“Grow your own green” The ultimate guide to indoor gardening Times of Agriculture : e-Magazine

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Guide to indoor gardening -If you want to grow crops at your home by using hydroponic technology. But don’t know where to begin. then this blog provides you with crystal clear ideas to make it happened. Hydroponics is an innovative approach to growing vegetables in soil-less media. Through this technology, we can grow maximum crops in small areas.

Indoor gardening is popular technology used nowadays because due to the excessive use of chemical input by the farmer, the quality of food degraded therefore consumers are growing their own vegetables at home through gardening to get fresh and healthy food for themselves. Indoor gardening is not just limited to certain plants even you can grow different kinds of plants whether for decorative purposes or consumption purposes. Following are some famous types of indoor gardening you can use at your home.

Indoor succulent gardening

If you want to make your home more beautiful then this indoor succulent gardening is for you. Indoor succulent gardening involves the selection of the right succulent plant for your indoor environment. Providing proper care and maintenance indoor succulent gardening can be a rewarding and enjoyable hobby. Through indoor succulent gardening, you can add a touch of natural beauty to your home and office.

1 1 — **Image source : New York magazines**

How did succulents get their name??

Succulents get their name because of their thick stem and leaves. And because of their thicker wall, they can store water for a long last and they require little watering and different species of succulent plant require different amounts of sunlight for their development.

Indoor succulent plants have several benefits that are, purifying the air, enhancing mood, and also improving focus and concentration. Following are some examples of succulent plants you can consider during your plantation.

There are many types of varities you can choose Echeveria, Crassula, Kalanchoe, Senecio, Haworthia, Sedum, Sempervivum, Aeonium, Echeveria, and Graptoveria. According to your choice of color, shape, and texture, you can grow quality succulents at your home.

Indoor vegetable garden

You can grow vegetable indoor like lettuces, arugula, spinach, kale, carrots, radishes, beet greens, tomatoes and more. When you grow vegetables indoor there are several question come in our mind .

Can we grow vegetables indoor year round?

Yes! lots of them. But you must know the exact amount of light required by plant to survive. If you want to grow high-light indoor vegetables all year round like cherry tomato then you must increase the light intensity by using LED bulbs, especially during winter months. When the day length is short

What vegetables should I start indoors?

Vegetables like lettuce, Broccoli, Tomatoes, Peppers, Cabbage, Winter Squash, Onions, Peas, and much more can easily thrive in your home. These vegetables are quickly grown and easy to harvest.

Which vegetables can I grow without sunlight?

Some root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and beets grow in partial shade light while leafy vegetables like salad greens, spinach, and chard grow best without sunlight.Vegetable like arugula, Swiss, chard, kale, lettuce, spinach and also radish, cabbage, and cauliflower can be grown without sunlight easily.

What vegetables grow fast?

Vegetables which grow faster are radishes, green onions, lettuce, baby carrots, spinach, peas, bush beans, kale, turnips, squash, cucumber, leafy greens, and much more. And you can grow these vegetables and harvest them quickly.

Indoor vertical garden

Indoor vertical garden is not a rocket science, it’s a innovative approach in which we grow plant vertically. Climber, vines, and number of fruit and vegetable can be grown with this technique.Indoor vertical garden is a best way to show off beautiful plants and utilizing available space. Indoor vertical garden must be attached to the strong support.

Pots which you used for indoor vertical garden are filled with plants and growing medium and therefore you require to protect the supporting wall with a sheet of any kind of plywood behind the vertical garden. And for avoiding to moisture absorption to you wall you must apply polythene cloth along with your wall.If you home have not proper sunshine then you must install LED light for providing sufficient light to the plant

Indoor vertical garden idea?

A vinyl shoe organizer is a cheapest and cute method plant indoor vertical plant ,for this you must set up this organizer on the wall. Put the mini plant in the pocket along with the growing media. And water them accordingly. If it possible then hang them near to the sunshine area so that plant can absorb sufficient light for their life cycle

Chosen of plant for in door wall

Caladium
Coleus
Pothos
American honey suckle
Ivy
Dracaena

You can also different kind of colorful and attractive plants according to your choice.

Indoor Herb Gardening:

Most people don’t know how to grow indoor herb hydroponically alone. The first question that comes Into their mind.

Can we grow herbs in hydroponics??

Yes, you can. Herbs grow at best between temperatures of 60°- 70° F during day time. And not less than 10° during night time. Herbs usually don’t like to wet all time. And therefore by using hydroponic techniques we can provide them with the proper amount of oxygen and water, for their appropriate growth. Herbs require at least humidity for their growth .and therefore if your home environment is dried then you must invest in purchasing a humidifier for growing the herbs.

Hydroponic herbs

Most herbs grow hydroponically as long as proper care is provided. Now I will give some examples of herbs which are suited for being grown hydroponically. Those include:

cilantro
lemon balm
mint
thyme
basil
oregano
parsley
chamomile
watercress

Mint was the first herb that grew hydroponically. When you grow herbs hydroponically you will see a difference between herbs grown in water and soil. The herbs may have fuller leaves and stem that make them more attractive and have greater quality. The herbs will grow at best when care should be provided that as trimming pruning and pinching.

Build your hydroponic system:

You can set up your hydroponics system according to the home space you have. One of the most famous system for growing of herbs hydroponically is NFT( Nutrient film technique).

NFT (nutrient film technique) is a popular system in hydroponic In this plants are allows to absorb nutrients from the nutrient-rich water channel. NFT is the passive type of hydroponic system in which we don’t require any kind of motor pump but due to gravity, the solution is allowed to circulate in the system. And the nutrient-rich water is recirculated again and again so that the plant can easily able to absorb the nutrient properly if you want to built your own indoor hydroponic system. Then I will provide with you step-by-step guidance on how you will be able to build your indoor garden.

How to set up hydroponic indoor garden?

The following material is required for the NFT system.

1- Setting up of PVC pipe:

In the NFT system, the first thing you require is a PVC pipe. With the help of a drill make a hole in the PVC pipe. Holes are made in such a way that the net cup can easily be held in the pipe and submerged most of its part in PVC pipe. And without a net cup falls into it. Net cups are generally used conical In shape having the upper diameter wider than the lower, one. It must be considered that the net cup is fully hang In the pipe without too much spacing between the base of the net cup and the pipe. During the initial days, the flow of nutrients solution should be full and after some days you can easily reduce the flow of nutrients solution.

2. Construct structure for the system:

After making holes in PVC pipes, we have to construct a proper structure so that we can build a system properly. For example, you can choose ladder shape structure that is easy to build and can easily be leaned on the wall having the horizontal and vertical spacing.

2.2- Build a structure to hold the weight- Pvc pipes are used in this system in which plants are hold, the growing media, and nutrient water So due to the heavy load the chances of damaging pipes may take place so for avoiding this proper rack is to provide a stem That provides support to provide the system.

Also Read…

How to build your first sustainable garden

2.3- Attach PVC pipes to the rack: Now we have rack and PVC pipes with help of pipe clamps we can easily attach pipes and racks. But during this, it should be considered that proper angle should maintained. The flow of water should be in zigzag form and therefore proper angle should be provided so that there must be a natural flow inside the pipe .

3- setting of water reservoir for the system :

Reservoir in which nutrients water is stored for feeding our plants. It must be considered that light didn’t enter the reservoir because it will cause the growth of algae in the container. It must contain. enough water for running our system. And we must require submerged pump which helps to pump the water at entry level of our system, proper power of pump should be used according to the height of our system .After setting up of reservoir, we must connect all hoses in system in zig-zag flow so as to reduce the chances of standing water

Air pump

In the NFT system roots are submerged in the solution and therefore require proper amount of oxygen in the surrounding the root zone. In the absence of a proper amount of air, plants suffer from root rot. And therefore you must require an air pump so that the amount of oxygen can easily be available for the plant. You can also use hydrogen peroxide to keep the available oxygen in the nutrient properly. It is also helpful for killing the bacteria and fungi in a nutrient solution which will helpful for our plant’s growth.

4- Transplant the seedling:

The first thing we must considered during the transplantation of seedling is that our seedling root zone whether able to reach the nutrient solution or not. If yes then our seedling is ready to be transplanted. We also require growing media for supporting our seedling either clay pebbles. It must be noticed that your plant should not be too low in net cup because it will damaged our plant. Clay pebbles must be use because they are also act as the reservoir of nutrient for the plant.

5- Nutrients preparation for system :

Nutrients are the basic requirement for plants to grow and for the completion of the life cycle. The selection of nutrients takes place according to the type of crop. Different crops quire different amounts of nutrients during their life cycle. Generally, water-soluble fertilizers are required so that adequate amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are supplied in their vegetative and flowering stages. According to the value of the PH meter and TDS meter, the application of fertilizer is done.

6- Now run the hydroponics system :

Now all steps are completed and your system is now ready to get start. You can grow differ rent herbs vegetables fruit. And proper maintenance should be done. The proper amount of sunlight should be provided. So that the photosynthesis process do not hamper

Shopping of equipment :

Pvc pipe
Rack
Clamps
Submerged pump
Hose pipe
Water soluble fertilizer
PH meter
Clay pebbles
Hole drill
Net cups

Indoors hydroponic gardening can be a viable and rewarding option for those interested in growing plants indoors, particularly in urban areas or in locations with limited outdoor space. However, it does require some investment and knowledge to get started and maintain a healthy garden.

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