Growing Vegetables Indoors For Fresh Produce All Year Long
So you've done some container gardening on your balcony or patio, and you've even raised some vegetables along with flowers and herbs. But what if you've enjoyed the experience so much that you don't want it to stop through the course of the winter months? Is it possible to create a container garden inside as well as out?
Indeed it is, at least to a certain extent, but there are a few prerequisites. You might not be surprised to discover that the most important of these is sunlight. Should you possess a sunny window, preferably facing south, this will be the very first ingredient in your container garden's success. You might also require a fluorescent lamp that you can concentrate on particular vegetables, like tomatoes and peppers, to produce enough light so they don't grow spindly or fail to grow fruit.
Up to a point, you'll be able to prepare the containers similar to the way you would for an outdoor garden, with the right soil mix, ample drainage, and so on. On the other hand, these pots are likely to be quite a bit smaller, and being indoors during the winter, they may not get as much humidity as they require. One method to work around this could be to set your pots in large trays instead of on saucers, sitting on a layer of small stones, and have water in the trays. This should not only help them access water as they need it, but it will increase the humidity that surrounds them too. Another distinction between outdoor and indoor containers is going to be that you'll require less fertilizer, because the vegetables will grow more slowly while in the house.
The selection of plants will certainly be more limited than in an outdoor container garden. However, you can grow tomatoes, radishes and small peppers, certain types of lettuce, and a range of herbs. Besides the standard herbs such as sage, basil, and thyme, you can grow cilantro, parsley and chives too. It's possible to grow these in six-inch containers on a windowsill.
Radishes will almost certainly be the fastest growing vegetable to start with. Take a six- or eight-inch container and scatter seeds on the damp soil, then cover with another 1/4 inch of soil. To help the seeds sprout quickly, try a "greenhouse" effect, either by placing some glass over the container to preserve moisture or stretching some plastic wrap over it until the seeds have germinated.
Small peppers, tomatoes, and various kinds of lettuce will thrive indoors, but must have sunny, warm conditions. With the peppers and tomatoes, you'll want to watch out for whiteflies and aphids, and eliminate them with insecticidal soap or another form of pesticide when they first appear. You should manage to harvest both tomatoes and peppers approximately ten weeks after planting. Carrots with small roots can also be grown indoors.
Your choices of veggies will be more limited with indoor pots than with outdoor, and you'll have to guarantee the necessary conditions for their growth. Yet you can still have at least a partial garden to sustain you during the wintertime, and remind you of the many possibilities for your outside container garden in the approaching spring.
If you're serious about indoor gardening, you might want to consider hydroponic gardening using water instead of soil. Click here for some helpful advice on using a hydroponic greenhouse and what to look for in an indoor grow tent.
