Any advice for starting a small, indoor garden?

2 comments

1. The basics for indoor garden are: good potting soil, good light. Even though most houseplants are OK in a low light environment, they’ll still need adequate lighting to grow; plants tend to grow “leggy” (tall but not healthy), if they don’t get enough light. Start with one or two plants, then go from there. The containers you pick should have good drainage. One thing I’ve learned is to layer from the bottom of the pot: charcoal (especially made for house plants), pebbles, more charcoal then the potting soil. Don’t mix your potting soil with outdoor soil. For a quick and easy display, find a small potted plant (perhaps a 3-4 inch pot), and put in inside a glass display case. I’ve found them at craft stores, usually they’ll have a wood base, about 4 inches round, with a glass dome (looks like an inverted glass flower vase). I like to water heavily once a week; I take them to the sink and water until the water flows out the pot if there are drainage holes. If you use a close-bottom container, I’d just use a dropper to water just until all the soil in the container gets moist but not soggy. If you have a large budget for this project, you might try the Aerogarden. It’s a system you plug in and it’s soil-free system to grow flowers, herbs, etc. I’ve seen it at QVC and some kitchen stores.

2. The most important factor in an indoor garden is choosing plants that can survive the low light that is typically available in indoor situations. You can learn about proper watering, fertilizing, trimming, repotting and propogation; but if your setting doesn’t provide enough light, your garden will look leggy, faded and sad.

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