Indoor Gardens for Decoration and Function (Part 4 of 4)

Now that we’ve gone over a few of the basics of starting a successful indoor garden at home such as lighting requirements, container options, and general watering tips, it’s time to delve into the important subject of fertilization. Many people spend the time and money to acquire and attempt to grow plants without ever considering that they need to be fed as well as watered.

Just like lighting, watering, and containers, fertilizer requirements will vary from plant to plant. Most generally, plants with a faster grow rate such as tomatoes and many other vegetables, will require a more frequent fertilizing than plants with a slower growth rate, which in some cases, do not even require fertilizer.

Fertilizer comes in liquid, pebble, sticks, powders, etc., as well as many other forms and application types. You will want to read the instructions carefully to insure that you do not over fertilize. If you decide to go with many of the available liquid fertilizers, be sure to double check the label to see if the mix is concentrated. If so, carefully follow the dilution instructions to ensure you don’t shock the plant. Never believe that more fertilizer is always better! One tell-tell sign of too much fertilization is dried or burned leaves.

Now that we have gone over the technical aspects, the only other important thing to keep in mind is that gardening indoors, much like outdoor gardening, is a chore as well as a hobby. This will require your patience, care, and the ability to go through the trials and tribulations of starting a new venture. The more research you do, and the dirtier your hands get, the better. And once you are done, you can sit back and enjoy your living decorative environment that will spruce up any bland or stagnant room with lush greenery for many years to come, as well as provide vegetables and fresh herbs for meals your family will love.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.

Indoor Gardens for Decoration and Function (Part 3 of 4)

When considering containers to use for indoor gardening, function is just as important, if not more so than style. When you buy most plants in stores and greenhouses, they will come with a tag on them that indicates lighting and watering requirements, as well as full-size growth expectancy. This is important to keep in mind when providing containers.

Root systems for many plants need much more room to grow within the soil than you might imagine. It is always good to do research about the plant species you are buying to ensure that you aren’t planting it in a container that will restrict it’s root growth and size potential. If it is a fast growing plant, you’ll want to re-pot it in a larger container when the time comes. Usually you will be able to tell that your plant needs a container upgrade when there is a change in growth rate or if you notice that the bottom leaves are dying. This can sometimes indicate that the container is restricting the rooting system from freely growing and is starting to tangle and choke itself with its own roots, cutting off much-needed nutrients to parts of the plant.

This brings us to watering your indoor plant garden(s). Just like lighting and growth container requirements, every plant species has individualized water needs. The internet has an abundance of information for every plant out there, so do a little research for the plants you’re buying to ensure that you don’t drown or parch your new living home inhabitants. With this being said, the general rule is that you should water your indoor garden much in the same way that you would an outdoor one. Generally, most plants suitable for indoor gardening should have slightly moist soil at most all times, although be careful not to over water as this could cause your new plants to drown. Some plants tend to do better if you allow enough time to pass for the first inch or two of the soil to become dried out, followed by a thorough watering.

Next time we will discuss the last, but not least, important aspect of fertilization.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.

Indoor Gardens for Decoration and Function (Part 2 of 4)

We discussed last time that natural lighting is the cheapest and most obvious sources of light for your indoor gardening efforts. Due to your living location, situation or other circumstances, you might not get enough “window light” for plants that require more sun. If you don’t get good lighting where you plan on growing, a good but slightly more expensive option is to use a strong artificial light source setup such as metal halide, halogen or sodium lighting fixtures. Keep in mind, going this route can require a bit of money and some know-how to install and keep these systems and components functioning properly.

The next thing to consider for your green thumb efforts are the types of containers you will be using for this endeavor. Container gardening has become very popular due to many city dwellers’ desire to be able to grow a garden despite having no outdoor area to grow in. Another great thing about container gardening is that the containers themselves are very mobile and can moved around to adjust to their proper lighting requirement.

When it comes to container selection, the sky is the limit. Many people use antique baskets and planters, coffee mugs (for starter plants or smaller herbs), pottery, coffee tins, watering cans or basically anything that can hold soil and drain water properly. A big consideration will be to ensure that the containers selected will complement the style, colors and feel of your indoor decorating situation. Beautiful artisan glazed planting pottery has become more and more popular as indoor gardening interest increases, and more often than not, these types of containers will come with a matching saucer to put under the container to catch any excess water draining. Nothing can boost the appearance of a beautiful Dracaena Spike plant in your family room like an equally attractive and fitting container that will help to spruce up your home in the meantime.

Next time, we’ll talk a little bit about appropriate container sizes and watering requirements.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.

Indoor Gardens for Decoration and Function (Part 2 of 4)

We discussed last time that natural lighting is the cheapest and most obvious sources of light for your indoor gardening efforts. Due to your living location, situation or other circumstances, you might not get enough “window light” for plants that require more sun. If you don’t get good lighting where you plan on growing, a good but slightly more expensive option is to use a strong artificial light source setup such as metal halide, halogen or sodium lighting fixtures. Keep in mind, going this route can require a bit of money and some know-how to install and keep these systems and components functioning properly.

The next thing to consider for your green thumb efforts are the types of containers you will be using for this endeavor. Container gardening has become very popular due to many city dwellers’ desire to be able to grow a garden despite having no outdoor area to grow in. Another great thing about container gardening is that the containers themselves are very mobile and can moved around to adjust to their proper lighting requirement.

When it comes to container selection, the sky is the limit. Many people use antique baskets and planters, coffee mugs (for starter plants or smaller herbs), pottery, coffee tins, watering cans or basically anything that can hold soil and drain water properly. A big consideration will be to ensure that the containers selected will complement the style, colors and feel of your indoor decorating situation. Beautiful artisan glazed planting pottery has become more and more popular as indoor gardening interest increases, and more often than not, these types of containers will come with a matching saucer to put under the container to catch any excess water draining. Nothing can boost the appearance of a beautiful Dracaena Spike plant in your family room like an equally attractive and fitting container that will help to spruce up your home in the meantime.

Next time, we’ll talk a little bit about appropriate container sizes and watering requirements.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.