# Edible office plants? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2007, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774 "2007-03-06T04:04:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/1 "2007-03-06T04:04:29Z")
So, I recently got a look at what will soon be my new home in the glamorous world of corporate IT. It’s a cube in our new facility. A grey cube. A grey cube among approximately 1000. In a single room. With no windows. In a building with five such rooms. And a perimiter of more than a mile. Soooo, I’m gonna need some plants. Rather than the usual spider plant or ficus, I’d like to grow something edible. It’ll have to do well in low light, obviously, and be able to handle the, uh, methane generated by approximately 980 dudes and twenty women. My favorite non-animal foods are onions, peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, garlic, beans, lemons, limes, and granny smith apples. Herbs are cool, but I’d also like something that I can break off and take bite out of, or maybe slice up and put on a sammich. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/2 "2007-03-06T04:17:43Z")
How about bean sprouts? They don’t need any light. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/3 "2007-03-06T04:26:04Z")
[QUOTE=scr4] How about bean sprouts? They don’t need any light. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Hmmm… I was hoping for something with some foliage… but that’s intriguing. Maybe throw in some broccoli and mustard sprouts, too… ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/4 "2007-03-06T04:28:20Z")
Will you have any shelves that have under-cabinet lighting? I’m thinking you could swap out the tubes for some more specialized for plants, and improve the odds for whatever you try. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/5 "2007-03-06T04:37:24Z")
Mint? It grows like maaaaaad. ---
**Author:** ![Montgomery0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/0ea827/32.png) [@Montgomery0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montgomery0)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/6 "2007-03-06T05:03:45Z")
Lemon sage would be nice if you could get it into the sun for a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/7 "2007-03-06T05:42:45Z")
For eating: Unless you can put some kind of artificial lighting in there, I think mushrooms might be your best bet. Seriously. They sell kits for people to grow mushrooms at home and you can just put them in a drawer or something (more info here: [http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2004-10-01/Grow-your-own-Mushrooms.aspx](http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2004-10-01/Grow-your-own-Mushrooms.aspx) ). For decoration: As I said above, you probably won’t be able to get anything edible and leafy to survive without some supplemental light. But if you’re looking for a houseplant that’s sort of "different’ and can handle low light, I’d recommend the “ZZ plant” (AKA Zamioculcas zamiifolia : [http://www.plant-care.com/zz-zamioculcas-zamiifolia.html](http://www.plant-care.com/zz-zamioculcas-zamiifolia.html) ) I have had good luck with that plant under very low light conditions and it doesn’t require much water either. ---
**Author:** ![toadbriar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@toadbriar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadbriar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/8 "2007-03-06T05:44:36Z")
Having lived in a series of bleak sunless lairs with no gardens, my understanding is that a plant that produces food or flowers is a plant that wants lots of sunlight. Without plant lamps to replicate the sun’s UV, your indoor plants will spend their energy getting tall and leggy, mostly stems reaching to find good light somewhere. Mushrooms might be an interesting pursuit, if you can tolerate the inevitable magic mushroom jokes. ---
**Author:** ![illoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a3d4f5/32.png) [@illoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/illoe)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/9 "2007-03-06T07:17:47Z")
You could give [Nasturtiums](http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/gilbert/nasturtiums.htm) a shot. They make nice peppery (like watercress) greens, have pretty and edible flowers, and, although they flower more in full sun, they might do ok in lower light. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/10 "2007-03-06T07:23:00Z")
You need an Aerogarden. Yes, I said _need_. I’ve been munching on fresh **salad greens** since mid-January. I think they’ve got at least another month in them, and then next I’m getting **strawberries**. They’ve also got **herbs** , **cherry tomatoes** and **peppers**. And the full-spectrum light bulbs would be great light-therapy for a grey cube in a grey office. Heck, you might even be able to finagle it out of your Health Savings account. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/11 "2007-03-06T16:28:25Z")
[QUOTE=Ms. Meta] Will you have any shelves that have under-cabinet lighting? I’m thinking you could swap out the tubes for some more specialized for plants, and improve the odds for whatever you try. [/QUOTE] I put a gro-light in one of mine (they have them at Home Depot), and right now I’ve got a poinsettia that someone gave me for Christmas and an African violet under there. They both look great. I’m sure you could grow something edible that way too. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/12 "2007-03-06T17:08:03Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] You need an Aerogarden. Yes, I said _need_. I’ve been munching on fresh **salad greens** since mid-January. I think they’ve got at least another month in them, and then next I’m getting **strawberries**. They’ve also got **herbs** , **cherry tomatoes** and **peppers**. And the full-spectrum light bulbs would be great light-therapy for a grey cube in a grey office. Heck, you might even be able to finagle it out of your Health Savings account. 😉 [/QUOTE] _drools_ I am SO buying that. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/13 "2007-03-06T19:09:23Z")
There are a fair number of hot peppers that grow in compact little shrublike shapes. They grow just fine under flourescent light, especially when they’re already fairly large when moved to the low lighting. Some have hundreds of peppers in multiple colors (states of “ripeness”) on them at one time. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/14 "2007-03-06T19:11:19Z")
Here are some sources for indoor, container, dwarf, and specialty fruit and veg seed and plants. [Seedman](http://www.seedman.com/vegecon.htm) [Dwarf Fruit Trees](http://gurneys.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_13882) [Specialty seeds](http://seedrack.com/10.html) Here’s a link to HGTV with some [tips for indoor gardening](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_tig/episode/0,1806,HGTV_3893_10655,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/15 "2007-03-06T19:28:13Z")
[QUOTE=black rabbit] It’ll have to do well in low light, obviously, and be able to handle the, uh, methane generated by approximately 980 dudes and twenty women. My favorite non-animal foods are onions, peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, garlic, beans… [/QUOTE] Now why do I get the sense you’re not actually hungry but just looking for ammo? ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/16 "2007-03-06T20:40:58Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] Now why do I get the sense you’re not actually hungry but just looking for ammo? [/QUOTE] There’s a Chipotle in the same building as a coffee joint down the street. Plenty of ammo to go around already. Those dwarf fruit trees are excellent suggestions, as are the peppers. A couple of questions: Will the typical full-spectrum desk lamp that I pick up at Target for $25 suffice for most of them? If I keep them in a smaller pot, will it generally keep the size down? 2-3 feet is a good height for my desk; 5 is probably pushing it. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-office-plants/394774/17 "2007-03-07T14:40:51Z")
[QUOTE=black rabbit] Will the typical full-spectrum desk lamp that I pick up at Target for $25 suffice for most of them? [/QUOTE] No. You need to get a gro-light. You can use the lamp, but [put a proper bulb in it](http://www.bulbs.com/eSpec.aspx?ID=12920&Ref=Plant+Grow&Ref2=Specialty+Bulbs). You can get them at Home Depot or similiar and they aren’t expensive.