GardenSpotlight

Creating a cozy indoor garden for your home is easier than you think.   All it takes is a little ambition and creativity.   You’ll need to keep in mind the climatic area of the room you are working with.   How much light does it have?   How much heat is available?   These are things that will affect the selection of plants for that particular area.   A southern exposure window gives the best light, without it being too hot.   If your room is very hot and dry, then you may want to add a source of humidity, such as a humidifier or simply place shallow pans of water with pebbles under the plants.   As the water evaporates, it will add the necessary humidity into the air surrounding the plants.   The latter is also very decorative and gives you a chance to play with colors, shapes and groupings of plants.   If your room does not have enough light, there are lights made specifically for plants that you can purchase. You should be able to...

When I was a little girl, my mother kept a terrarium in our home.   It always intrigued me; seeing plants growing inside a glass tea kettle was really cool.   It was like a miniature rainforest!   Terrariums are a great way for those of us who are busy to have lush plants in our homes without having to remember to care for them so often.   As the plants in the terrarium transpire, the moisture collects on the sides of the terrarium (condensation) and flows back down to the soil. A terrarium is basically any enclosed or partially enclosed clear container which houses its own micro-ecosystem of plants, and sometimes animals too, such as small lizards or turtles.   For our purposes here, I will focus on plant terrariums.   You can use any clear container of plastic or glass, such as an aquarium or fish bowl, a hurricane jar, bottles or glassware.   Be creative and look around your home before you spend money.   Chances are you’ll find something. ...

OK…we’re getting a break in the weather finally and starting to see some warmer temperatures than we’ve had all winter. This makes most of us itch for spring so we can get out in the garden. There are many seeds that you can start indoors and then transplant outside when the air and soil temperatures are warmer and there is no longer the threat of frost. Start by gathering some seed catalogs or look online to get some ideas for your area. Germination rates, seedling growth, transplant dates and time to maturity or flower vary by the plant. Check the descriptions in the catalogs or on the seed packets to see how soon you’ll need to start the seeds indoors before they are of sufficient size to plant outdoors in warmer weather. You’ll need the proper growing materials as well. Seedlings are very delicate; you should purchase sterile planting medium, such as a seed starter mix or compressed pellets that expand when watered. If using last year’s containers, they should be sterilized. You...

Last but not least is the type of soil mix to use and the fertilizer. Many commercially manufactured soil mixes are balanced in texture and nutrients and are satisfactory for most household plants. We manufacture our our soil mix here on the farm for spring planting in the greenhouse with a combination of peat moss, perlite, various essential nutrients and some other ingredients (a secret family recipe my father-in-law made and has tweaked over time). It's also great for use in the flower beds and we make it available for sale here at the farm. There are some specific mixtures for African Violets and the like and also for cacti. A good potting soil is a mixture of textures, or particle sizes and provides good drainage, holding the necessary amount of water in the soil well and also providing anchorage for the plants' roots. Soil pH for most indoor plants should be close to neutral, about 6.7 - 7.5, although there are some plant species that prefer more acidic soil types. You ...

My husband's favorite saying is "Don't kill 'em with kindness!" Sometimes, we are so used to having to water our plants so much during the summer months, that we tend to over-water them indoors, thinking the plants need the same amount of water. The simplest way to tell if your indoor plants need water is to touch the soil in the pot. If the soil is moist, leave it alone. It is usually OK to allow a plant to wilt slightly as most plants recover quickly and suffer no long term effects. Just don't drown them the next time you water them. Over-watering takes oxygen away from the roots of the plant. Oxygen is required for a healthy root system. Constantly wet soil also provides prime opportunity for fungi and bacteria to set up housekeeping and attack plant roots and stems. Many times there is no cure for these problems other than to try to take a cutting of a healthy portion of the plant, try to root it, and start over. Plants in very large containers ...

OK. Today we will cover indoor temperatures, air circulation and humidity. It is important to keep in mind that indoor temperatures vary from season to season and that the temperature just inside a window may be quite different from that of the rest of the room. For example, during the winter, when the outside air is freezing, the temperature of the inside air near the window may also drop considerably, causing the plants that are kept there to suffer cold damage. Therefore, leave only hardy plants near the windows and move the others. Conversely, high window temperatures may also be a problem. South facing windows in summer and late afternoon sun in a westerly facing window, even in the winter, may cause excessively high temperatures. As for air circulation, drafts that occur due to the mixing of cold and warm air temperatures increase what is called transpiration , or the evaporation of water from the surface of the plant. Combined with chilling, this can be very detrimenta...

Winter container gardening can be a fun and rewarding experience, extending your enjoyment of plants beyond the summer growing season. There are many types of houseplants to choose from that are very well suited to indoor landscaping and you may also choose to grow some herbs in your home so that you are in supply of fresh seasonings for your culinary needs. When choosing plants for your home, you must keep in mind several factors which will influence your decision on which types of plants to choose, and ultimately, your plants' growth. These factors are lighting, temperature, air circulation, water and humidity. Let's begin with lighting. Natural light intensity will vary quite a bit indoors, depending on whether your home's windows face North, South, East or West. Light intensity will also vary based on the number of cloudy days; coastal climates such as the Northeast have a higher number of cloudy days in the winter than, say, the Midwest. Other factors that caus...