Indoor vegetable gardening requires a bit of planning and lots of patience, however you will quickly enjoy the rewards of indoor gardening as well as the added benefits for beginners. By following the proper gardening tips, you can have great success with indoor gardening and even move your garden outdoors. Gardening tips are easy to find and provide gardening information to new and experienced vegetable gardeners. Some gardening tips focus on how much space is needed for growing vegetables indoors, while other gardening tips focus on the nutrients plants need to grow healthy.
Many gardening experts say that it takes about 4 feet of floor area to get a plant to thrive, so if you are planning on having a large indoor garden you should probably look into the possibility of container gardening. Containers are extremely versatile and say bawden-davis says that you can place them almost anywhere you want, provided you have enough room. “I’ve seen mine in the laundry room,” he said.
Gardening in containers is a great way to have an indoor garden during the winter or to grow some plants during the off-season when your garden space is at a minimum. Containers, called potting mixes, are sold in most garden stores throughout the United States. You can purchase a potting mix that has well-balanced nutrients for all plants; however, there are also nutrients specially formulated for growing vegetables. It is very important to know what plants you are growing and whether they require different nutrients before you make a purchase. Potting mixes should be purchased according to the plants’ specific needs, and you should be able to get this information from a gardening expert. Containers are ideal for growing most trees and most flowering plants and say bawden-davis recommends them because they are cheaper than traditional soil and they are easily compacted.
If you plan on growing plants in containers, it’s a good idea to maintain their humidity level. Containers are more susceptible to heat and moisture if their humidity level is not maintained. This can cause the roots of the plants to break down. “If they do not have water to pull the soil out, you can break up the plant and put it in a jar of water and salt – then place it in the refrigerator to bring back to life,” say experts.
Houseplants should be watered only when the soil surface begins to dry – within about an hour. Experts advise houseplants to be watered in the evening. “After about the third day, you can repot the plant and gently repeat it again in about a week,” say experts. In order to avoid stressing the plant, you may want to transfer it from one location to another, say from your kitchen window to your patio, or from your bedroom to your living room. ” transplanting an indoor garden will be less stressful on the plant than if you were to transplant a plant that is outside, where it would be exposed to the elements all winter long,” says Dr. Robert Wegner, who is a professor at the University of Georgia.
You can also move indoor plants indoors during the summer, if you’re not bothered by the high humidity. “But make sure you’re transferring them before the temperatures go above 55 degrees Fahrenheit,” advises Dr. Wegner. He adds, “The water needs to be replaced after each transfer.” Since houseplants grow best when the relative humidity is low, it’s a good idea to follow humidification instructions included with your plants. However, you can find special humidifiers for canopies, trusses and other enclosed areas.
You can have an indoor garden without much light by planting your plants upside down. The most common way to do this is with potted plants that are placed upside down in a small container. “One benefit is that they will get more sun because of the lower surfaces and they will mature faster,” says Dr. David R. Larson, an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Albany. Another advantage is that, because they’re in a lower light environment, indoor plants tend to mature earlier, usually in six months, than outdoor plants.
Some plants, such as herbaceous perennials, can be planted directly into containers. You can even make your own simple indoor gardening system using containers and small pots filled with soil and moss, according to experts. Herbs, too, can be grown in small containers. “They can be kept in dark rooms with just enough sunlight,” says Larson. “But it’s important that they’re kept under control.” One option is to purchase pre-soaked baskets that you can add some soil and moss to and keep growing herbs inside for six weeks or more.