Having a garden is typically considered a luxury available only to those with expansive yards. However, it is actually possible to have one inside of your home, too! To help make this dream come true, we have compiled a list of expert tips to create a DIY indoor garden.
Figure out the logistics
Before you can really get into trying to create a DIY indoor garden and looking to learn about gardening, you need to have an image of what kind of garden you want. Thankfully, there are several choices!
- Indoor wall garden. You can attach long gardening troughs to your wall. You can put up shelving for the pots. Or, you can even build into the wall.
- Hanging indoor garden. A hanging garden is a nice, elegant solution. It would leave the floor and wall space entirely free for you to use however you like. And, if you disperse the hanging flower pots troughout the room you can have more than enough space to move freely and function normally in the room even if it is not a dedicated garden.
- Potted indoor garden. Finally, you can create a somewhat ‘traditional’ garden where you put everything into pots that go onto the floor.
Carefully select the space
When starting an indoor garden, you need to select the right space for the plants. The room does not need to be too large. However, what it absolutely needs is plenty of sunlight. If you have a room with skylights, it is probably an ideal choice. Another thing to note is that gardens can smell somewhat unpleasant. The earthy, musky scent is enjoyable when you are nurturing your plants outside. But if you just decide to incorporate your garden into a room you are using for other things, then it can get unpleasant. To combat this, you should make sure the room can be easily well ventilated.
Consider renovations that might help you
It can be a bit expensive, but you might want to do some renovations for your DIY indoor garden. You can, for example, make an attached room to the outside of your home with the perfect conditions for a garden. You could put up a ton of shelving, even lay tiles on the floor and walls in order to make it easier to clean up any messes. Or, you can widen your windows in order to allow more sunlight in. Of course, all of these projects are hard to do on your own, so it would stretch the DIY aspects of your project.
Remember to acquire the necessary equipment
People who are just starting out with gardening often do not realize how much equipment they’ll need to do it right. Of course, you can get away with using very few tools if you know what you are doing. But if you are starting out and do not know how to get things done then it’s smart to use the right tools for the right job. The moving experts from Excalibur Movers also note you should not remember to set aside enough space for the equipment. It often happens that people want to have items moved into a room only to realize that there really isn’t enough space there for everything they wanted! And this can happen very easily when trying to create a DIY indoor garden, since most people let the pots take up almost the entirety of the space. That’s fine, but hard to work around.
Do not limit yourself
Remember that you do not need to only use indoor space for everything. It is perfectly acceptable to build a shed outside to store all the equipment you need to take care of your plants. You can even build a little outside garden in case you ever need to move houseplants so you can relocate them hassle-free while you do whatever you want with the gardening room. This is a super useful option to have if you are looking to alter the room in any way. After all, renovations are not exactly gentle on the plants which make the room a home. And it would be a shame to ruin your plants while trying to ensure better conditions for them.
Select what you will be raising
Of course, when it comes to efforts to create a DIY indoor garden, nothing is as important as what you are planning to tend in it. Keep in mind that indoor conditions are not ideal for some plants. They will not be able to get as much sunlight or moisture as they would outside. They will also not have as much space to grow. This means that you will likely want to stick to the smaller, more robust plants rather than trying to raise something large and picky about its environment. Similarly, there is a large difference between tending to flowers and tending to vegetables.
Know the needs of your garden
Whatever you settle on raising, it is important to know how to take care of it! You need to know how much sunlight and water the plants require. Whether they require trimming or replanting at certain points. You need to know about the most common pests in gardens which can threaten the plants you are tending. If you go in without any knowledge at all, it can very easily ruin the plants you were trying to make thrive.
Consider using a hydroponic system
If you are hesitant to drag so much dirt into your home, then you may be relieved to know there is a different option. A hydroponic system, as its name implies, relies on raising plants in water. This would, of course, present different logistical problems than dirt. You would need to try and prevent mold from spreading through the room in particular, so ventilation becomes even more important. The good thing about a hydroponic system, however, is its ability to boost root growth and crop production of plants. So, it is a particularly good choice if you are looking to raise vegetables.
Some final advice
With the expert tips to create a DIY indoor garden, you should be able to tackle the task. Just remember that it will take a lot of effort to keep a garden. If you are not prepared for a lot of work, it might be best to reconsider the idea.
