Don’t let the cold and snow and short days get you down and make you pine for your days outside gardening. You can do some indoor gardening now and grow some vegetables with the right gear that will help calm your green thumb and get you ready for the Spring and Summer!
Growing Vegetables Indoors
There are a few requirements that need to be met if you are going to make this work in the next three, cold months. The biggest factor is finding a way to get six hours of “sunlight” each day. Since we are talking vegetables, here are the five most important factors: Light, what is used to grow the veggies, humidity, circulation of air and, of course, temperature.
Let There Be Light!
If you have a room that is well lit for six hours a day, this issue is not really an issue. That might be hard for a majority of you so grow lights are in your future. Be sure to find grow lights that are stronger than what might be normally found at a hardware store. The intensity is important in creating the fruit from the plant down the road. And proximity to the plant is going to come into play as well, causing you to move the lights as the plant grows.
It’s the Soil!
We know soil. And we know that it doesn’t matter if the soil is inside or outside. It’s about nutrients for growing and what is in the soil you are using needs to be the same for what you normally use outside. If you have any leftover that we may have brought this summer, you are in good shape!
Your Home is Dry!
In the winter, we are running the heater a lot and the humidity levels in our homes drop incredibly. Even if you have a humidity controlled home, it might not be enough for the growing plants. The best way to counter this is to use a cool mist humidifier in the room where you are growing your garden.
Circulate that Air!
When we are growing outdoors, the wind is blowing and the air is moving. Indoors, you need to get that air moving. This is why your HVAC company will tell you to run the fan in your system once an hour. Get yourself a little fan for the room where your veggies are growing.
Watch the Heat/Cold!
It can get too hot and it can get too cold. Too much cold and we know what happens. Too much heat and some of your vegetables won’t even blossom properly.
The best vegetables to grow indoors in the winter include carrots, onions, tomatoes, spinach and broccoli. You also have a great chance with beets, garlic, cauliflower and potatoes. Get through the five issues above and you could be gardening year-round from now on!