Cooler temperatures can make it hard to keep your plants thriving and your green thumb happy. All is not lost though; you have options for gardening successfully under less than ideal weather conditions. Here’s a guide on how to successfully move your gardening into a garage or shed.
Make Your Garage Plant-Friendly
Your garden isn’t only limited to hardy plants that can survive harsh temperatures if you have a garage space handy. In order to transform your garage into a garden space, you’ll need to make sure it has adequate lighting and establish a water supply. The ideal garden space will have stands and shelves that you can use to store your plants. Your plants will also need proper air circulation as well as a regulated temperature depending on the plants you’d like to grow. Another idea is to plant a vertical garden with low-maintenance plants. Just be sure that the plants that need the most light are placed in the most well-lit spots. When moving plants from outdoors to an indoor space, Planet Natural has some suggestions for making the move, watering the plants properly and finding a fertilizer that works for you.
Build Your Own Space
If you don’t have a garage but still want an indoor gardening space, you can always build one. When it comes to your main building materials, wood and steel are common go-tos. If using wood, your building can become more appealing with the addition of a truss system. Unfortunately, wood can also warp over time and is vulnerable to the elements. Termites and other insects will readily eat and break down a wooden structure. Steel, on the other hand, is durable but more costly. If you’re using steel when building your shed, make sure to make it corrosion resistant as it may rust after a while.
Plants That Grow Well Indoors
According to Ambius, you have a number of options to choose from if you want to garden indoors. Generally, any plant that has low requirements for light and water is considered an indoor plant. The most common indoor plants are ferns, palms and some types of succulents, but the succulents tend to be the easiest to take care of even though they need bright lighting. When taking care of these types of plants, you need to make sure the soil is kept moist and the pot you’re using has adequate drainage. If you’re more interested in plants that will bloom, Homestead Brooklyn offers a list of flowering plants that do well indoors during the winter. It includes plants like anthurium, jasmine, the lipstick plant, and the crown of thorns. Vegetables like scallions and spinach can also do well.
Taking Care of an Indoor Garden
To be a successful indoor gardener, you’ll need to have the right tools. Some of the items you might need are a hand fork, pruners and an indoor watering can. Other things that may be helpful while taking care of your plants are moisture sensor meters and soil test kits. Of course, since your plants are inside, it would be good to have a healthy helping of fertilizer on hand. If you’re concerned about how to take care of your plants on a daily basis, then Real Simple provides a good guide to follow. It’s important to start with the right pot and make sure there is a drainage layer that’s the appropriate size for the plant. You can know if the plants are overwatered if there’s a musty smell while underwatering usually leads to drooping leaves.
Gardening can be a great stress reliever as well as a way to grow your own food. There’s no reason to give that all up because the weather is changing. Refer to this guide when using your garage or shed for winter gardening.
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