Hydroponics is an alternative to pots in which terrestrial plants are grown in water infused with the nutrients they need. The set up is more complicated, but it will allow you to grow your plants closer together, save water, and there are no weeds. For these reasons, hydroponics might be something to consider if you’re interested in more extensive indoor agriculture. Plants like kale, lettuce, and spinach do well in hydroponic systems- they grow quickly and are cheap to produce compared to buying what’s available on the market, which is usually covered in pesticides and shipped for long distances. But herbs and other vegetables will work as well.
You can invest in a fancy hydroponics system if you’d like, or you can set up a simple one on your own by suspending plants in a growing medium like rock wool in a bucket of growing solution attached to a simple aeration system. There are many websites or youtube tutorials like this one that can quickly get you started.
Want to get serious with your indoor agriculture and don’t mind investing some money? There are kits like these for sale, or like this indoor garden machine. You might also consider grow lights, which allow you to control the light exposure your plants need. There are many different types of lights to choose from, so do a bit of research about which will best support the crops you want to grow. It’s a bit more complicated, but with grow lights and fans to mimic wind you can garden in your basement if you want. Where there’s a will there’s a way!