Indoor Gardening

Indoor gardening can be fun and fulfilling especially when you harvest your first crop. It will be good for those who hate the sun, have bad backs, and hate weed control.
They can be planted in plastic or ceramic containers, the latter being the favorite. Make sure there is good drainage. Soil needs to be lightweight and drains well. An equal amount, by volume, of silica, sand, native soil and peat moss or compost should be used.

Hanging containers are nice, but a different mixture should be used which is equal parts of perlite, black peat moss and vermiculite. These can be purchased at some nurseries at a higher cost. Lightly pack the soil and leave 1-2 inches at the top for watering. Use the outdoor planting schedule to sew your seeds. Thin the plants when they come up and make sure you allow room for bigger plants. Broccoli and squash make big plants. Cherry tomatoes will make a nice plant since they keep on growing as you harvest them.

The primary ingredient for the indoor gardener is lighting. Nothing beats sunlight so be sure to monitor the amount of light each plant gets and take advantage of any light available. Some gardeners use halogen lights or incandescent light. Watering is also important and make sure the hose reaches all the plants easily. It is good to make it appear like the rain falling. One downfall is the short light hours in the winter meaning more indoor lighting in needed.