Wednesday, January 04, 2006

So You Want To Start An Indoor Garden?

If you are an avid fan of gardening, and get bummed out every year when fall comes because you are losing some of your favorite plants, then perhaps you should consider having a small indoor garden in your home for the fall and winter months.

Just think about it for a minute before you throw the idea away; you could grow some nice flowers, some of your favorite herbs, or even try and grow some tomatoes. The possibilities of a indoor garden are only limited to the amount of money you wish to put into such a project.

The first thing you have to decide with your indoor garden is how big you wish it to be. Indoor gardens can range from only a few pots to an entire room, a greenhouse if you wish to call it full of various plants.

Once you decide on how big you want your little indoor gardening adventure to be, you have to sit down and really think hard about what types of plant you will want to grow in your indoor garden. This could be a really trick part because you will have to do a little research on each plant to make sure they will be able to grow in your indoor garden area. While you are deciding on what types of plants you will be growing in your indoor garden area, it is also importance to make a list of the equipment and supplies you will need to help the plants along in their life cycles.

You are of course going to need the plants or seeds, soil and the nutrients. Other smaller things that you will need include pots and tools. You will also have to think about the lighting and temperature situation in your growing area. Will a lot of sunlight be available to the plants, or will you have to introduce artificial lighting? If you are going to have to go with artificial lighting you will have to do a lot of research on how much lighting your plants will need and what type of lighting you will need to have to purchase.

Make sure you look over your budget and the costs of the above items. Make sure you will have the extra money to purchase additional items that you might have forgot to list on your list. It does not make a lot of sense to go out and spend a couple hundred dollars on garden supplies, and have your garden fail because you went over your budget and did not have any more money to spend on plant food.


Once you have your list of plants and supplies ready, along with your indoor garden area budget all figured out, then you are ready to go out and actually purchase all the materials that you had wrote down for your indoor garden area.


If you have never had a garden before than you probably do not have the basic tools that you will need to have in order to start your indoor garden area. You can pick up gardening tools year round at home improvement stores such as Lowes and Home Depot. The only problem is that the selection of merchandise will be quite small and you will probably be paying a lot more than some items than you would be if you had purchased them during the spring or summer.

Soil will also be a difficult item to find in the winter. Again check with large home improvement stores such as Lowes or Home Depot. If you live in an area that has a gardening store open year round than check them out for your soil needs.

Seeds and plants will be very difficult to find unless you live near a specialty gardening store. If you do not live near such a place, then your next best bet would be the internet. Lots of small gardening stores have websites that will sell you the desired seeds you wish to obtain. The best part about purchasing seeds from the internet is that you can easily compare prices with several retailers, instead of just having to purchase seeds from one specific gardening store. Once you get your seeds and all of your supplies, you can actually start your indoor garden!

So if you are a seasoned gardener who is looking for a way to continue your favorite hobby in the winter, or just someone who is looking for a new hobby, then perhaps you too can start an indoor garden during the cold fall and winter months.

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