Getting Started:
Don’t Get Overwhelmed
Hanging up the garden hat for the winter is difficult for
most gardeners, but for indoor gardeners, the change in temperature is simply
the beginning of a new and different season! With all the meters, nutrients,
and systems, indoor gardening can seem intimidating at first, but if you keep
in mind certain fundamentals, you’ll be eating home grown veggies or decorating
your home with fresh flowers in no time!
New Considerations
Whether you’re choosing to grow in soil or a hydroponic
system, the most important concept to understand is that you control everything about your indoor garden’s environment. Seasons
don’t matter as much, unexpected rainfalls (or droughts!) won’t get you down,
and you may never have to deal with pests if you take proper precautions (such
as washing your hands and keeping pets out of the growing room).
Before you start your indoor garden, take a few moments to
jot down your intentions. Are you looking to grow flowering, fruiting, or
vegetative plants? Tomatoes take larger, sturdier setups than do small heads of
lettuce. Measure out the space you’ve designated for your indoor garden so that
you know how much light you will need—square and rectangle spaces in well
ventilated rooms work best! Ideally, rooms should have access to a water source
and drain for easier watering and reservoir upkeep if you choose to grow
hydroponically. Proper ventilation and air flow is important for keeping
temperature and humidity in check and having oscillating fans in your growing
area will even help strengthen plants. A good rule of thumb is if the indoor
environment is uncomfortable for you, it’s likely uncomfortable for your plants
as well.
Soil Growing
Container growing with soil indoors isn’t much different
from its outdoor counterpart. But, there are a couple things to keep in mind if
you choose to keep growing in soil:
- If
you’re bringing soil in from outside, you should test the pH level and
make sure it is suitable for your plants—typically plants look for a
slightly acidic medium, around 6.0. If you purchase potting soil from a
store, it’s likely already pH buffered, so you won’t have to worry about
testing.
- Be
sure to empty out the saucers or trays that gather excess water regularly,
so that stagnated water won’t be reabsorbed into the plant roots. If you
have many indoor plants, consider placing them all in a grow tray with a
drainage grid and set the drain over a small bucket for easy water
disposal.
Hydroponic Growing
Getting started with your first hydroponic system will
require a little extra setup, but the rewards are truly worth the effort.
Hydroponic gardening uses 60-90% less water than soil growing, and yields
faster, and oftentimes better, results because of the completely controlled
environment. Important factors to consider when starting a hydroponic garden
are:
- What
type of system and media should you use? There are several types of
popular hydroponic systems that vary in price, size, and technical
difficulty. Growing media choices vary by plant and system.
- Just
as an outdoor garden, make sure you have time to check on a hydroponic
garden at least once a day. You’ll need to test the pH of the
water/nutrient solution daily with a meter or good old fashioned litmus
paper test, and check the TDS (total dissolved solids) level to help you
maintain the proper concentration of nutrients (if a TDS meter seems too
daunting, this is an advanced step that can be skipped). You’ll also have
to drain, clean, and refresh the water and nutrient reservoir once every
two weeks.
- Nutrient
packages will vary by plant and system. There are endless online resources
on which nutrients are best to use at different stages in the plant’s
life, and Worm’s Way is always willing to talk to you about which
nutrients your indoor garden will benefit most from.
Should I DIY?
Some gardeners are off put by the expensive equipment they
see online and in the store, and wish to pursue a DIY option instead. We don’t
recommend making your own lighting systems because they are not always safe and
reliable, and the materials needed can often be just as expensive as purchasing
a small grow light at an indoor garden store. However, as far as DIY hydroponic
systems go, you can
upcycle
two liter bottles to make a very simple passive system, or for larger
plants, you can use a
five
gallon bucket and a small air pump.
If DIY is out of the question, but you still want to stick
to a small budget, we recommend the Sunleaves
Garden of
Ease, the
VitaLUME
Compact Fluorescent, and a
Lightwave Fluorescent Fixture—all
together, they’ll make a great system for under $130. But whatever your
approach to indoor gardening, don’t let yourself get overwhelmed! Indoor
gardening can be as easy or as complicated as you make it. You may have to pick
up a few new habits, but hey—as gardeners, we’re prepared for anything, right?
Happy Indoor Gardening!
Join us Monday October 1, 2012 when we welcome @wormsway as our guest host on #gardencchat Twitter
Don't miss out on the product giveaway being featured on this blog from Worms Way Group later this week!
