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Modern scientific techniques make it possible for
people to grow plants, vegetables and even fruit
right in their drawing room in indoor gardens. With
the some effort and knowledge you can now grow a
variety of plants indoors, either with
hydroponics,
which is a soilless growing technique or by using
suitable techniques for conventional geoponics
(growing in soil). Irrespective of the method you
choose, you can even make your indoor garden yield
better results than a comparable conventional
outdoor garden with less effort and in less time.
For successfully using
indoor gardening techniques you need to
understand five essential aspects of plant growth
such as lighting, nutrition etc. These need to be
considered and properly provided for during the
planning stage, if you want to ensure adequate
returns on the time and effort you put in. The five
essentials are:
• Lighting
• Environmental Control
• Propagation
• Cultivation
• Nutrition
Lighting
In the majority of cases, while gardening outdoors,
you don’t have to consider
lighting because the proper light balance and
intensity for healthy growth is taken care of by the
natural patterns of seasonal and diurnal changes.
Your plants sense and respond to these changes and
grow in accordance with the natural life cycle
progression. When growing indoors you need to
properly design the lighting system to provide this
vital input for accomplishing the same task.
Environmental Control – Air Circulation
If you want to grow healthy indoor plants you can’t
afford to neglect air circulation. An adequate
supply of fresh air is vital for plant growth as
important plant processes depend on exchange of
gases between the leaves and the atmosphere. These
processes will be impeded in the absence of fresh
air. A continual supply of fresh air will help your
plants grow strong and healthy.
Propagation - Starting Stages
Provided you have got all support systems in place,
you can start off with seed, a cutting from an
existing plant or a pre-started plant. If you plan
your garden keeping in mind the stage of the plant
life cycle you want to start with, you will be in a
better position to take care of all the inputs your
plants will need at different times in its life
cycle.
Cultivation - Hydroponics or Soil?
In hydroponics or soil-less gardening, the plant is
supplied nutrients mixed with water. With these
nutrients the plant grows much faster resulting in
larger yields than in conventional gardening. Plants
grown in soil need to be provided a container that
is large enough to sustain growth. The rule of thumb
is to provide for the larger of the two -one gallon
of soil per foot of plant growth or one gallon per
month of growth. You may need to do a little
research to decide which method will best suit your
preferences considering your budget, the amount of
time and effort you can devote etc.
Nutrition
Providing the right nutrients at different stages of
the plant life-cycle is important. During the
vegetative phase, plants that put out heavy
vegetation need larger amounts of nitrogen. On the
other hand, during fruiting time they need a high
phosphorous mix. An abundant supply of trace
elements is vital for plant growth in indoor
gardening. Select trace elements rich nutrients to
meet the unique demands of plants grown in
containers. |
