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Light and the Indoor Garden

© Bob Ewing

It is late October, only three days from Samhain, as i sit down to work on this article. The weather is unusual to say the least, almost unbelievable. The sun is bright and strong and the weather channel tells me it might hit 10 degrees Celsius today. That's plus ten, Not the minus , you'd normally expect at this time of year. This week we continye with the Indoor Garden series by looking at how you can extend your indoor growing season. In keeping with the Season, I've gone into my Suite 101.com past, from Mrch of 1999 and revived this week's offering.

Flexible thinking is a key element for any budding indoor gardener. Flexible thinking encourages you to experiment. The successful gardener loves to experiment. It is the thrill of trying something new and then tweaking it until it works that keeps the mind alert and your interest alive. You can grow your own food, even in a room with no windows.

It will help if you have an understanding of photosynthesis so that you can appreciate the importance of light in the growing process. Whether you go hydroponic or a soil base for your garden or even some combination of the two, you will need to add light. If you have decided to devote a room to your indoor garden or have formed a cooperative with others and gone commercial ,you will increase your power demand, perhaps, significantly. Now you may want to consider solar energy as a means of generating that extra power.

Netmetering enables you to remain connected to the grid while you rely on the benefits of using the sun to supply you with energy. You may only require a basic system that will power the lights for your garden while allowing you to sell some power back to the energy company, a win-win situation.

If you are not ready fo this step, you may want to consider the possibilities that a soalr greenhouse can give you. There are a number of designs to choose from and if you select one that matches the need you can extend your growing season and your indoor garden. So beware when you plant you first basil seed in that pot in the kitchen window, it may be the first step in an ever growing garden.

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