The following article is from Ann Sanders, Founder and Main Editor of A Green Hand. I hope you find it useful.
Growing organic vegetables and herbs is possible for apartment dwellers and those impatient for spring planting. Choose the best indoor garden supplies for success.
Organic gardeners without a yard or those living in arid or frigid climates don’t need to pay a premium for organic produce at the supermarket. Many types of vegetables, and most herbs, can be cultivated indoors.
Vegetable Varieties for Indoor Gardening
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Although hybridizers have greatly increased the number of dwarf and miniature vegetables in the last 20 years, gardeners still can’t grow things like corn or melons indoors as successfully as outdoors. It’s wise to start with vegetables that produce maximum yields in small spaces.
Leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, and endive perform well indoors. These plants also don’t require the high sunlight and temperatures some vegetables need to produce flowers and fruits.
Increase the interest level of an indoor salad garden with a mixed container of basil and cherry tomatoes. It isn’t enough to choose a small-fruited tomato variety; gardeners must buy seeds that grow compact determinate vines. ‘Micro-Tom’ and ‘Patio F Hybrid’ were developed specifically for container culture.
Gardeners who have some indoor gardening experience and are ready to try something new can grow bush beans, dwarf beets or carrots, peppers, and even dwarf vine vegetables like squash or cucumbers indoors. Gardeners using grow lights will have greater yields with large indoor vegetable plants, as this prevents leggy plants that strain toward chilled windows.
Indoor Garden Lights
Organic gardeners who wish to grow more than a pot of herbs or lettuce must invest in supplemental indoor garden lighting, unless they have a south-facing sunroom. A cool and a warm fluorescent light combination gives plants the full spectrum they need to grow. Gardeners can buy a special plant light fixture, like the Aerogarden, but ordinary hanging shop lights work well too.
Place the plants as close as possible to the lights, as the light intensity decreases greatly with each inch of distance. Keep the lights on at least 16 hours a day for best growth.
Care and Fertilizer for Indoor Vegetables
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Regular watering is essential for indoor vegetables. Vegetable plants that receive irregular irrigation may experience bud drop or yield bitter vegetables. Gardeners who have more than a windowsill planter may consider watering devices like capillary matting, which allows plants to absorb water through the drain holes in pots. Watering globes are attractive options that keep soil evenly moist. Organic mulch can prevent the surface of the soil from drying out or crusting over.
Organic fertilizer is important throughout the growing season, especially since frequent watering drains nutrients from containers. Compost from an active bin introduces beneficial soil microbes, as well as trace nutrients. Although expensive, seaweed meal is a balanced organic fertilizer that releases nutrients slowly, so gardeners won’t need to reapply it as often as a liquid fertilizer.
Indoor Vegetable Pest Control
One of the benefits of gardening indoors is the lack of common outdoor garden pests, such as aphids and caterpillars. However, the same garden pests that affect indoor houseplants may also bother the indoor vegetable garden.
Check for whiteflies with the aid of yellow sticky traps. The insects are easy to remove with a small vacuum.
Mealy bugs occasionally affect indoor vegetable plants. Kill the white fuzzy pests with a cotton swab saturated with rubbing alcohol.
Spider mites are common indoor plant pests, especially in dry conditions. Water the entire plant, not just the soil, as mites dislike moist conditions. Webbing indicates a serious spider mite infestation that requires an organic spray like insect soap.
Ann Sanders
