Photos By: Unsplash

Getting indoor plants is ideal if you live in an area with intensely cold winters and your lawn isn’t that big for outdoor gardening. But for indoor plants to thrive in your home, there should be areas that can get direct or indirect sunlight for at least four hours a day. This is in addition to having the necessary indoor gardening equipment to promote the growth of the indoor plants.   

If you’re considering indoor gardening but don’t know the essential things you must consider, look no further. Here’s a guide on several valuable tips to have in mind when starting an indoor garden.  

Choose The Best Plants For Indoor Gardening 

Not all plants are ideal for indoor gardening as some, such as corn, and okra requires lots of space to grow. It would be best if you instead went for plants that are best suited for indoor gardening. These include plants that grow well in containers, need little maintenance and require low light. You also need to factor in room temperature and the time it takes for the plant to mature. 

If you’re new to indoor gardening, here are some of the plants to consider; 

• Houseplants such as ZZ plant, philodendron, dracaena, peace lily, and fiddle leaf fig
• Greens such as kale, mixed salad greens, leaf lettuce, and spinach 
• Succulents such as panda plant, Aloe Vera, sedum, and jade plant

Use An Appropriate Soil 

You should always use good potting soil for your indoor plants rather than regular garden soil. With good potting soil, you’re sure that your plants get proper moisture-holding capabilities, nutrition, and aeration. This soil also doesn’t contain microscopic pests and diseases that may destroy the plants in your indoor garden. 

It’s also best to change the potting soil from time to time. Doing this isn’t complicated as all that needs to be done is taking out the plant from the pot, pruning the root ball and placing it back into a clean pot with fresh potting soil. Suitable potting soil usually doesn’t pack down, allowing the indoor plant’s roots to grow strong and go deeper because it’s lightweight. 

Use The Right-Sized Containers 

The pot for indoor gardening needs to be deep enough to ensure the plants have enough space to keep growing. Usually, the required depth by indoor plants differs from one plant to another. Plants such as cucumbers, beans, peas, peppers and other small vine or bush plants require a soil depth at least seven inches deep. The container needs to be even deeper for root crops such as carrots, potatoes, turnips and beets, which should be around 12 inches deep to have additional room for growth. But for greens such as kale, spinach and lettuce, the container shouldn’t be that deep as around five inches would be enough to allow for root development. 

Takeaway 

For indoor plants to thrive inside your home to purify the air and add some character to your home, there are several crucial things you must do. This guide has taken you through these simple tips you must consider to ensure that your houseplants help you realize this goal. 

Photo By: Lakewinds Food Co-op

There is no better time to plant a garden and make it eco-friendly than this summer! With the pandemic and panic taking over the world, producing your own food has never been more important. Here is how you can produce your own food but also make it natural without using any types of pesticides or chemicals. We promise you, it’s easier than you think!

Conserve Precious Rain Water

Water has become one of the world’s most precious assets, and it’s become pretty expensive as well! Next time it rains, do not let rainwater go to waste rather figure out a system that will conserve it. Installing butts on every rainwater downpipe that will guide water into oak barrels or plastic tubs is a great start. Consider installing an underground tank or well that will conserve water that can be used to water your garden. If you have a flower garden that needs tons of watering in the summer, you can also use rain water to feed your flowers. If you have Dutch tulips in your garden that need lots of watering, you should definitely want to consider conserving rain water. Whatever system you do implement, it will be a smart step forward into going green and saving the planet.

Photo By: Gardopia Gardens

Consider Natural Pest Control

You don’t need to use any harsh chemicals on your garden, as there are so many natural ways to get rid of pests and disease. You can use strong jet water to knock off aphids, use copper slug rings for slug control, plant plants that ward off pests naturally such as lavender. So sit down, grab a drink, and do some research on natural pest control. You will be glad you did it, as there are many ways to ward off pests with things you may just already have in your kitchen cabinet!

Photo By: Gardening Know How

Encourage Wildlife to Do the Work For You

Slug-eating hedgehogs, worms, ladybugs, and birds are just some friendly animals waiting to do the job for you. Attract these animals with things that they like. For example, slug-eating hedgehogs and slowworms love logs and piles of leaves. Birds love food such as dried fruit, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit. Consider making a bug hotel for ladybugs that will gladly do the job for you and in the meantime, will be beautiful to look at!

Photo By: Fine Art America

Set up a Compost Pile

Homemade composts are easy to make and are very effective in recycling and feeding your garden, the natural way. You can save tons of money by simply recycling your waste and then using it as compost for your garden. You can add things such as: grass clippings, wood ash, vegetable peels, tea bags, egg boxes, leaves, shredded newspaper and cardboard to your compost pile. Then, let the worms do the work and in a few months time you should have some nice compost for your garden!

Photo By: WGLT

If you are growing a garden this summer, consider following our easy green gardening tips. With a little bit of research, creativity, and effort, you can have an eco-friendly garden in just about no time!

The spring season is exciting for gardeners because they can enjoy sun basking in their lush, green backyard. Most people anticipate spring for the warmth and freedom of utilizing your backyard against amongst other things. Spring also means the rebirth of plants and flowers and can be a positive time for animals as they welcome their young.

Spring gardening can range from simple to complex hacks that will yield excellent results. You are probably wondering where to start as a beginner. Here are a few top, simple hacks that will help transform your dreams to reality.

1) Picking Your Plants

Most people have different plants preferences. Conducting research will help you to understand the available plants in the market. You may also get to experience landscape architects and designers conduct an analysis of your premises and offer advice on the native and ornamental plants that could complement your landscape better. They could tell you which plants are best for your soil, climate, and sunlight. It is advisable to go for native plants because they require less maintenance, which is easy for any beginner.

2) Prepare Your Garden Space

You have a space where you have planned to design the picture perfect garden but is it ready? A few of the things you will need to check before giving your garden a makeover will include the availability of materials to plant and soil condition. The soil should have the right texture and PH for you to get the desired results. The soil texture and PH depends on the plant.

3) Start Small

Do not stress much as a beginner. You might want something similar to what your neighbor has but then hers was prepared the previous fall. Embrace baby steps and only move to the next level when you have managed a small portion. Your first task would be more of researching than planting. Learn as much as you can.

Also, consider other option. You might want to have your garden ready by spring, but some factors fail to align with your vision. Do not give up yet; think outside the box. The available space can also be limiting. Consider ideas such as a container water garden, spiral gardens or upcycled planter. There is immense information available online. You can use this data to mitigate some of the problems you are experiencing with your garden. Different people post DIY spring gardening ideas that are affordable to implement and maintain. Explore your options and do not give up.

4) Watering Your Plants

Once you have planted, ensure that your new plant is watered every day until it is well-established. It is easy for new seedlings to dry out fast when they lack water during their first stages. Your consistency in watering should be dependent on the soil’s humidity once the plant is grown. The climate is also essential; you may opt for watering or irrigation if it does not rain as often in your region. The primary goal is to ensure that soil is humid enough for the plant to thrive.