Improvements in plant lighting have helped indoor gardens grow by leaps and bounds. Today it’s possible to produce large quantities of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, succulents and all kinds of beautiful flowers in your own home all year round! Here, we discuss the latest news and information related to grow lights and hydroponics to houseplants and plant propagation.
Indoor Gardens
Container grown plants dry out quickly and require more water than their backyard counterparts growing in open soil. This is because potting soil is often lighter and less compact than regular garden soil and the water holding capacity around the plant is determined by the size of the container. Watering potted plants once a day or even twice daily may be necessary, especially if the weather turns hot and windy or your containers are in full sunlight. Watch closely, and check moisture levels often. If the growing media appears pale or cracked, or feels dry below the soil’s surface, it’s time to water.
The easiest way to water container plants is with a watering can or gentle hose. However, when you water make sure that you are watering the soil and not just the plant’s leaves. Continue watering until it runs out the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. The idea is to water thoroughly but allow enough time between waterings for the soil to begin drying out. A moisture meter, available at many garden centers, can be used to instantly determine when to water your plants. If the potting mix remains soggy for too long, air will be forced away from the roots and your plants may suffocate or drown. (more…)
All gardeners know better than other gardeners. – Chinese Proverb
Whether you purchase plants in beautiful new planters or plastic nursery pots, there comes a time when they will need to be repotted. Fortunately, planting in pots is relatively easy.
Prior to planting, carefully clean out the container you intend to use with warm soapy water and rinse well. This is especially important if reusing older containers, as dirty pots may harbor insect eggs and disease spores. If using terra-cotta containers, rinsing and soaking with water will have the added benefit of saturating the many tiny pores in the clay, preventing them from wicking moisture away from the soil.
Now that your container is clean and ready for planting, you’ll need something to fill it with — besides the plant, that is. I recommend purchasing a quality potting mix, or you can make your own potting soil. What you’re looking for is a growing medium that is light and fast-draining, yet contains enough organic matter to hold moisture and nutrients. If you want, you can muscle up your potting mix by adding a balanced, slow-release organic fertilizer and water absorbing granules. (more…)
Nothing can be created out of nothing. - Lucretius, 99 – 55 B.C.
As with any garden, soil preparation is what really counts when it comes to being successful growing in containers. It’s the foundation. It’s the staff of life. Pick your life-giving metaphor and you get the idea.
In other words, select the right potting mix recipe for your plants and they will thrive. Skimp on the soil and you’ll get weak, non-productive plants that require more work to maintain and are susceptible to all kinds of pest problems.
What is the perfect mix? That depends. Every professional gardener has his own “secret” recipe just like every Italian grandmother has her own way of making tomato sauce. However, most experts agree that a good container medium should be lightweight and drain well, yet contain enough organic matter to hold moisture and nutrients even through hot, dry weather. You can purchase a quality potting mix or you can make your own. (more…)
More grows in the garden than the gardener sows. - Chinese Proverb
Just about any plant can be grown in a pot as long as its basic growing requirements are met. You can grow fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, shrubs and small trees almost anywhere. Container plants add beauty to all kinds of areas and flourish on windowsills, patios, balconies, doorways, inside greenhouses and even on rooftops. The possibilities are endless.
When selecting plants for pots, it’s important to decide where the plants will be grown. Is the site sunny or shady? The #1 factor influencing container garden success is matching the amount of available sunlight with plants that thrive in that environment. Check plant labels or seed packets, and if arranging several plants together make sure that sun-loving plants are grouped with sun lovers and shade-loving plants are planted with shade lovers.
With that said, it’s apparent that some plants are naturally better suited to growing in containers than others. To help reduce the confusion and increase your gardening pleasure, I’ve put together a “pretty close to accurate” sampling of top container plants. Please consult seed catalogs for plant varieties developed especially for container gardening. (more…)
Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. – Mrs. C.W. Earle
When choosing pots for plants … be creative! Try anything from an old boot, to that 16th century Baroque urn you just “had to have.” Just about anything can be used as a pot for plants providing it drains well (roots will rot in soggy soil) and doesn’t get too hot sitting in the sun. If the pot you select doesn’t have enough drainage holes, make sure to drill at least one “good-sized” hole for every gallon of soil used. If you can’t drill or punch holes into a particular planter, you can sometimes work around this, by planting in a separate pot and setting it inside the container you prefer.
When selecting a pot, it’s important to consider the size of the plant — or plants — you will be growing. Yes, size does matter! If the pot is too small, plants will quickly become rootbound and the soil will not be able to hold enough moisture between waterings. Plants that are allowed to dry out, or wilt, will not be productive.
Tip: Choose containers in proper proportion to the size of the plant. A container that is about one-third as tall as the plant (measured from the soil line to the highest leaf) often works best. (more…)
There are few things more satisfying than watching those little seeds you planted not so long ago, slowly spring from the earth to form nourishing vitamin rich food for you and the people you love. Sadly, in this day and age, not everyone has a big backyard with soil suited for growing vegetables. Some of us don’t have any yard at all! However, even the smallest patio, back porch, balcony or doorstep can provide enough room for a beautiful and productive container garden.
There are many wonderful reasons for gardening in containers. Not only does growing crops in pots allow you to have a portable garden that can be moved to create any effect you want, but they can be brought inside as soon as the weather turns cold for a fresh, year round supply of flowers, vegetables and herbs.
Planters are particularly great if you live in the city. For inspiration, one needs only to turn to the roof-top gardener’s of New York City. Working with a limited amount of space they have transformed these areas, using an assortment of garden supplies, potting mixes and various plants, into lush getaways high above the din and chaos of the city. (more…)
One of the great things about gardening — in addition to creating beautiful landscapes and delicious, healthy food — is its educational opportunities. Your friendly Planet Natural blogger has gardened on and off since my childhood some (garbled) years ago and I learn something new almost every time I pick up a how-to book, talk to a companion gardener, or get my hands in the dirt. Best are the things that I once knew nothing about and, as I explore them further, result in deepening levels of understanding and wonder. Current example? Mycorrhiza.
Mycorrhizal fungi are beneficial soil organisms that attach themselves to the roots of plants — almost 95% of the world’s growing things have a symbiotic reationship with mycorrhiza – and help them facilitate the uptake of water and nutrients. I first came aware of mycorrhizal fungi when pursuing hydroponic gardening a few years back. Hydroponic gardeners add mycorrhizal fungi innoculants to their growing solutions to encourage quick and vibrant growth. Some soil boosters also contain them. That’s good as far as it goes. (more…)
It’s been over a year since I moved from Montana to the sunny and somewhat warmer (or considerably, depending on the day) climes of Northern New Mexico. Despite the passing of those 13 months, I still mourn the loss of my rosemary. After all, we’d grown close considering all the time I’d spent moving them around, indoors and out, to avoid the coldest weather but to guarantee they had enough sun. They provided many a sprig or just a flat leaf or three (rosemary, as all cooks know, is strongly flavored) to slide in under the skin of chicken or to flavor a pork roast stew.
I carefully packed my two deeply-potted plants when we left and tucked them into the back of the hatchback with the dog for the long trip. They survived it just fine (the dog, too). I had the perfect new home for them, a sun porch with southwest exposure. They seemed happy enough for a while but then started to wilt. I figured the sun was drying them out and gave them more water. Big mistake. (more…)
It’s never to early to start thinking about those holiday gifts you’ll be buying even if, like your friendly Planet Natural Blogger, you’re a last minute shopper. (Remember… we said we’re only thinking about holiday gifts… the buying still comes last minute.) Because we ascribe to the idea that knowledge is power, especially when it comes to gardening, we often choose books to give to our nearest and dearest. Here’s a new book that we think is especially suited for, well, just about anyone. Tovah Martin’s The Unexpected Houseplant is a fascinating and refreshing way to look at the growing things we raise indoors. It’s perfect for those who already decorate their homes with green things as well as those who don’t but might like to.
Martin is a Connecticut-based, organic gardener who write extensively on the craft of growing things. Her previous book is The New Terrarium: Creating Beautiful Display for Plants and Nature. She’s also a busy blogger — check out plantwise.com — and she’s published in magazines ranging from Horticulture to Country Gardens. More than just a gardener, Martin is a crusader for growing and the gardening life-style. Her books aren’t simple how-to’s but seek to convert readers to gardening with their not-so-subtle emphasis on aesthetics and gardening as lifestyle. “I’m doing my best to demonstrate how plants can changer your psyche when you welcome them into your life,” she writes in the introduction to The Unexpected Houseplant. And that includes welcoming them inside your home as well as outdoors. (more…)
Here’s a trick question: What’s the single most important factor when growing indoors? The answer is, of course, that there’s no single factor that determines success. Plant lighting, temperature, water, potting conditions and nutrients all play an inter-related role. All are crucial. You can’t separate one from the other. You may have perfect light in religiously timed and measured lumens. But if your plants don’t have enough moisture, or they’re exposed to extreme temperature variations, well, all that money you spent on lights is wasted. Likewise, if you put plants out on your sun porch — plenty of light! — but the dead-of-winter sun shines in only six hours each day, your plants will do little but maintain (if that). Worse, if that six hours of sunlight heats the room beyond what the plant can bear — or if it loses a lot of heat through all that glass at night — your plants will be lucky to survive the variations let alone flourish.
Forget the trick questions. Instead, we offer this absolute statement: The most wide-spread misconception concerning indoor plant lighting is that your plants will do fine in a sunny windowsill. “Growing” is the key word here. You may be able to overwinter houseplants or a potted herb or two in a sunny window. But for growth? You need to recreate the complete, concentrated, and long light conditions that plants experience outdoors during the summer. (more…)
Subscribe
Grab our RSS feed.
Copyright © 2004-2012