Indoor Gardening? There are many reasons to consider indoor gardening.

photo credit: Hair Squared

I have been an avid outdoor gardener for many years but each year I find myself growing more plants indoors. For me a short growing climate, weather concerns and the fact I like to be surrounded by living plants has lead to this change.

I also find indoor gardening easier in many ways.

For those who in cities and have limited space the indoor garden is a perfect solution gardening. And it’s a proven fact that plants help clean and purifies air adding health and less stress into many peoples lives.

Some plants are low maintenance and require little light, while others will need constant care. So choosing the amount of time you want to spend on plants will be an important consideration. And remember, all plants require watering and fertilizing.

Indoor growing considerations

First, identify the lighting conditions in each of the rooms where you plan to grow plants. Mark each room as either dim, bright direct or bright indirect. Then, for each room, consider only plants that thrive in that lighting condition.

Palm plants will require direct light, herbs and vegetables grow in bright sunlight, and bamboo plants can grow in dark indoor conditions. With the wide variety of plants and lighti9ng that can be added to the home, it is now possible to grow almost any plant.

photo credit: stevecadman

Temperature and moisture as the next most important factors after lighting. If the temperature of your indoor space ranges from 65 to 80 F, you should only consider plants that thrive within this temperature range. You also need to check for drafts. Many plants will not handle a draft or cold wind.

Look at the space you have available. Some plants vary in height from a few inches to several feet. Fortunately, you can control the height of the plant by the size of the pot. Use small pots to restrict plant growth. And you may want to look into vertical growing or growing walls.

I have seen growing walls that add light, color and even seem to add additional space in a room. Vertical growing makes the most out of available space and has numerous growing advantages.

One overlooked area in plant care is the needs of your favorite plants. Besides watering, most plants need fertilizing, trimming, repotting  and often leaf picking.

I had absolutely no luck growing African Violets until my neighbor told me they need and thrive in northern lighting. I switched my plants location and the plants grew beautifully!

photo credit: Bitman

And last but not least, buy plants that are either practical or appealing to you. If a plant isn’t aesthetically pleasing, consider growing a vegetable that you can eat. Many vegetable and herb plants are beautiful.

Indoor gardening is an area that I will being using more, both for flowers and vegetables. I plan to use container gardening, vertical gardening, small space gardening ideas and greenhouse gardening. I also hope to try a little hydroponic gardening methods.

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The success of next year’s garden depends on proper preparation of your vegetable beds this fall. Clearing out dead plants, turning in some nice old compost for soil regeneration, and even planting some early spring crops is the perfect way to ensure the success of next year’s garden.
photo credit: mcmorgan08

Insect Free: Taking all old leaves and plant debris off of your garden is the best way to prevent insects from overwintering in your garden. Old leaves on the soil surface provide a nice hiding place for insects, such as squash bugs, grasshoppers, and aphids. If you clear out old leaves and stems and compost them, insects have nowhere to hide. Freezing temperatures will help control next year’s insect population, and reduced debris on the soil surface will ensure freezing temperatures for insects on the sol surface.

Disease Free: Leaf and vegetable litter provides a place for other problems to reside also, such as tomato wilt. Collecting and throwing away diseased plants in the garbage or landfill will help keep diseases from reestablishing themselves next season. Many gardeners had difficulty with tomato blight, or wilt this past year. If this was the case in your garden, it is especially important to clear off all plants and fruits from this past season. Most spores from the tomato wilt will be thrown away with the plants and fruit.

Organisms in the soil will have time over the winter to decompose and distribute nutrients to the soil from compost for next year’s vegetables. Spread one to two inches of well-decomposed compost on the surface of your garden bed and turn into the soil well. Soil microorganisms will do the rest.

You can plant some early spring vegetables for early harvest in the spring after preparing your soil bed. These seeds will not germinate until soil temperatures warm enough for them to grow. Sowing spinach seeds, and planting your first couple rows of peas will allow for the earliest harvest. Garlic should be planted in the late fall, also, and should be planted in a drier bed than your peas and spinach.

You can finally sit back and enjoy that cup of tea after your fall beds are tilled and prepared for next season. Then you can start planning for next spring.

Betsy Woodworth gives help on greenhouses and on garden tips.

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We have several Amish communities in our area and even with our cultural differences our paths cross. I have used the Amish for pressing my cider for years. And with our property containing a large selection of hickory the Amish make arrangements to harvest the smaller trees to use in their bentwood rockers.

photo credit: ajagendorf25

Today our side yard has one Amish buggy in the lower drive and one draft house tied to a tree near the barn. A group of Amish are starting to harvest the small branches needed for their furniture.

They only select branches under four inches and cut the trees in such a way that they will grow back, usually with more small branches that can be harvested in four or five years.

The Amish have cut Hickory off of our property on and off for about 15 years. Part of the deal often includes an Amish rocking chair or Amish love seat.

Eli, one of the Amish, told me they would be here cutting for about two weeks. He asked for permission to park the buggy by the barn and tie the horse to a tree. At the end of the their job they will bring several draft horses to haul the hickory bundles off the hill and load them into a wagon.

photo credit: Jan Tik

One year they harvested Hickory in the late spring when there was a foot of snow on the ground. When they came to haul the wood away they used an old wooden sled that could be pulled by horses. The sled was over 10 foot long and six foot wide with sides to hold the hickory bundles in place.

I asked about the history of the sled and was told it was over 100 years old and has been passed down through the family for generations.

So far today the Amish have collected about five bundles of branches. They cut them in four to eight foot sections. They then sort them before they are bundled by length and for what purpose they will be used for later. At this moment they are sorted by length and propped against my front trees.

The harvesting of the hickory will make for an interesting few weeks. The Amish in my area do not allow photographs to be taken. They are from an older sect and their beliefs are more controlled. They believe that the photographic image steals their soul.

So any photos in the article are from Amish groups that allow photographs to be taken.

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