How to build your indoor apartment vegetable garden

Can you imagine having a vegetable garden at home? Growing your garden at home can have some advantages: access to fresh vegetables, free of pesticides, and even saving money. Also, if your goal is to have a more sustainable life, planting a home garden is an excellent plan.

Growing vegetables in a vegetable garden is a sustainable attitude for several reasons: it avoids the encouragement of deforestation as it also does not pollute the rivers and the soil; you reduce your daily purchases and consequently your travels to shops; you avoid waste by having greater control over the food you consume, all you have to do is harvest the vegetables only when you are going to destroy them.

Maybe you have already considered starting gardening, but you don’t have the outdoor space for it. Even with little space, it is possible to grow and produce vegetables in sufficient variety and quantity indoors. Do you want to know how? Just read this article.

Before you begin planting your indoor vegetable garden, the first thing to do is find the perfect space in your home. It can take as much or little space as you’re willing to give up - it can be an entire room or a small area in your kitchen. It is your choice. The most important thing to consider is the amount of natural sunlight the space receives. In general, the best location for an indoor garden is the area with the best light.

If that’s not possible and you do not have adequate light - either due to short winter days or your apartment’s lack of windows, you can use specialised lights, like grow lights. These lights imitate the wavelengths of the sun to prevent your plants from growing too weak. Also, try to choose a spot where there isn’t a lot of activity, to protect plants from being knocked over. You should avoid placing your indoor garden where it could receive drafts of hot air or cold air, damaging the plants.

It would help if you had gloves, a watering can, a hand spade, scissors, and of course, containers. Pick up containers that are suited to the plants you’re growing. Greens can grow in most containers, but other vegetables will need more space, for example.

To ensure each plant’s roots have enough room to grow, use separate containers for each large vegetable plant. Also, the features of the container matter, drainage holes help prevent the soil from becoming saturated.

To choose which herbs and vegetables you will plant, there are some factors you need to take into consideration: the space you have; what herbs and vegetables do you generally consume. Most herbs will quickly grow indoors. They are great since they don’t take up much space. You can plant basil, chives, mint, oregano, parsley, sage, thyme, cilantro, or rosemary.

But when it comes to vegetables, some are better suited than others, depending on the space, sunlight, and humidity they need. For indoor spaces, it is recommended to choose plants that can tolerate a bit of shade, such as leafy greens: lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale.

On the other side, beets, carrots, tomatoes, beans fit the entire sun category, meaning they’ll need a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight. Pumpkins, watermelon, and squash should also be avoided due to size issues.

The soil you choose is essential for your vegetable and herbs since it will impact their quality. Use high-quality organic potting soil and never bring soil from your yard - it will deplete crucial nutrients and not regulate the water correctly.

Potting mixes may contain fertiliser: some have fertiliser that’s used up after two or three waterings, while others include a fertiliser that provides small amounts of nutrients over a long period. So be sure to check the bag to know how often you should be fertilising. If your chosen potting soil doesn’t contain fertiliser, you can use liquid fertiliser with water at least once a month.

Water is essential for plants, and an indoor garden is no exception. However, it is not so easy to manage indoor plants since they don’t have drainage systems. Overwatering must be avoided. Choose to water when the soil is getting dry - you can check it by sticking your finger into it. If it’s dry, it’s time to water.

Humidity may also be an issue, especially during the winter - the colder and drier the air is, the lower its capacity for carrying water molecules. If your home is dry, place a few humidifiers in the room where you plan to keep the plants.