The connection had some viewers feeling nostalgic — but others were left wondering why.
Picture a rainy Saturday afternoon. The kids are restless, screens are losing their charm, and you’re looking for something — anything — that feels both fun and meaningful. What if you could turn your kitchen counter into a tiny farm?
Indoor gardening is one of the simplest ways to bring your family together around a shared, hands-on project that teaches kids about nutrition, responsibility, and basic science — all without needing a backyard, perfect weather, or a green thumb. Whether you live in an apartment or a house where winter puts outdoor play on hold, growing food inside gives your family fresh, nutritious ingredients year-round and creates moments you’ll actually remember.
Here’s the best part: many indoor plants and vegetables are genuinely low-maintenance. You don’t need fancy equipment or hours of spare time. You just need a sunny windowsill, a few containers, and a little curiosity.
Start With Quick Wins That Keep Kids Excited
If you want your children to stay engaged, start with plants that show fast, visible results. Nothing kills a kid’s enthusiasm faster than staring at dirt for three weeks.
Sprouts and Microgreens
Microgreens are tiny, nutrient-packed greens that sprout in just days — making them perfect for impatient little gardeners. Kids can watch seeds transform almost overnight, which turns a simple tray of soil into a real-time science experiment.
According to Linda Ly at Garden Betty, getting started is remarkably easy: “For best results, use 1020 propagation trays (these are the standard black plastic trays you see in nurseries) or aluminum baking pans. You can even use and reuse disposable aluminum pans—any shallow pan or tray will work. Unlike with other vegetables, there’s no need for drainage holes since sprouts and microgreens require so little water.”
That means you can literally repurpose a baking pan from your kitchen drawer. Let the kids sprinkle the seeds, mist with water, and check on their mini garden every morning before school. Within a week or so, you’ll have fresh greens to toss into sandwiches, smoothies, or salads at dinnertime.
Garlic Greens
Here’s a crop most families haven’t tried — and it’s a wonderful one. Garlic greens grow from regular garlic cloves and deliver a mild, kid-friendly flavor that works beautifully in everyday cooking.
As Ly explains, “Garlic greens are a delicious specialty crop that taste like a mild cross between garlic and onion. You can use them the same way you’d use scallions, raw or cooked. Simply cut off a few inches of the stem and slice or chop it into your food.”
Planting is straightforward enough for small hands to help: “Plant individual garlic cloves 2 inches apart and 2 inches deep, with the pointy end facing up. You can start harvesting the leaves lightly once they’re at least 6 to 8 inches tall.”
Watching those green shoots push up through the soil gives kids a tangible sense of accomplishment — and a reason to eat their vegetables at dinner.
Vegetables That Grow Well Indoors
Carrots
Root vegetables like carrots are a natural fit for indoor growing, partly because they’re more forgiving with light than many other crops. Ly writes that, “Carrots, like most root vegetables, grow well indoors since they don’t require as much light as fruiting vegetables to produce a good crop—they can make do with at least 4 hours of direct sun if that’s all you have.”
That’s great news if your sunniest window only gets a few hours of direct light. However, Ly notes, “more light helps the plants grow more quickly so you don’t have to wait a few extra weeks before you can harvest.”
For kids, the real magic is pulling a carrot out of the soil. It’s a surprise every time — how big did it get? What shape is it? That moment of discovery is hard to replicate with any other activity.
Micro Tomatoes
If your family is ready for a slightly more involved project, micro tomatoes offer something truly special: your kids get to help pollinate the flowers themselves.
Ly recommends: “Give this plant plenty of sun (at least 8 hours) and run a fan nearby for a few hours a day to pollinate the flowers. (Or you can give the plant a light shake each day to help distribute the pollen.)”
That tactile, interactive element — gently shaking the plant each day so the flowers can become tiny tomatoes — is the kind of hands-on experiment that makes indoor gardening feel like real adventure for children. It’s a simple, concrete way to show them how food actually grows, from flower to fruit.
Easy Houseplants the Whole Family Can Enjoy
Not every indoor plant needs to be edible. Sometimes a beautiful, hard-to-kill houseplant is the perfect way to teach younger kids the basics of caring for a living thing — watering, watching, and learning patience.
ZZ Plants
According to an article for The Spruce, written by Marie Iannotti, “ZZ plants are easy-to-care-for houseplants, only requiring minimum attention. These plants need bright, indirect light and water every couple of weeks. ZZ plants grow from rhizomes, which help them store water under the soil, making them drought-tolerant plants.”
This is a forgiving starter plant for a busy household. If you forget to water it for a while, it won’t hold it against you.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera doubles as a living first-aid kit, which is something most parents can appreciate. According to Iannotti, “The sap from aloe vera plants is used as a skin moisturizer and to heal minor cuts and ease sunburn. While it is a very useful plant, it’s also attractive. Because it is a succulent, it needs very little water and prefers bright, but indirect sunlight, especially in cooler temperatures.”
Kids find it fascinating to break open a leaf and see the gel inside — a great way to spark conversations about how plants help people.
Holiday Cactus
Looking for a pop of color in your home during the darker months? The Spruce describes the holiday cactus as “a trailing member of the cactus family that produces deep pink or red flowers in early winter. This is the type of plant that seems to do its best when ignored. It can handle low light but will produce more flowers in bright light. Pruning the houseplant after blooming will keep it bushy and full.”
A plant that thrives on neglect? That’s practically designed for a family with a packed schedule.
Jade Plant
Jade plants are beautiful and long-lived, but they offer a useful lesson for kids about balance and paying attention. As Iannoti explains, “The tricky part about growing jade plants is providing the right amount of water. Too much water will cause their roots to rot. Too little water will result in them dropping their leaves.”
The guidance is simple: “Allow the soil to completely dry out before giving them more water, but don’t let them sit thirsty for too long.” Let your child be in charge of checking the soil — it’s a small responsibility that builds real awareness.
Your Family Can Start This Weekend
You don’t need to overhaul your kitchen or invest in expensive equipment. Grab a shallow baking pan for microgreens, a pot and a few garlic cloves, or a single ZZ plant from your local nursery. Put your kids in charge of watering, checking for growth, and — when the time comes — harvesting what they’ve grown.
Indoor gardening offers your family something rare: a screen-free, hands-on activity that produces real results you can eat, enjoy, and be proud of together. The plants are forgiving, the setup is simple, and the memories are worth every minute.
Start small. Start today. Your kitchen garden is waiting.
