The Home Improvement Blog

Nothing beats the fresh wholesome taste of vegetables freshly picked from your own garden. Planting vegetable gardens can be a challenge if you don’t have a backyard, but you can still grow vegetables indoors. Just follow a few simple garden-smart guidelines.

Choose Appropriate Vegetables

Your indoor garden will have restrictions on the amount of available sunlight and space, so you will have to keep this in mind when deciding which vegetables to grow indoors. Fruit bearing plants require large amounts of sunshine which will make them difficult to grow indoors. Plants such as lettuce, swiss chard, spinach, and miniature cabbages need much less light and so thrive indoors.

The size of your pots will also determine your choice of plant, choose containers big enough for the plants full growth. Small root crops such as radishes and onions are great choices, and there are even small root carrots available. Herbs are a popular choice because they are compact and do not need much space. Miniature varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant can also thrive inside when given the proper care.

Find the Perfect Spot for Growing

If you have a south-facing window, this would be an ideal place for your indoor garden. The more sunlight your plants can get, the better. You want the plants to have a minimum of five hours of sunlight a day. If you don’t have a spot in your house that gets that much sunlight, you can always buy light bulbs that will simulate natural sunlight.

Traffic flow is also another important factor to think about. Vegetables in general bruise easily so you want to choose fairly quiet spots so minimize accidental human contact. If you have small children or pets at home, you may want to locate your garden well out of their reach. It is also important to think about proximity to your gardening tools and easy clean-up if things get messy.

Optimize the Microclimate

Plants need high humidity and moderate temperatures to grow well. Indoor gardens usually don’t have enough humidity. To fix this place a pan of gravel beneath your container to catch the excess water run off. As the water evaporates, it will increase the humidity near the plants.

It is also good to place decorative houseplants near your indoor garden. Not only will it optimize the microclimate, but it will add some beauty to your garden. Control the temperature of your garden by drawing the shades when it gets to hot. Keep your plants away from any drafts.

The Right Potting Soil Is Important

Your indoor vegetable garden needs potting soil which drains well and has the nutrients your plants need to grow and remain healthy. At your local garden center, you can buy premixed potting soil which already has the correct amount of fertilizer. You can also buy organic potting soil if you prefer. It is easy to cause fertilizer buildup in containers so use caution when adding nutrients.

Give indoor vegetable gardening a try, I’m sure you will find it to be as rewarding as I do. If you grow enough produce, you can even give some to your friends and family as gifts.

About the author: Jason Warner can teach you how to start indoor vegetable gardening which will allow you to save $500 on your food bill each and every year. Learn the right way to design an indoor vegetable garden today.

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