How to Start, Maintain, and Use Your Own Indoor Garden

Photo: Urban Cultivator

If you’re a lover of fresh greens and want an active hand in your nutrition, it’s time to start your own indoor garden! Grow healthy greens and take control of what you eat. Grow what you want, when you want. Whether an amateur cook or a professional chef, you can expand your culinary horizon and grow healthy herbs for your dishes all year round.

How To Start An Indoor Garden

With a little preparation, your indoor garden can grow a long way. Plants grow best in their preferred condition, so be sure to have the growing conditions that’ll make your garden prosper.

Just like outdoor plants, your indoor garden will need water, sunlight, the right climate, and nutrients.

Be sure to use pots or containers that are sturdy and have a drainage hole at the bottom. Some crops require no space to grow, while others need deep containers to spread their roots. Plant your seeds in a good-growing soil that has even quantities of perlite, vermiculite, sand, and peat moss.

Photo: Urban Cultivator

With outstanding products like the Urban Cultivator, you can connect to your food and grow with little effort. The Kitchen and Commercial Cultivators produce an abundance of healthy, tasty, local greens for your family or customers, no matter the weather. Best of all ––your machine will help reduce energy costs and pay for itself (depending on the number of herbs you grow).

The Urban Cultivator is functional, fashionable, takes up the same footprint as a dishwasher would, and packs flavor into your food with its hydroponic growing technology facilely. Preprogrammed with optimal growing cycles, the Urban Cultivator automatically controls the fan, light, and watering of your home or in-restaurant garden.

Keep Your Garden Growing

For indoor herbs and vegetables to reach their maturity, you will need:

• Water,
• The maximum amount of sunlight,
• The right climate,
• And nutrient-rich fertilizer.

All living things need water, especially your garden! Whether herbs, houseplants, or vegetables, be sure to keep them hydrated if you want them to grow. Be cautious of over-watering, however, which can be equally detrimental as under-watering.

Photo: Justina Blakeney

Most plants require 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day. Your garden won’t get that perched on your windowsill, so consider investing in supplemental growing or hydroponic lights. Some plants require little sunlight. Recommendations for low-light spaces include cast iron plants, peace lilies, and philodendron varieties.

While some crops prefer cooler temperatures, others need daytime temperatures. Jasmine, lavender, Lion’s tail, and rosemary enjoy bright lights and cool temperatures. On the other hand, aloe, cacti, and flame violets need the heat. Be sure to research the ideal climate for your garden plants before planting their seeds.

Lastly, plants need fertilizer, especially when potted. Feed your plants fertilizer once a week (or as per instructions) to give them the nutrients they need to grow.

Using Your Own Seeds

Add fresh herbs and greens to your salads, soups, and smoothies. Nibble and snack on them raw with your favorite dips and dressings, or create vitamin and antioxidant-packed dishes for the whole family to enjoy.

Herbs and vegetables that grow well indoors and will improve your family’s nutrition include:

• Avocados, for your daily source of vitamins A, B6, and E,
• Carrots, chock full of niacin, manganese, potassium, folate, and vitamins A, B6, C, and K,
• Chives, packed with antioxidants and phytochemicals,
• Cilantro, to protect you against heart disease, cancers, and strokes,
• Garlic, known for reducing inflammation and calming motion sickness and nausea,
• And mushrooms, a good source of vitamin C, cancer-fighting compounds, and fiber.

Photo: Justina Blakeney

Whether you hang a single plant or create a display of potted pleasures, your indoor garden is scientifically proven to reduce your stress levels, too. Greener pastures are indeed ahead.