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Growing fresh and healthy products can be challenging for most of us. But growing your fresh fruits and veggies from seed is even more challenging. In most places, you need a minimum amount of sunlight, sandy soil and good drainage to grow your garden. That’s not the case with an indoor vegetable garden system. An indoor vegetable gardening system allows you to grow healthy and tasty veggies even when it’s too cloudy outside or raining for weeks. Here we’ll explain everything you need to know about vegetable gardens indoors:
- How to build one
- What type of vegetables are best suited for this type of space.
- How often you should tend to it and which pests you should watch out for if you decide to go ahead with it as a hobby or a full-fledged crop rotation operation.
What is an Indo Vegetable Garden?
An indoor garden is what it sounds like: a garden grown indoors rather than outdoors. It is excellent if you live in a climate where outdoor gardening is too challenging or if you’re not interested in the work that goes into growing healthy, robust crops in an outdoor garden. This type of garden is perfect for those who want to experiment with developing fresh produce but don’t have the outdoor space, sunlight, or other growing conditions that would make outdoor gardening desirable. Typical indoor gardening setups include a high-quality grow box or growing system used to grow plants in a controlled environment such as a greenhouse or a building area. If you opt for an indoor grow box system, you can grow many vegetables and herbs, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and more. Other popular indoor gardening setups include vertical hydroponic systems and ebb and flow indoor gardens.
Benefits of an Indoor Vegetable Garden
An indoor garden, even one that’s just used to grow herbs, will bring many health and lifestyle benefits to those who choose to grow their herbs or veggies indoors. Naturally, this is all dependent on the quality and variety of herbs and vegetables you choose to grow.
– The Health Benefits of Growing Your Herbs
– Many herbs are used for medicinal purposes and can help improve your overall health, especially when consumed regularly. Cooking with your herbs can help you reduce your intake of antidepressant drugs, reduce your cholesterol and blood sugar levels, improve your digestion, and decrease your chances of getting certain types of cancer.
– The Health Benefits of Growing Your Veggies
– Aside from being a great way to add some natural vitamins and minerals to your diet, growing your veggies is incredibly beneficial for your overall health. For example, eating a diet full of fresh veggies has been shown to reduce your chances of getting certain cancers, help you maintain a healthy weight, prevent heart disease, reduce your chances of getting arthritis, improve your digestion and more.
– The Family Fun of Growing Your Veggies
– Growing your veggies allows you to get your family involved in cooking, cleaning, and harvesting fresh, healthy food. It can be a great way to connect with your family members and make healthier eating a family activity.
– The Savings of Growing Your Veggies
– Growing your herbs and veggies will reduce your grocery bill as you won’t need to buy as many fresh vegetables and herbs each month. It can save you hundreds of dollars each year.
– The Environmental Impact of Growing Your Herbs
– Growing your herbs can help reduce the environmental impact of herb consumption as you won’t need to purchase as many herbs each year. For example, one study found that Americans consume around 52 million lbs of herbs each year, most of which is consumed outside the country. If you grow your herbs, you will reduce your environmental impact.
How to Build an Indoor Vegetable Garden?
Building your indoor garden is a great way to ensure you get the best growing conditions for your herbs and vegetables.
Choose a suitable area
– You’ll need to find an area in your home with enough sunlight and good drainage. You may have to modify the area to make it suitable for growing, such as moving furniture or installing a raised bed.
Get the right tools
– You’ll need a few essential tools to build your indoor garden, including a shovel, a rake, a hoe, shovels, and a wheelbarrow. You’ll also want a drill, a saw, a screwdriver, and nails or screws.
Select the right seeds or seedlings
– You can grow most herbs and vegetables from seeds and seedlings, but you’ll need to ensure that the seeds or seedlings you select suit the conditions in your indoor garden.
The Best Veggies for an Indoor Grow Box or System
Choosing the right seeds or seedlings for the job is essential when building your indoor garden. Here are a few vegetables that are great for an indoor garden:
– Cucumbers
– Cucumbers are low-maintenance plants that are easy to grow and tend to produce large crops.
– Potatoes
– Potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin A and contain potassium, two essential nutrients for good health.
– Tomatoes
– Tomatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables and are great for eating fresh, and canning for later use.
– Peppers
– Peppers are easy to grow and require minimal care, making them one of the best vegetables for an indoor garden.
Tips and Tricks for a Successful Indoor Grow Box or System
– Find a good spot
– When you’re looking for an area to grow your herbs, you want to find an area that gets at least six hours of sunlight per day.
– Build a good environment
– Create an environment for your indoor garden that mimics the conditions of an outdoor garden, such as providing good drainage, keeping the area around your growing spot weed-free, and adding enough nutrients to the soil.
– Add water
– Water your plants at least once a day, or at least once a week. You’ll want to ensure that the soil is moist but not drenched.
– Provide airflow
– Create airflow in your indoor garden by placing an opening in the top of your growing container or using an exhaust fan.
– Keep pests at bay
– Keep pests out of your growing area by keeping the area around your growing spot weed-free and well-drained.
Types of Pests to Watch out for in Your Indoors Grow Box System
Here are 8 of the most common pest problems that you’re likely to face when growing your fresh produce in an indoor garden:
– Rose mites
– Rose mites are tiny insects that feed on the underside of your plant leaves. You’ll want to check your leaves for rose mites every few days to see if you need to get rid of them.
– Scale insects
– Scale insects are also found on the underside of your plant leaves. They look like tiny white dots, and you’ll need to eliminate them by spraying your plants with a chemical insecticide.
– Spider mites
– Spider mites look like whitish specks and feed on foliage, leaving minor web-like marks on your leaves. You’ll want to get rid of these pests by spraying your plants with an insecticide.
– Mealybugs
– Mealy bugs look like tiny dark specks and feed on plant residue. You’ll want to eliminate these pests by vacuuming the plant debris after each harvest.
– Root maggots
– Root maggots look like tiny white worms that feed on your plant roots, killing them and interrupting their growth. – Slugs and snails – Slugs and snails are the top 3 worst pests you’ll want to eliminate from your indoor garden. You’ll want to kill these pests by placing an effective slug bait in your garden or using a water trap.
