow in a grow tent include: salad greens like cabbage, arugula, and kale; mushrooms, peppers; root vegetables like carrots ginger, and onions; blackberries and strawberries, and citrus fruits like lemons and oranges.
Based on our research, we have compiled a list of some of the easiest and best vegetables and fruits to grow in a grow tent.
Salad Greens
Salad greens, such as certain types of lettuce, are some of the easiest vegetables that you can grow in your grow tent. Since space is a premium in any grow tent, vegetables and fruits with shallow root systems that don’t need too much space for growing into maturity are a premium.
Salad greens like certain types of lettuce are great for a grow tent because of their shallow root system, relatively small spatial footprint, and their ability to be harvested for as long as they are growing.
Cabbage
One of the most popular salad greens for growing in a grow tent are heads of cabbage. The tight structure of the cabbage plant is excellent for saving space and getting the maximum yield from the square footage that the vegetable takes up.
Some common problems with cabbage are pests like slugs and diseases such as black rot. Even though you don’t have to worry much about the slugs getting to your cabbage inside the grow tent, black rot is a severe issue that could occur on your cabbage leaves. Make sure the soil is not too moist and that there is no accumulation of moisture on the leaves.
Harvest when the head is firm as a one-time harvest. As long as the cabbage gets kept at about 45 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 21 degrees Celsius), your cabbage head should produce about two pounds of produce.
Arugula
Known as a spicy leaf that tastes a lot like black pepper, arugula is a great leafy green that you could grow in your grow tent. Since arugula is a problematic green for growing outside in a garden, especially during the hot summer months, the more relaxed and relatively consistent temperatures in a grow tent are ideal for growing arugula plants at different intervals.
Growing arugula at different intervals throughout the growing season in your grow tent allows for the constant harvest of this robust and delicious leafy green—the compact and tiny root systems mean that you can plant these plants pretty close together.
But be careful, since flea beetles love munching on the roots and stalks of arugula, there is a possibility that they could infest the grow tent, although pretty rare if your grow tent is kept indoors and the tent flaps are kept secure.
Mizuna
Known as a thicker Asian leafy green, this vegetable is much like bok choy. Mizuna is versatile and can be used in salads, stir fry, soups, and even raw on certain meat dishes.
The spicy and tangy flavor of mizuna makes it a great addition to many different dishes. Since this is more of a delicate leafy green, mizuna can be grown in a grow tent that is cool enough. You could also start your mizuna shoots in your grow tent before transplanting them out into your garden.
Overall, mizuna is a tremendous thick leafed green that is full of nutrients, and you can boost these nutrients and speed up the growing time by planting mizuna into nutrient and compost-rich soil.
Kale
The recent popularity of kale is partly due to the easy way it grows in addition to its plentiful health benefits. Known as a thick leafy green, kale has a unique taste and texture with an incredibly thick stalk that is excellent for cooking down in soups, stir fry, and even blended into smoothies.
Planting kale requires some prep work before placing it in the soil of your grow tent:
- First of all, fill a tray or open-ended piece of packaging with several inches of soil. The potting soil needs more moisture than the seeds added to the ground.
- Cover the bases with a bit of dirt and allow the roots to sprout by placing them in a sunny window. The soil must get moisture regularly and not dry out.
- Once the sprouts emerge, the kale seedlings should get transferred into the soil of your grow tent.
- The plants themselves should be placed next to each other but remain relatively further apart from other leafy greens because of their deeper root balls.
Collard Greens
Collard greens are thick stalks of leafy greens that are mineral-rich and great for stews, stir fry, and even frying by themselves as a delicious side dish. Collard greens are usually used in spicy or greasy meat dishes but are helpful in many other dishes.
The soil of a collard green plant needs about 6 to 7 pH. Also, the container needs excellent draining and a high content of organic material for nutrients and draining purposes.
Swiss Chard
This tremendous super green is a leafy green plant that is related to beets. The different rainbow colors of Swiss chard are not only beautiful but easy to grow in a grow tent and very nutritious.
As one of the healthiest foods you can eat, Swiss chard is an excellent choice for your grow tent, as it is a source of many different vitamins, including A, B, C, and K.
Swiss chard is also a great vegetable or leafy green with many of the most essential minerals that your body needs daily. Some of the vital minerals that Swiss chard contains are:
- Calcium
- Copper
- Iron
- Manganese
- Phosphorous
- Potassium
And even a helping of omega-3 fatty acids, which are fantastic for your heart health.
Spinach
Spinach is excellent for growing in a grow tent because of its shallow roots and easy watering schedule. As long as the climate is stable in your grow tent, spinach will thrive.
Spinach leaves are not only healthy for you, but they are one of the easiest leafy vegetables to grow in a grow tent. The three main varieties of spinach are known as savory, semi-savory, and smooth. All three varieties are easy to grow in grow tents.
Carrots
These vegetables are easy for the novice gardener. Producing some great carrots is simple in a grow tent and only requires dropping the seeds in semi-drained soil at a depth of about once inch. The carrot roots will sprout and grow without much help from you, especially in the stable environment of the grow tent.
The soil for carrots should be about one foot deep and at least one foot wide. Carrots need a little space in between each other in the ground and require minimal watering. There are several different varieties of carrots with different colors. Most of these root vegetables are great for soups, baking, cooking in stir fry, and many other meals.
Mushrooms
Growing mushrooms may seem like a stretch for a beginner gardener. However, in the stable and confined environment of your grow tent, they are straightforward and rewarding with their plentiful bounty.
Since there are so many different types of mushrooms, you have a wide array of choices for your grow tent. Also, growing several different varieties of mushrooms next to each other is okay, as long as they require similar soil conditions.
The best part about growing mushrooms in your grow tent is that they are very fast growers. For small cap-sized mushrooms, you get products that you should harvest in around five days. And it takes only 15 days for full maturity of large mushrooms that are the size of a dinner plate!
Bell Peppers
One of the most straightforward and most satisfying fruits for growing in your grow tent is the Bell pepper plant. Bell peppers come in many different varieties, including:
- Savory green and red Bell peppers
- Sweet yellow Bell peppers
- Tart flavored orange Bell peppers
All types of Bell peppers are great for raw salads and stir fry and are incredibly easy for growing in a grow tent.
Bell pepper plants thrive in full light environments, so make sure that your grow tent either has bright grow lights if it gets planted indoors or transparent plastic sheet windows on the side of the tent where the Bell peppers are growing.
Green Beans
One of the best tall plants that you can grow in your grow tent is green beans. Not only are they relatively easy for beginner gardeners, but they produce a lot of vegetables in a short amount of time.
Ensure that your grow tent has pole structures surrounding the green bean plants so that they are supported as they grow. The bean vines will grow onto the grow tent structure if they do not have supports for twisting their vines around.
Ginger
Ginger is a unique and versatile cooking plant that proliferates in a grow tent. Since ginger gets used in so many dishes, it is one of the most useful plants you could grow in your grow tent. Not to mention, ginger is excellent for your health.
Ginger plants are roots that grow relatively close to the surface of the soil. They are also great for growing close together, so they work well as a space-saving plant in your grow tent.
Before you plant the ginger root, it needs preparation and sprouting. First, soak the ginger root in a solution of warm water for close to 24 hours. Then, make sure the place in your grow tent where it is getting planted is at least one foot deep with well-draining soil composed of organic materials or compost. The eye bud should be pointing up and then covered with two inches of soil.
Ginger grows well with moist soil but will mold if overwatered. The slow-growing nature of ginger means that you need patience while waiting for your harvest. Make sure the tent is warm but not overly bright so that the soil doesn’t dry out.
Onions
Onions are one of the most commonly used products in meals across the world. Onions are one of those plants that grow well in most soil types and are a solid addition for your grow tent for their versatility in cooking dishes and relatively easy growing timeline, even for novice gardeners.
Growing onions from seeds is a much better and safer option than growing from sets because the onion plants are more robust and will produce more mature onion bulbs. Day-neutral varieties are the most robust and are the best for any growing conditions, including in a grow tent.
Beets
Beets are one of the easiest root plants that you could grow in your grow tent. They need little supervision and only a tiny amount of space between the bulbs.
Since beets only require about six inches of soil depth, they are great for the grow tent and its shallower pots or troughs. The pH of the soil for beets should get no higher than 7 and remain at or just above 6.7.
The soil for beets needs excellent drainage and some aeration from either aeration holes or aerated soil with amendments. Beets are lovely and colorful green, red or yellow-veined foliage that nicely complement the grow tent environment.
Radish
Much like the beet, the radish is an excellent plant for growing in your grow tent. The very short root bulbs of radishes make them a perfect choice for shallow soil areas in pots or growing troughs and only need about six inches of soil or less.
Radishes grow well in aerated soil and need lots of sunlight. Although it is a bit unorthodox to grow radishes in a grow tent, you will get a great spring harvest all year round if you maintain the cool temperature of the soil, give the ground proper drainage, and get the foliage plenty of sun-drenched hours.
Berries
Berries are usually grown in grow tents, even on an industrial level. The sensitive fruit requires a well-maintained environment without many extremes in hot or cold temperature, moisture, or insect infestation. Weather is the most important factor for growing all berries in a grow tent. The optimal temperature for growing berries is a consistent 66-72 degrees Fahrenheit (19-22 degrees Celsius).
Berries are delicious in many desserts, breakfasts, and even savory pies or other meals. If you are growing berries in your grow tent, you can match them with other plants that like warmer temperatures and arid conditions.
Berries are finicky when it comes to pollination, primarily if they are located in a grow tent. Once pollinated, berries are one of the easiest fruits that you could grow in a grow tent. However, hand pollination is a necessary step for berry growing in a grow tent.
Hand pollination of berries is relatively easy and only requires a small brush. Simply brush the pollen from the stamen to the pistil on every flower. Do this several times so that you make sure every flower on your berry bush is pollinated and can produce fruit.
Strawberries
Strawberries are lovely aromatic plants that look wonderful. Strawberries are an excellent option if you have the space in your grow tent because of their sweet taste, accessible growing parameters, and relatively low maintenance growing conditions needed for fruit production.
Like most other berries, strawberries grow best in warmer conditions, optimally between 66 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit (19 and 25 degrees Celsius). The hardest part about growing strawberries in an indoor grow tent is that they need hand pollination to help them flower and produce fruit.
Another tricky thing about growing strawberries in a grow tent is the amount of space that they take up. The bushels can spread out and take up much of the soil surface room in your grow tent.
Blackberries
Blackberries are very easy to grow in a grow tent. They only require planting seeds and then hand-pollinating the flowers once they begin blossoming. However, blackberries should only get planted in your grow tent if you have a lot of room. Blackberry bushes are some of the most enormous fruit-bearing bushes and need plenty of space in your grow tent.
Blackberries are best if started from an erect bush cutting. The cutting should get placed in about eight inches of soil with moist soil at about two inches deep. The most challenging part about propagating and growing beautiful blackberries in your grow tent is that the soil should have a pH of about 5 to 6, which is more acidic than many other vegetable or fruit-bearing plants.
Fruit Trees
Fruit trees are fantastic for seasonal delicacies grown right in your garden. The significant part about fruit trees grown in a grow tent is that most of these trees will blossom and sprout mature fruit all year round.
Lemons
Lemon trees are a great option if you want to grow a citrus plant that is not temperamental. A lemon fruit tree is relatively short and has a tremendous growing pattern with plenty of fruit throughout the growing season, which is all year round if you keep your grow tent at the proper temperature and humidity.
The pot for a lemon tree needs good drainage. Well-drained soil is essential for a lemon tree since they are susceptible to mold and rot. In addition, lemon trees need sunlight with average temperatures for the most bountiful harvest of lemons. However, overheating would hurt this fruit-bearing tree as much as too much moisture or extreme cold.
Bananas
One of the most exotic fruits on this list, growing bananas is not only possible, but can be a bountiful. Bananas are grown in regions that are located at the equator when they grow outside.
Keeping your grow tent warm and humid is a challenge in some places. However, if you can filter in warm air and moisture into your grow tent, your banana trees will mature and sprout some fantastic, delicious fruit.
Avocados
If you didn’t know, avocados are fruits, and they grow on trees! Avocado trees are mostly grown near the equator where heat and humid conditions help them thrive and produce large fruit in their branches.
One of the most amazing things about the avocado plant is that propagating them from a store-bought avocado pit is possible if you do the propagating process correctly. The steps for reproducing an avocado tree from a store-bought avocado pit are:
- Remove and clean the pit.
- Then, fill a vase with a skinny neck with water. The neck should be skinny enough to prop up the avocado pit and wet the bottom, without having the whole pit submerged in water. If you don’t have a vase that would work, you could use toothpicks to help prop up the pit above water.
- Place the avocado pit at the top of the vase to barely touch the water. Make sure the bottom of the pit (the side of the pit that’s at the bottom when your avocado is standing upright).
- You should begin to see a root or several root structures growing from the bottom of the pit into the water.
- Once the root is about four to five inches in length, remove the sprouted pit and plant it into about six inches of well-drained and composted soil.
- Bury the pit with about two inches of moist soil above it. With consistent watering, the tree should sprout green foliage in the next few days.
- Keeping your grow tent warm and humid is ideal for the avocado pit propagation process.
Figs
The sweet and savory flavors make figs an excellent choice for a gardener looking for nutritious and tasty fruit trees to plant in their grow tent. Fig trees do well in a grow tent because of their love of humidity and their watering needs, which is about once every two days after their seedling stage.
Oranges
One of the most famous and popular citrus trees in the world, oranges offer many vitamins and are an ingredient in a variety of different meals and drinks. Orange trees thrive in a warm and humid grow tent and will do well in the soil alongside figs and lemons.
Herbs
Herbs are accoutrements for any great meal that spice it up and add robust flavor. Having herbs in your garden not only helps increase the taste of your meals and drinks, but they are beautiful aromatics for your grow tent and home and are great for other plants to grow around.
Basil
One of the tastiest leafy green herbs out there, basil is an excellent addition to just about every savory dish. It also is a beautiful additive that can be added for essential and burning oils to bring wonderful aromas for your home.
Basil grows well in a grow tent that allows for plants with shallow-rooted soil with moisture that is plentiful and conditions that never get too warm. Warm weather and heat will make this herb wilt.
Rosemary
The legendary scent and taste of rosemary are great for savory meals and even make up a significant portion of other items like soap and lotions as a healing additive. Usually, rosemary will only thrive with enough light, so, make sure that your grow tent has either grow lights or clear panels for plenty of sunlight.
Thyme
A fantastic herb with a touch of spice that helps add great flavor to savory dishes, thyme is an easy herb to grow in your grow tent. Thyme doesn’t require much care except for occasional harvesting and even less frequent trimming of dead foliage around the main stalks of the plant.
Closing Thoughts
Your grow tent is an excellent opportunity to produce some beautiful fruits and vegetables all year round. A grow tent has many things which are easy for planting, growing, and harvesting. It will add a huge variety of options of foods and garnishes to your dinner plate and save you some cash at the grocery store.
Make sure that your grow tent fruits and vegetables share similar climate and soil requirements. Since the plants share an ecosystem, they need to have identical likes and dislikes for things such as temperature, soil, drainage, and soil pH. Overall, grow tents are a rewarding and fun way of harvesting your own fruits and vegetables. Buying a carrot is one thing but eating one that you grew yourself with your own hard work is priceless.
Here are Some of my Favorite Gardening Products and Tools
Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it helpful for growing some new plants in your home or garden. Here are some products I like that I hope you’ll also find helpful. These are affiliate links, and I am compensated for referring traffic. But in all honesty, these are the exact product that I use or recommend to everyone.
Soil: For high-quality soil, I really like Fox Farm Ocean Forest. I do all my growing in containers and this soil has worked great for me. I like how they use nutrient-rich contents like earthworm castings, bat guano, and composted crab and fish.
Fertilizer: Currently I am using a seaweed-based organic fertilizer call Neptunes Harvest. This is a great milder fertilizer option if you want to use something organic. If you want a more powerful fertilizer, I recommend Fox Farm Liquid Nutrient Trio, lots of people have had great growing success with this product.
Pruning Shears: Pruning shears are one of the most useful gardening tools to have because it’s important to prune your plants to keep them healthy. The pruning shears I recommend are the Gonicc 8’’ pruning shears. I like them because they are built sturdy and work both on bigger and smaller plants, so you don’t need to have multiple pruning shears.
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