27Dec/110
Indoor Gardens for Small Urban Spaces
When I was living in a small studio apartment in New York City, friends used to wonder why I always kept the curtains closed -- until they saw my view. My one window overlooked the back wall of another building, and it wasn't a pretty sight. But curtains are just one solution for covering up a less than inspiring view. Another is to create an indoor garden in your urban home.
If you've never had a garden before, don't worry. Employees at a florist shop or plant nursery usually have a wealth of information that they are more than happy to share. You can help them make informed suggestions for your future garden by doing a little home research before you go. Here are a few things to consider:
Light or Shady? Some plants need lots of sunlight. Some prefer shade. So make a study of the site of your planned garden. How many hours of sunlight does it get? Is that light strong and direct, or is the light blocked by other buildings? Is the average temperature hot and dry, dark and damp, or something in between?
High or Low Maintenance? Urban gardener, know thyself. How much time do you want to devote to your new green friends? It's important to be realistic because although some hardy plants need just a little water and light to thrive, others are more finicky and will shrivel up and die if they don't get exactly the right care.
Stationary or Climbing the Walls? Most people think of potted plants when they think of indoor gardens, but why not let your imagination soar? If you dare, use that old curtain rod as a support for a trailing vine to add color and interest to your windows.
Lemon or Lime? Just because you live in an urban environment doesn't mean you can't have a small orchard growing in your home. Ask your local plant expert about how to install temperature and light controls if your apartment isn't naturally warm and sunny. And by the way, bonsai trees are another great option for small spaces.
With so many indoor gardening choices you can turn even the smallest of urban spaces into an oasis of green. Just take a few minutes to observe the light and climate conditions of your future garden's site. Then consult with your local gardening experts to get that indoor garden growing in your home.
By: Lara Fine
27Dec/110
Indoor Gardening
In these days, indoor garden is gaining increasing popularity. More and more people go for an indoor garden. Undoubtedly, indoor garden has many benefits.
Indoor garden can make your house look beautiful. Meanwhile, you feel good with the beautiful scenery to enjoy everyday. Indoor gardening could be good for you.
The plants you grow can remove carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air, which is good for your health for the pollutants are removed from your environment.
The benefits of indoor gardening just keep growing. These are some of the plants known to contribute to healthy air quality in our homes, buildings, and offices. Some plants may be better than others are but all plants clean the air as they beautify our surroundings and add oxygen and humidity to the indoor environment.
Therefore, when you are choosing what you will plan, you should be considerable. There are a variety of plants you can choose from. But before you go, you should make clear which plants are fit to grow in house. Some plants will not grow indoors.
If you are not an outdoorsy type of person, indoor gardening is just for you. With indoor gardening, you are unlikely to encounter with the insect, which is common in outdoor gardening.
Indoor gardening may be helpful in relieving your stress and depression. When you are in bad mood, you might as well spend some time on your indoor garden. The fresh plants and the vitality they show may make you out of your bad mood. You may get encouragement from these living things.
By: Tina Cindy
19Dec/110
Indoor Gardening – Growing Herbs and Spices You Can Cook With
If you enjoy cooking, no doubt you know that herbs and spices provide you with a great way to add fragrance and flavor to the meals that you cook. However, purchasing them all the time can get pretty expensive. The great news is that it doesn't take much space to grown your own spices and herbs, so many people decide to raise their own inside. This way you can easily get to and use your plants, and with a minimum amount of care, you can have some wonderful herbs and spices that are sure to "spice" up the cooking that occurs in your kitchen.
The Difference Between Herbs and Spices
Many people don't realize that there is actually quite a difference between herbs and spices. Herbs are considered to be plants that are herbaceous without stems that are woody and they have leaves that are provide flavor and fragrance. Some of the most common herbs grown for cooking purposes include mint, oregano, cilantro, sage, thyme, chives, basil, and rosemary. Spices are known as the dried leaves, blossoms, fruits, berries, or the seeds that come from a plant, so they are a bit different.
Why Use Herbs?
Wondering why you should grow and use herbs? Well, they have the benefit of adding great flavor to dishes without any calories, salt, or fat. Some of them add nutrients and vitamins to the foods as well. However, if you purchase spices and herbs from the store that are not fresh, they often don't have the flavor that fresh ones do. Fresh herbs can be expensive as well. So, doing some indoor gardening and growing your own herbs and spices allows you to have them whenever you want without spending a lot of money.
Using Garden Containers
You'll find that most herbs and spices don't have to have a lot of space to grow. Many of them have roots that are very shallow and you just need some nice pots that you can put in your home. Strawberry pots work well, window boxes are great, and small home pots can be used. Even wall planters and hanging baskets provide a great way to grow these herbs and spaces without taking up too much room in your home.
The Medium for Growing
You definitely need to consider the medium for growing when it comes to herbs and spices. Usually you only need a medium that is lightweight because they need plenty off air circulation as well as great drainage. This makes it pretty easy for you to transplant as well. Usually it's best to use potting soil, peat moss, sand, and perlite to make the perfect medium for them to grow in.
Tips for Cultivation
When cultivating your herbs and spices, you'll want to make sure that you have them in an area where they will get direct sunlight for about 6 hours each day. If you don't get enough sun, fluorescent light can be used to help out. They should be watered on a regular basis, but it should be done lightly. The soil should not be muddy or dry, but it should be kept slightly damp.
By: Whitney Segura
19Dec/110
Using LED Grow Lights With Your Indoor Garden
With the surge of popularity for more organic foods, consumers have been looking for ways to grow some of their food inside. For urban people that have no yard, but sometimes have an unused room or two, or even an empty garage, can sometimes have the extra space to grow some food, but lighting is always an issue. For those trying indoor gardening, LED grow lights are a great way to provide the proper light to your plants.
An LED grow light not only uses less electricity than other lights, it is capable of burning for a lot longer period of time and is just as bright. They can also be easily adjusted for the correct amount of light, and can be rigged more easily to a home computer or even cell phone so as to only shine when you schedule them to. Because an LED light has a more limited radius than other bulbs, it can even be used around plants that thrive on less sunlight even though it is just a few feet away. As they are also less likely to cause fires when compared to incandescent bulbs, they are great for beginners.
There are some interesting issues that indoor gardening may bring to your life when using grow lights. The most interesting one is that law enforcement may occasionally take an interest in your house due to increases in local temperature (police helicopters see houses with a lot of indoor plants on thermographic cameras, which signals marijuana growing), so it may not be a bad idea to let the local police what is going in case complaints do come up. Otherwise, growing your own plants is a great idea, and can save you hundreds in your food bills each year, especially if you manage to grow a good mix of vegetables, herbs, and spices. Just make sure that your water frequently and pay your electric bills, and you should do just fine.
By: Van Gordon
16Dec/110
Small Area Indoor Gardening Using Containers
Gardening is a hobby that is growing in popularity. Many garden enthusiasts enjoy spending their time growing herbs, flowers, vegetable, and fruit indoors throughout the year. You can gain a true sense of accomplishment when you create beautiful flowers, heirloom tomatoes or fresh basil after few months or even weeks of caring for your garden.
Besides providing nutritious food and pleasant aromas, indoor gardens can also add life and beauty to a room and has been said to add a layer of comfort and warmth to the residents of the home. Indoor plants are great for providing oxygen and improved air quality in a home or office.
There are many types of indoor gardens that could be designed. You could have a vegetable garden, flower garden, herb garden, hanging gardens, fruit gardens and bonsai gardens. You can also mix and match any and all of the above to your liking.
As with the many projects, there are necessary supplies that you will need in order to enjoy garden success. There are plenty of tools available to help you make your plants and flowers grow bigger, stronger and faster. The most important element that needs to be replaced indoors is the sun. The proper grow lights are critical to your garden success. There are a variety of lights specifically made to grow plants including fluorescent, high intensity discharge (HID) and LED grow lights.
No Room For An Indoor Garden?
Containers and small pots can be used to grow plants on counter tops, windowsills or you can stack them in a shelving system to save room and allow you to organize your plants vertically. Container gardening is also useful when you need to move the plants around for even light coverage or to clean your grow area.
When choosing containers for your indoor garden, you will find that there are lots of sizes, designs, and colors of containers and pots to choose from. Using plastic containers for your plants is economical, however, many people like the look of hand crafted clay containers for their plants. Some gardeners use all kinds of items found around the house. You can use containers that are very attractive and give a very natural look to the room. There are some great wooden containers made to look like old whiskey barrels that are another great choice for indoor gardening containers.
Indoor gardening is a fun and satisfying hobby and there is a lot of great information on the Internet for the beginner and even the seasoned gardener to learn from. There are also scores of manufacturers offering basic and high-tech devices and tools help the indoor gardening enthusiast to get professional results out of their plants.
By: Rion Piccaro
5Dec/110
An Indoor Herb Garden Will Give You Year Round Pleasure
Indoor herb gardening is not only simple to do, it gives everyone the option of growing their own fragrant herbs year round.
And because the size of the container can be tailored to fit any windowsill, indoor gardening is a perfect option even for those who live in tiny apartments.
It can literally be done anywhere that you have good sun exposure.
Not only can herbs gardening be done in any type of home, indoor gardening also gives you the option of maintaining and benefiting from your plants year round.
Unlike traditional outdoor gardens where nature is in charge, you control the climate for your indoor garden and with the right touch you can keep your plants growing all year long.
Why bother with indoor herb gardening at all?
It's actually quite easy to start an indoor garden, all you need is a large container that is six inches deep or a series of individual six inch pots, soilless potting mixture and either seedlings or seed packets.
Plant your seedlings or your seeds and set them on a windowsill with southern exposure and you should see results in very little time.
Of course, you may have to adjust the climate conditions to keep your plants happy.
Most herbs require at least four hours a day of sunshine and they don't do well in temperature extremes, so if you do opt for herbs gardening inside, make sure not to set up your garden near a heater or your stove.
And in most cases you won't want to over water either.? Just keep your herbs reasonably moist and they should respond very well.
Herbs are among the easiest plants to grow, whether indoors or out, making indoor herb gardening one of the most pleasant experiences for even the novice gardener.
And not only will you have the satisfaction of watching your plants grow, you'll be able to reap the rewards of their fragrant smell and delicious taste.
Nothing can quite compare to using your own fresh grown herbs to add zip to your favorite recipes.? Whether it's basil in your homemade tomato sauce or rosemary spicing up your chicken or a fresh sprig of mint in a glass of lemonade, herbs can brighten up almost any dish.
And herbs gardening gives you a wonderful way to take advantage of these extraordinary culinary helpers.
In today's economy, there is an extra advantage to doing your own indoor herb gardening.
Not only can you be assured that herbs directly from your garden are fresh and pesticide free, they are much more affordable than packaged or "organic" herbs you find at most supermarkets.? So why pay extra for something you can easily grow yourself?
Herb gardening can be a quick, easy and affordable solution as well as a rewarding undertaking.? What's not to love?? Check your garden center today and see if they have herb seedlings or seed packets and give indoor gardening a try.
You'll be reaping the benefits all year long!
By: Peter Bourke
1Dec/110
Healthier Plants Using LED Grow Lights
Many people have come to realize that indoor gardening is something that gives benefit and works well with them. Indoor gardening has gained so much popularity and now became a hobby that anyone can enjoy. Hydroponic gardening is a popular method of indoor gardening. A good hydroponic growing system can also be used and can be more economical and efficient than soil gardens. A major component to make your indoor gardening a successful one is using LED grow lights.
When plants are grown on an outside garden, they get their source of light from the sun same as solar lights. Indoor garden lights have been widely used since there is no enough sunlight available inside the house. The most commonly used is LED lights. They put out less heat and use less power, making them ideal to use for those who are in a tight budget. The great advantage that LED grow lights have is that, light can be focused in a particular spectrum, usually just red and blue color. They produce the kind of light that is easily focused where it is needed.
Different options are given when it comes to using LED lights. LED panels may be used if you are lighting up a huge room. However, a Growspot is suitable if you are going to light a smaller area. The end of the Growspot is flexible so you can point it directly to your plants. LED lights are designed to give your plants the proper blend of light for them to reach their optimum growth. These lights come with a convenience. Special wiring is not needed since they can be used in any standard socket.
Therefore, if you are just starting out with your indoor garden venture, there are still a lot of things that should be taken into consideration. Plants need proper care and maintenance for them to thrive in growth. Proper lighting is one of the factors that you give much importance. Plants need light for photosynthesis. This is a process by which carbohydrates are synthesized from water and carbon dioxide using light as an energy source. It can speed up the growth of your indoor plants without having to worry that they might be burned. By using LED lights, you are certain that your plants will grow healthy and more productive. These lights also come in different shapes and sizes, choose one that works best for your garden area.
By: Owen Coleman
22Nov/110
Hydroponic Grow Systems
An increasing number of gardeners are shifting from conventional methods of gardening to using hydroponic grow systems to produce their favorite flowers, vegetables and fruits. The basic hydroponic growing kit is an indoor gardening system that allows just about anyone to grow plants without any soil whatsoever-all you need is water, hydroponic lights, and nutrients. Despite the absence of traditional soil however, hydroponics still produces lush plants that are healthy and strong. Results are so impressive that NASA is now conducting extensive hydroponics research for potential use in future space missions to Mars. In addition, hydroponics is also being used in some of Earth's most inhospitable environments, such as deserts and areas with few, or no plant life at all.
If this is your first time hearing about hydroponic gardening and want to try it out yourself, don't worry. Hydroponic grow systems are readily available these days, and the average kit will come with all the basic stuff you'll need to jump-start your hydroponic garden in no time at all.
Hydroponic systems have numerous advantages over conventional gardening. These include the ability to grow plants indoors and in areas where you usually could not, the ability to grow plants all year round and the ease and simplicity it provides to novice gardeners who want to enjoy the benefits of growing plants in the comforts of their home.
If you've always wanted to try your hand in gardening, but have always been thrown off by the idea of making a mess with soil and mud, then choosing from the many hydroponic grow systems out there can be the perfect alternative for you. These systems are from messy, and more importantly, don't take all that much space. If you live in an apartment or dormitory, then this method of growing plants just might be for you.
By: Jason Hallum