Understanding Light Requirements When Gardening Indoors
One of the tricky aspects of indoor gardening is making certain that your plants obtain an appropriate amount of light. The starting point to ensure that your plants do receive appropriate light when being grown indoors is to understand what really is meant by the light directives that are included on plant boxes and seed packets when you purchase them.
“Direct light” means that a plant requires six or more hours of bright sunshine daily. The sunshine needs to hit the plant head-on.
“Moderate light” means that a plant needs bright and direct (or head-on) sunlight a part of the day. This translates to direct sunlight for about four hours a day.
“Indirect light” means that a plant must be kept away from direct sunlight — always. The plant needs only what can best be described as ambient light.
“Low light” means that a plant needs no direct sunshine, and little ambient light as well. This type of plant would be ideally suited indoors, and even in a room that gets little to no sun.
When you are contemplating an indoor garden of some type, keep in mind that windows that face north receive little sunlight. On the other hand, windows that face south typically receive sunshine for much of the day. Both western and eastern facing windows usually are sunny for part of the day.
In the final analysis, when it comes to natural light for your indoor garden, you need to observe what really is going on in your home. While the information presented in this article sets forth what generally occurs in regard to light from different vantage points, there can be things that obstruct the light that actually comes through and into your home.
Depending on the availability of light, and the location of your indoor plants, you may need to supplement natural sunshine with some sort of artificial light. Supplementing natural light is vital to ensure the optimal health of your plants when gardening indoors.
Watering Your Indoor Garden
Watering your indoor garden represents another challenge you need to address in a methodical manner. In the grand scheme of things, there is no way in which you can be provided a hard and fast guideline regarding when and how much to water your indoor garden.
The specifics associated with your residence, include available sunlight and heat, dictate how often you need to water your indoor garden. There are some tactics you can utilize to maintain an appropriate level of moisture for your indoor garden.
If a tag states you need to water steadily or evenly, you should water whenever the surface is dry to touch. If a tad indicates to water moderately, allow the top of inch of the soil to dry out between watering.
The key to maintaining healthy plants is to avoid overwatering. Overwatering is one of the most common causes of damaging plants, both outdoors and indoors.
Selecting the Container
Selecting a container is also an important part of indoor gardening. If you are replanting a plant, ideally use a container that is the same size as the one that the plant came in. If you select a container that is larger, you run the risk of the soil holding too much water, which will result in damage to the roots, specifically root rot.
Keep in mind that no matter what type of container you select, you need to make certain that it properly drains. Again, root rot tends to be the biggest issue when it comes to the selection of an inadequate container for an indoor garden.
Tips for Repotting Plants in an Indoor Garden
Before repotting a plant, water thoroughly. This may seem counterintuitive. However, watering thoroughly aids in holding the roots together appropriately during the replanting process.
You also need to make certain that you fill in the roots with fresh potting soil. You can use a pencil, or even a chopstick, to ensure that the soil is fully tamped down about the roots. In addition, leave about a quarter inch of space between the rim of the pot and the top of the soil. Taking this step works to ensure that water is held at the top and then more slowly soaks in a thorough manner to moisten the soil and fully water the roots.
By following these tips and techniques, you will have a healthy indoor garden. You will have an indoor garden that will make you proud and will be a showpiece in your residence.