Grow a Garden Indoors

Spring is the time of year when the gardener's juices really start flowing. But what if you don't have space for a garden? Perhaps weather conditions are prohibitive or your back is too bad for all that stooping and bending? An indoor garden is a great solution. Not to mention the relief of not having to deal with the weed problems that the outdoor gardener faces.

Indoor gardens can be great for growing vegetables and herbs, or you can just enjoy creating a gorgeous flower garden. The main points to remember that make this method different from gardening out of doors is that lighting and humidity conditions will not be the same.

If there is a light spot in your house, all the better, but fluorescent growing lights can help indoors. You will most likely want to rotate flowering plants to promote their growing upright. A plant can go into shock when first brought indoors from a well-lit nursery. To condition a new plant you can put it first in the lightest spot of your house and then gradually reduce light placement until it is in its permanent home. You can tell whether a plant is receiving enough light by color, leaves, and stems. If it doesn't have enough light, the leaves will be small, the color faded, and there will be thinning stems.

Indoor gardeners often use humidifiers, particularly in winter when heating is on and the air dries. You will see if your plants are dry if the leaves dry out and curl. It's all right to spray leaves with water, but it must be done in the morning. Moistening them at night can cause the plant to rot overnight.

Fertilization for indoor plants is usually different, too. Dormant plants don't need fertilizing at all. As a rule, indoor plants are receiving less sun, so only need fertilizing every two or three months. Drying and burning of the leaves can be signs of over fertilization.

Herbs and vegetables are popular choices for growing in an indoor garden. The obvious reason is the savings experienced when you don't have to buy these items at the grocery store. And indoors, wild animals won't get to them. Pests can appear on the indoor plants, but this problem can be addressed by getting a bowl of soapy, lukewarm water and dipping the plant upside down into it briefly, careful to hang on to the plant's base. Alternatively, you can use a spray bottle of the same solution, but make sure to spray the bottoms of the leaves where the eggs of pests will be prevalent.

When choosing your plant containers, remember plastic can be less expensive but it heats up more quickly and drying can be a problem indoors. This means you may have to water more often, sometimes twice a day if a plant is young and small. Yard sales and thrift stores are great places for buying attractive plant pots that don't cost a fortune. When you attend a craft fair, ask the potter about "seconds." You may be able to get great deals on pots that may not look perfect to the potter but are fine for you. Because your indoor plant don't face challenges of harsh weather conditions, they will grow faster from seed than they would outside. It can be a lot of fun to watch them sprout!

If you're growing vegetables inside, use light soil with good drainage. A good preparation is forest mulch, sand, perlite and silica. Compost is superb if you have it on hand, and you can combine it with sand, peat moss, and native soil.

You'll love taking care of and showing off your indoor garden. Why not get started today?