Indoor Gardening (2 page)

You can very comfortably grow a wide variety of herbs and vegetables in pots. Cooking can be a totally new experience with fresh herbs plucked from your kitchen garden. Think of ripe tomatoes, beans, green peppers, cucumbers, parsley, oregano, basil, strawberry, okra and so on that you could just pluck and use for your cooking.

3.
P
ROVIDE
A
DEQUATE
S
PACE AND
L
IGHT FOR
Y
OUR
P
LANTS

Before you decide how many pots you will install in your home, check out the space you have available. Keep in mind that you will need to provide enough sunlight to each of your plants. So, even if you will rotate them periodically to occupy the place near your sunny windows, there should enough space for every plant to get enough sunlight.

4.
I
NDOOR
G
ARDENING
A
IDS

Get in touch with your nearest garden store and/or research on the internet for implements that will make gardening more enjoyable to you and healthier for your plants. Things such as a sunlight lamp, indoor compost maker, exhaust fans, lighting aids, sprays, organic fertilizers and pesticides, pebbles, pots, pot drainers, etc. would help you keep your plants healthy and happy. Remember that different house plants have different requirements for everything from sunlight to water to nutrients (we’ll cover that later).

5.
U
SE
B
EST
G
RADE
P
OTTING
S
OIL

It is always best to ask the advice of the shop keeper of your garden store. Buy the best available because it will go a long way. Your local gardening store expert will definitely advise you on what you need to keep your plants healthy and strong. Just make sure you ask someone who has a lot of experience with gardening and not just someone who’s working there for a summer job.

Make sure that you follow the instructions with each plant. If you have already decided on which type of plants you want to grow, share these details with the store keeper who could advice you on the exact needs of each plant. If you can’t find a local person to answer these questions for you, just search online for “How to take care of a tomato plant” or whatever plant you’re growing.

6.
G
ET THE
A
SSISTANCE
O
F
F
ARMER’S
B
EST
F
RIEND

You cannot imagine the difference a handful of earthworms can do to your plants. You can easily purchase earthworms from the local bait and tackle shop. You can also buy a portable compost maker where you could create your own compost with the help of earthworms and organic waste from your kitchen. This will ensure that you have a perpetual source of high quality fertilized earth for your pots and plants.

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of managing your own earthworms, you can buy fresh compost locally. Always remember that the health of your plants will be determined by the health of the soil they’re growing in!

7.
W
ATERING AND
M
ISTING
I
MPLEMENTS

Watering your plants is one of the most important tasks in the schedule for taking care of your indoor gardening. You will need adequate implements to water your plants; some plants may require regular misting. Also, you will need to research on what type of water your plants would enjoy most. For example, some experts recommend that you use the water in which you have boiled vegetables to water your plants – and your plants will grow very beautifully and healthy (I only recommend this if the vegetables were organic, otherwise pesticides and herbicides could pollute your house plants).

8.
F
ERTILIZER

No matter how good the soil, you may need to add fertilizer at least once in 6 months or one year. I recommend using organic fertilizers or compost as I personally try to avoid chemical fertilizers.

However, it can be a bit more difficult to manage with organic fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers are immediately available for plant uptake, while organic fertilizers are not. Organic Fertilizers need to pass through the gut of microorganisms before they can be broken down into elemental forms that plants can use. Because microorganism populations in containers vary greatly, nutrient delivery may be erratic. Nutrient levels, pH, temperature, moisture levels, soil composition, soil structure and oxygen levels all affect these microorganism populations. Further, when microorganism populations are low, organic fertilizers tend to build up to much higher concentrations in properly irrigated plants than chemical fertilizers do. If this occurs, when cultural conditions return to favorable, the microorganisms can release large amounts of nitrogen into soils, so it's easily possible to get a delayed nitrogen burn reaction from organic fertilizers - and you may never even realize why it occurred. Because of this, most novice gardeners will want to use chemical fertilizers to start with to make the whole process even easier.

C
HAPTER 2.
T
HE
B
EST
T
YPES OF
P
LANTS
F
OR
I
NDOOR
G
ARDENING

Contrary to common belief, the list of plants that can be grown indoors is quite varied and long. There are thousands of flowering plants, non-flowering plants, cacti, herbs, fruits, vegetables and even evergreens that you could grow indoors. So, if you love plants and need to grow them indoors take heart in the news that you have plenty to choose from!

One very important thing you should keep in mind while you decide about the number of plants you want inside your home is that indoor plants will raise the degree of humidity in your home. Hence, this is a good thing if you are living in a dry climate, but not so good if it is already humid. So just remember to use a dehumidifier if thinks get too humid with all your new plants.

While it is true that for your plants to live and thrive indoors they should be adaptable to indoor environment – i.e. less light, drier and cooler environment – it is important that you understand that most plants adapt very well indoors if you are willing to go the extra mile to provide them what they need. Plants also respond very well to love – but as a plant lover and gardener, I’m sure you already know that

Here is a very small list of some of my favorite plants you could grow indoors very easily:

1.
A
FRICAN
V
IOLETS (
S
AINTAPAULIA
)

The African Violets are among the most popular indoor plants because they are as easy to grow as they are beautiful. Their flowers last quite long and flowers are known to stay in bloom for several weeks when they are cared for well.

T
EMPERATURE:

The best temperature for these flowers is 75 degrees Fahrenheit during daytime and about 60-70 at night. They will grow just fine from about 60-80 degrees Fahreinheit (15-27 degrees Celcius).

W
ATER:

The best way to water these plants is at the roots (pouring water on the plant will spot its leaves so avoid water the leaves!). You could pour water in the plate you place under the flower pot and let the plant suck it up. The water should never be cold. Be careful not to over water your plants; ensure that the container allows for adequate drainage.

S
OIL:

It is best to buy ready-made soil mix from your nearest garden store for they will have missed the right proportions of fertilizer in it. African Violets require a fertilizer high in Phosphorous to bloom. In case your plants are not flowering, the problem would most often be that the fertilizer is higher in Nitrogen than Phosphorous.

P
ROPAGATION:

You can get new plants from leaf cuttings or from the offshoots (plantlets). When the plants produce these offshoots, you need to remove them and plant them in new containers.

2.
C
ROTON (
C
ODIAEUM VARIEGATUM PICTUM)

The Croton is a hot favorite indoor plant because of its exceptionally beautiful foliage. It has great color, grows fast and does not require much attention. These plants love sunlight; hence, you would do best to keep them next to sunny south-facing windows (if you live in the north) where they can get direct sunlight for the better part of the day. Plants that do not get enough sunshine will have smaller and less colorful leaves.

A very important thing to keep in mind is that the leaves of this plant are poisonous. If you have small children or pets that might be inclined to chew on the leaves, this plant is not a good choice for you.

T
EMPERATURE:

This plant will grow best in environments where the temperature is maintained in the range of 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit (15-27 degrees Celcius).

W
ATER:

This plant is happy in a high-humidity environment. It requires heavy watering, but you should allow the top soil to dry in between while you mist the leaves once or twice a week. These plants will almost “tell” you how much water they need. If the leaves droop or begin to fall it means it needs more water; if the leaves wilt at the edges, it means you are watering it too much.

S
OIL:

The soil for the croton needs to be moist at all times. Too much or too less and the plant suffers. The good news is that it will not take you too long to understand how much water it likes based on how the leaves look; and once you know that you will have little else to worry about.

P
ROPAGATION:

Crotons are easily propagated by rooting tip cuttings (new growth cuttings) in the spring or summer. For the plants to ‘catch’ and grow, you will need to maintain a temperature at 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit (21-27 degrees Celcius).

3.
C
HRISTMAS
C
ACTUS (
S
CHLUMBERGERA BRIDESII
)