Who does not love to wake up and inhale fresh air coming out of a garden? Well, surely, everyone. However, not everyone has the space to own a traditional garden. But worry not because you can still enjoy and breathe in the vicinity of live plants in your indoor garden.
What is an indoor garden? Indoor gardens are the plants you grow inside your living space or office. You can have your very own indoor garden in your very own room, meeting room or a herb garden in the kitchen, etc.
Indoor plants serve both practical and gratification purposes and add so much positive energy to the atmosphere.
Are you thinking about having your own? Well, growing an indoor garden is full of techniques. To have a perfect indoor garden, one really needs to know about the basics and more because those tiny little things will demand your attention and care. There are numerous plants, and each one of them needs different attention.
How to grow an indoor garden? Here you go;
How Much Space do You Need For An Indoor Garden?
Space for an indoor garden depends entirely on your choice, or you can say the availability of space you can specify for your garden. An indoor garden can vary from very little space to a very large space.
For example, you can put a small pot beside your table, your wall, anywhere in your very own bedroom. You can also specify any of your shelves as your tiny and adorable garden in any room of the house.
How Much Light Do Indoor Plants Need?
Plants need really good light to grow, which is a process where plants convert carbon dioxide and water into food called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis cannot work without a good amount of light.
When it comes to indoor plants, providing direct sunlight often becomes a challenging task. However, you can facilitate the growth cycle by having an artificial source of light. But, you need to keep the following aspects in your mind;
- The wavelength of the artificial light must match the wavelength of sunlight. It means that the artificial light must have the blue and red wavelength.
- The light needs to be placed close to the plant but not too close that it can burn the leaves.
- You need to be aware that how much light exposure your plant or plants need to produce florigen hormone and have a lighting system accordingly.
How To Select A Glow Light For Indoor Garden?
It’s a technical question and an important one too. There is a variety of lights available like:
- Incandescent Lamps are inexpensive and have very low light. They can be good for the household plants, including ferns, vines, or dracaenas, but not enough plants that require high light to grow.
- Fluorescent Lights are affordable and ideal for the plants that need low to medium light to grow, such as herbs.
- Compact Fluorescent Systems are comparatively smaller in size but much better and efficient. These produce lesser heat thus can be placed closer to the plants.
- High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Bulbs are the brightest and the most efficient ones for hydroponic and high-light plants. They are relatively expensive and have further types which are:
- High-Pressure Sodium
- Metal Halide
- Low-Pressure Sodium
- Mercury Vapor
What Should Be The Temperature?
Most of the indoor plants are fine in the temperature humans feel comfortable in. However, the average temperature for an indoor garden is 65-75°F with a plus and minus of 10°F.
To maintain a perfect temperature is a must because the plant that will grow in a cold temperature will have leaves that fall off soon and turn yellow. On the other hand, the plants growing in a hot temperature are weak and small. Therefore, maintaining a balanced temperature is vital.
You can make use of Autopilot Cooling Thermostat as it can work well in maintaining a temperature as well as the day and light mode.
How To Select The Soil For Indoor Garden?
Can I use garden soil for indoor plants? No, you cannot. It is thick and does not work the same for the indoor plants. You can do wonders with your plants by putting a fresh and healthy crop that will be free from all the chemicals or pesticides.
The soil needs to be organic so that it can absorb the nutrients and the moisture for the perfect growth of the indoor plants.
A potting mix composed of vermiculite, peat moss, and perlite absorbs moisture well and also resists compaction but dries out quickly. Therefore, you will need to supply constant fertilizers with this soilless mix.
However, the type of your plant plays an important role in the selection. Some plants need light soil so that the water gets properly drained while other plants need a medium soil that can retain water.
How to Choose Plants For Indoor Garden?
Almost everything can be grown in your indoor gardens until it does get too big to be handled. You can grow the herbs, fruits, vegetables and also the flowers. There are many low light house plants that you can go for.
Hers is a good tip; select the plants that need almost the same temperature, water, humidity, and temperature, and it will be easier for you to maintain your beautiful garden.
Indoor Garden Maintenance
It is always easy to start something; the real struggle begins when times come to maintain it. If you do not maintain your indoor garden well, all your efforts will be lost. To take care of plants at home:
- You need to keep a check and balance with the amount of needed water based on daily requirements.
- In harsh weather conditions, you need to shift the position of the plants in order to provide an appropriate temperature to survive and grow.
- A continuous check on the artificial light you are using is also essential to avoid less and excess use.
How Often Should You Water Indoor Plants?
Since every plant is different and demands a certain quantity of water, some plants need to be watered every day while others do not.
Most household plants require 1-3 times a week, but the effective frequency will largely depend on the type of the plant, its size, temperature, humidity, type and size of the pot, and rate of growth.
You must always use water at room temperature so that it gets easily and properly absorbed in the plant. Moreover, you must provide excess water as the water really needs to drain out properly so that the plant does not get rotten.
Nutrients And Fertilizer For Indoor Plants
What is the best fertilizer for indoor plants and how much fertilizer do I need for indoor plants are commonly asked questions.
Plants need a good amount of organic fertilizers and nutrients to have proper growth. Plants in an indoor garden need both the micro as well the macronutrients. Besides organic fertilizers, you also need hydroponic nutrients for the indoor garden.
Organic fertilizers can be natural fertilizers, while hydroponic nutrients can do their best if they have all the elements like nitrogen, calcium, phosphorous, etc. and they must be provided in the right ratio, which is labeled on the fertilizer package.
In A Nut-Shell
Growing plants indoor can be real fun if you know how to grow an indoor garden. Although it does require your time and car, the result you get is refreshing and rewarding. The best part is that you can have an indoor garden in very little space.
What you need is some pots with a drainage hole, some organic soil, the seeds of your favorite plants, and a watering container. That is it. So get a hold of the stuff and enjoy your very own indoor garden. We hope our indoor gardening tips will prove helpful for you.