A Beginner’s Guide to Indoor Gardening
Houseplants are good for your health as they essentially release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. This freshens up the air and also eliminates harmful toxins besides adding colour to the environment. If you’re planning on starting your own indoor gardening, there are several steps to ask yourself before you begin.
Step 1. Location For Your Indoor Garden
Space affects your potting and lighting options. It also plays a big part in the types of plants you’re able to grow. If you have plenty of space with natural lighting, you won’t have many issues in growing a number of plants you desire. On the other hand, if you only have a small space for your garden then you might need to stick to growing smaller herbs or vegetables.
Step 2 : Type of Plants To Grow
The next step is to decide what exactly you would like to grow for your indoor garden. Is it a small herb garden in your kitchen or are you planning to grow flowers?
You may try something easy like growing cacti, herbs, succulents, aloe vera plants, philodendrons, or even lilies. However, if you’re going to go with something trickier, be prepared for any special lighting or nutrient needs they might have.
Do note that growing plants from seeds has different care and lighting requirements than starting with a fully grown plant.
Step 3 : Drainage System For Your Indoor Garden
You can use regular gardening pots or containers from around your house with some kind of drainage system. Even if it’s just a single hole in its base, this lets excess water escape if needed.
If you don’t have much space in your home, consider growing your plants vertically in a living wall. Many beginners prefer to grow their garden using an indoor garden kit like the hydroponics system which is very convenient for beginners.
Step 4. Lighting for Your Indoor Garden
Where and what you’re growing will affect how much lighting you will need for your garden. While most house plants thrive in low light and won’t need more than some indirect light from a nearby window, fruiting or flowering plants however, will require more sunlight.
If ample natural light isn’t available, you will need supplemental light. Fluorescent, LED, or HID grow lights will help to give your indoor garden the light it needs.
Full spectrum lights provide your plants with the ideal range of light, allowing them to grow to their full potential. Blue light is essential for plant growth, and red light stimulates your plants to produce fruits and flowers.
Consider investing in a grow light that allows you to control the red and blue lights as this could be very beneficial to your garden.
Step 5. Nutrients For Your Indoor Garden
Plants can absorb nutrients from the soil, or from nutrient-rich water within a hydroponics system. Should you go with the soil option, it’s important to know that your plants will regularly require repotting and new soil. This is to give them more room to grow and a fresh supply of nutrients from the soil.
If you prefer less hassle, you may consider the hydroponics growing system whereby your plants will receive liquid fertilizers, injected right into their water supply. Plants are known to grow more efficiently in a hydroponics system, because their nutrients are readily available to them in the water.
Step 6. Watering Your Indoor Garden
Some plants require plenty of water and want it soaked all the way down to the bottom of their roots, while others require very little and will die from overwatering.
Overwatering your plants can prevent them from accessing the nutrients they need from the soil and could kill them. Using pots with a drainage hole can help to prevent this by allowing excess water to drain off. For some plants, it’s best to water them from their base. Allowing the water to soak up into the lowest roots will keep them uniformly moist but it won’t wash away the salt and mineral deposits that they require.
Step 7. Enjoy Watching Your Garden Grow
Last but not least, monitor your garden and watch it grow into a healthy garden! Believe it or not, your plants will share if they’re happy or unhealthy with their appearance.
If you notice that the leaves are brown and crunchy, then your plants may need more water. On the contrary, if the leaves are yellow and wilting, you might be over-watering your plants. If your plants aren’t growing bigger or flowering, they may not be getting enough light or nutrients. Paying attention to what your plants are telling you will allow you to adjust your techniques as needed.
Indoor Gardening Can Be Easy and Clean
Growing a flourishing indoor garden can be fast, easy and a fulfilling process. You just need to understand the needs of your specific plants and set up your indoor garden accordingly. Coupled with some knowledge and care, your indoor garden will grow healthily into a forest of herbs, flowers, or fruits.
Best of all, you will feel a sense of achievement and happiness, adding to your vitality; besides a clean fresh bowl of produce for a healthy meal!Why not start your own indoor garden with Kim Gardens hydroponic kits?
