Indoor Container Gardening Food For Thought

Many people stick a fake tree in a corner, dust the leaves off every week, and call it indoor container gardening, but indoor container gardening has grown into much more than that lately. There are people who only plant indoors, and guess what - they make it work. Yet there are many great reasons to start an indoor garden. One I can immediately think of is the weather. It might always be cold where you live. Another is that plants don't only remove carbon dioxide from the air; they also remove many poisonous toxins and pollutants as well. So you get the benefit of indoor beauty and cleaner air.

When picking out plants for indoor container gardening, make sure the plants are adaptable and will be able to thrive in the conditions and setting in your house. Consider how much time you will be able to spend caring for the plants, how much light your house offers, and how much money you want to spend on your indoor garden. If you are short on money, then start small and use seeds or cuttings from a neighbor. If you have, some extra cash in your budget buy a plant that is grown. Also, consider whether or not you want your plant to be on display all year or for specific seasons. Herb gardens are a good thing for indoor container gardening; they are both attractive and edible. They will grow pretty quick and you won't have to wait a long time to see results. Clearly, some very popular herbs, especially for cooking up recipes, are dill, chives, thyme, sage, and gold old oregano.

When indoor container gardening, consider the amount of experience you have before choosing a plant. Hmmm, how many have you killed versus how many have you saved? Some plants take a lot more abuse that others and you just can't kill the darn things off. This is good if you are a beginner or just have a "dead thumb". You might want to choose something like Coleus, Bromeliads, or some type of Succulent.

Understand that the basic rules of maintaining and growing plants outside in general, are different in indoor container gardening. Since plants won't get the sunlight they do outdoors, lighting is essential. You must know the exact amount of light you precious plants need. I recommend picking plants that don't need a lot of light, unless you are going to provide artificial lighting. If you buy a plant already grown, wherever you get it probably has better lighting than your house so you will need to "condition" your plant and gradually reduce the light it receives. Once the plant is indoors, be sure to rotate often, so it won't grow lopsided, but will grow up nice and straight.

Just because you are indoor container gardening, don't think the plants don't have to have water; they still do. How much and how often you water, clearly depends on the plant. Take the time to learn what your plant needs or its roots will rot away. All plants can't swim. The water need to drain out from the bottom of the pot. Oh and use water that is room temperature, you don't want to shock the roots of your plants. If you want to maintain healthy plants, watch the temperature inside. A 10-15 degree range won't hurt any plants, but rapid changes could cause damage.

Indoor container gardening is not all that difficult; in fact, it is pretty much the same as outdoor. There are even some advantages to indoor container gardening. For example, you won't have to worry as much about bugs and insects bothering your plants. You also won't have to worry about wind or frost reeking havoc on your garden. Plant your plants right, and every thing will be all right.