Designing Your Indoor Garden

Well, the city certainly earns its name today. It started around 3 a.m. when a brillant flash of lightening filled our bedroom, to be followed, almost intsantly, by a rolling thunder that shook the foundation. Later in the afternoon, this was repeated several times,a good sign of spring. The snow is almost all melted, especially after the six hours of rain. Strong winds added to the day's intensity I enjoy watching the elements interact.

The indoor gardener must be self-reliant when it comes to taking care of the garden. There will be no rainfall to feed the plants. It is all up to you. If you have a patio or balcony, you can place a rainbarrel outside and use the water for your indoor garden when the outside temperature is warm enough to keep the barrel from freezing. You will need to monitor your garden closely and become familiar with the rate at which the plants use water as it will be very different from their outside behaviour. Most importantly, you need to know, intimately, your indoor space. You are about to make changes that may have a profound affect upon you and your family. Take your time. Think about how you use the space now. What will change? Morning and evening temperatures, amount of light, amount of space you want to devote, all need to be taken into consideration. Of course, much depends upon how much food you wish to grow. An indoor windowbox with your favourite herbs and some lettuce may meet your needs. Or you may want to get larger, if you do, unless you have very big windows, you are moving into the territory of artifical lighting. You may want to think about creating an indoor system that uses solar energy to power your lights. We will look more at this possibility next week.

You may also want to build a plant stand and use it to get your seeds started or as a herb garden. Your first step is to decide which room or rooms, give you enough light and then if you want to increase your garden by adding more light. Once you have made this decision, you can begin to draw your garden plan.

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