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17h โ€ข Herbs & Edibles
๐Ÿฅ•๐ŸŒฑ Root Veggies Indoors? Yes! Small-Pot Carrots & Radishes for December Harvests
December might feel like the wrong time to think about fresh-picked veggiesโ€ฆ
But for container gardeners? Itโ€™s actually a perfect time to grow the cutest (and tastiest!) mini root crops right inside the house.
Carrots and radishes LOVE cool weather, and with the short December days, small pots, and indoor conditions, they grow surprisingly well, often faster than youโ€™d expect.
If youโ€™ve ever dreamed of snipping your own winter radishes or pulling adorable baby carrots straight from a pot on your counterโ€ฆ youโ€™re in the right place.
Letโ€™s dig in!
๐Ÿฅ• ๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ & ๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐ˆ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ƒ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ
Indoor conditions in winter naturally match what these crops enjoy:
โœ” Cooler temps
โœ” Consistent moisture
โœ” No pests
โœ” Controlled environment
โœ” No risk of frost or hard freezes
Plus, radishes grow in 25โ€“30 days and many carrot varieties mature in 45โ€“60 days, making them ideal for winter windowsill gardening.
๐ŸŒฑ ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐•๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐’๐ฆ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ
The secret is choosing compact, fast-growing types.
โœจ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ (๐’๐ฆ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ญโ€“๐…๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฒ)
* Parisian: round, sweet, and perfect for shallow pots
* Thumbelina: marble-sized carrots that grow quickly
* Tonda di Parigi: old-fashioned and delicious
* Little Finger: slim 3โ€“4" carrots ideal for narrow pots
โœจ ๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ (๐ˆ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ-๐’๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ฌ)
* Cherry Belle: the classic red radish
* French Breakfast: mild sweetness, gorgeous coloring
* Easter Egg: fun variety of colors
* Sparkler: crunchy and fast
These varieties don't need deep soil and mature quickly making them perfect for winter experiments.
๐Ÿชด ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‘๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ (๐’๐ข๐ณ๐ž ๐Œ๐€๐“๐“๐„๐‘๐’ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž!)
๐…๐จ๐ซ ๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ:
* Pot depth: 6โ€“8 inches
* Width: any size, even small wide bowls
* Drainage: essential
๐…๐จ๐ซ ๐’๐ฆ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ:
* Pot depth: 8โ€“10 inches
* Wide containers help with spacing
* Excellent drainage required
๐๐ซ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฉ:
Use lightweight plastic pots in winter as they warm quicker than ceramic.
๐Ÿฅ„ ๐’๐จ๐ข๐ฅ ๐Œ๐ข๐ฑ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐‡๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐‘๐จ๐จ๐ญ ๐•๐ž๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ
Root veggies want loose, fluffy, airy soil.
Hard, compacted mixes = stubby, twisted roots.
๐”๐ฌ๐ž:
โœ” Quality indoor potting mix
โœ” Add extra perlite or pumice (1โ€“2 handfuls per pot)
โœ” Avoid heavy garden soil
Moisture should drain well but never dry out completely.
โ˜€๏ธ ๐‹๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐‘๐ž๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ซ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ (๐ƒ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐‚๐š๐ง ๐๐ž ๐“๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ฒ)
Radishes and carrots donโ€™t need intense summer sun, but they do need consistent brightness.
๐Ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค:
* Bright south- or east-facing window
* A small clip-on grow light (6โ€“8 hours daily)
* Kitchen counters with under-cabinet LEDs
If using a grow light, place it ๐Ÿ’โ€“๐Ÿ” ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฏ๐ž the soil for seedlings.
๐Ÿ’ง ๐–๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ : ๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ ๐ˆ๐ญ ๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ง
Root veggies hate extremes.
๐Ÿฅต Too dry = woody, bitter roots
๐Ÿ’ฆ Too wet = rotting or misshapen roots
๐–๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ง:
* The top 1 inch feels dry
* The pot feels lighter
* Leaves begin to look slightly soft (a sign they need moisture)
Hard water or mineral-heavy water can cause salt buildup. Use filtered water when possible.
๐ŸŒก๏ธ ๐“๐ž๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž: ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐“๐ก๐š๐ง ๐–๐š๐ซ๐ฆ
These veggies thrive in cooler indoor conditions:
๐ˆ๐๐ž๐š๐ฅ: 55โ€“70ยฐF
๐€๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐: placing pots near heaters, fireplaces, heat vents, or ovens.
If they get too warm, radishes get spicy and carrots get thin.
๐Ÿ“… ๐“๐ข๐ฆ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ž: ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐„๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ญ
๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ:
* Sprouting: 3โ€“7 days
* Harvest: 25โ€“30 days
(Yes โ€” you can absolutely harvest radishes on New Yearโ€™s Day!)
* Baby Carrots:
* Sprouting: 7โ€“14 days
* Harvest: 45โ€“60 days
* Tender โ€œsnackableโ€ size by week 5
โœ‚๏ธ ๐‡๐š๐ซ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐“๐ข๐ฉ๐ฌ
๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ:
* Harvest when bulbs peek above the soil and feel firm.
* Leaving them too long makes them woody.
๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ:
* Gently loosen soil with your fingers and pull slowly.
* If they feel stuck, water lightly and wait 24 hours. They'll release easier.
๐๐จ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฌ: carrot tops are edible! Use as garnishes or pesto.
๐Ÿฝ๏ธ ๐…๐ฎ๐ง ๐ƒ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐”๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ˆ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ ๐‡๐š๐ซ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ
๐Ÿ‘‰ ๐‘๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ
* Add to holiday charcuterie boards
* Slice into winter salads
* Roast with herbs for a cozy December snack
* Salt + butter radish bites (chef-approved!)
๐Ÿ‘‰ ๐’๐ฆ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ
* Glaze with honey + thyme
* Use in slow cooker stews
* Add to holiday veggie trays
* Roast whole with rosemary
Fresh winter produce = instant bragging rights.
โ„๏ธ ๐๐†๐’ ๐๐ซ๐จ ๐“๐ข๐ฉ: ๐“๐ซ๐ฒ ๐š โ€œ๐ƒ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐‘๐จ๐จ๐ญ ๐•๐ž๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ž ๐“๐ซ๐ข๐จโ€
Plant three small pots together:
* One with radishes
* One with baby carrots
* One with microgreens
It becomes a gorgeous winter edible display and a great member photo prompt!
๐‡๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ซ๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ?
Share your photos, progress updates, or questions. Letโ€™s cheer each other on through December!
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Donna Scarborough
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๐Ÿฅ•๐ŸŒฑ Root Veggies Indoors? Yes! Small-Pot Carrots & Radishes for December Harvests
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