Indoor Gardening for Beginners

Indoor Gardening for Beginners

Indoor Gardening for Beginners

Laxmi Joshi

Indoor Gardening for Beginners

Laxmi Joshi

ISBN - 9789361521546

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Preface

In nature, nothing is lost; everything is transformed. Plants feed animals, animals enrich the soil, and the soil generates plant growth. They all depend on one another; the cycle is complete. Traditional farms – the farms that gave shape to our countrysides – were microcosms based on this principle of circularity. In barns and stables, the horses that pulled our wagons and ploughs, the cows that offered their milk, the pigs that became our bacon and ham, and the chickens in their coops were all provided with straw bedding that, enriched with manure, would later be used as fertilizer. The manure heap often had pride of place in the center of the courtyard because everyone knew that it held the promise of harvests to come: the promise of bread that would feed the land and the promise of cheese, beans, and lentils; of cabbage and carrots

Table of Contents

1 Introduction to Indoor Gardening 1

1.1 Personal Plants 1

1.2 Types of Indoor Plants 2

1.2.1 Planter Box 4

1.2.2 Lighting Systems 5

1.3 Exercise 9

2 History of Indoor Gardening 10

2.1 Neolithic Origins 10

2.2 Hanging with Babylon 10

2.3 Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans 11

2.4 Miniature Potted Plants 12

2.5 Renaissance Resurgence 13

2.6 Victorian Growth 14

2.7 Modern Era 15

2.8 Exercise 15

3 Benefits of Indoor Gardening 16

3.1 The Top 6 Benefits of Indoor Gardening 16

3.1.1 Better Air 16

3.1.2 Therapeutic 17

3.1.3 Fresh Herbs Right in Your Kitchen 18

3.1.4 Fresh, Pesticide-Free Fruit And Vegetables

All Year Round 19

3.1.5 Mental Health Improvements 19

3.1.6 Anyone Can Do It, No Matter Their Condition 20

3.2 Exercise 20

4 A Guide to Indoor Planning 21

4.1 Selecting a Location 21

4.2 Stocking the Garden 21

4.3 Plant Guide 22

4.4 Plant Designations 22

4.5 Setting the Plants 23

4.6 Exercise 23

5 How to Care for the Garden 24

5.1 Training Plants 24

5.2 Conditioned Plants 24

5.3 General Care 27

5.4 Fertilizing 29

5.5 Exercise 30

6 Special Gardening 31

6.1 Terrariums 31

6.2 Hanging Baskets 34

6.3 Plants for Beginners 36

6.4 Other Care 37

6.4.1 While you’re away 38

6.5 Other Uses 38

6.6 Air Layering 39

6.7 Exercise 39

7 Choosing Your Foliage Freinds and How to

Make Them Feel at Home 40

7.1 A Room of their Own 41

7.2 The Pick of the Crop 42

7.3 Signs of Health 42

7.3.1 What to look for 42

7.3.2 What to Avoid 43

7.4 Exercise 44

8 Essential Factors To Consider for Indoor Gardening 45

8.1 Space 45

8.2 Light 46

8.3 Selecting a Grow Light 46

8.4 Temperature 48

8.5 Humidity 49

8.6 Growing Medium 50

8.7 Hydroponics 51

8.8 Choosing Plants 51

8.9 Moving Plants Outside 53

8.10 Moving Plants Inside 54

8.11 Maintenance 54

8.11.1 Watering 54

8.11.2 Fertilizer/ Nutrients 56

8.12 Types of Indoor Gardening 56

8.12.1 Container Gardening 56

8.12.2 Hydroponics 57

8.12.3 Living Walls and Edible Walls 57

8.13 Necessities for Indoor Gardening 57

8.13.1 Space 57

8.13.2 Light 58

8.13.3 Soil and Nutrients 58

8.13.4 Water 58

8.14 Exercise 59

9 Vertical Farming 60

9.1 Introduction 60

9.2 Small Scale Vertical Food Growing 63

9.2.1 Small Indoor Growing Systems 63

9.3 Shipping Container Growing Systems 63

9.4 Large Scale Vertical Farming 64

9.5 Space Travel - Food Grown in Outer Space 66

9.6 Biological System as a complex network of

biologically relevant entities. 69

9.7 Exercise 69

10 Hydroponics 70

10.1 What is Hydroponics? 70

10.2 What are its benefits? 70

10.3 The Nutrient Solution 71

10.4 Key Considerations 72

10.5 Three Ways to Build a Homemade Hydroponics System 74

10.5.1 Hydroponic Raft 74

10.5.2 Vertical Hydroponics 74

10.5.3 Aquaponics 75

10.6 Exercise 76

11 Urban Agriculture Story: From NASA Science to

Indoor Gardening with Vertiponic 77

11.1 Who is behind Vertiponic? 81

11.2 How Aeroponics Works 83

11.3 Decoding High-Pressure Aeroponics Science 84

11.4 Next Step 86

11.5 Exercise 88

12 Indoor Horticulture 89

12.1 Introduction 89

12.2 Electric Lighting has a Growing Influence in Indoor Horticulture 90

12.3 A recent Account of Indoor Light Qualities on plant

growth and Development 94

12.3.1 Using Electric Lights To Cultivate

Ornamental Plants 94

12.3.2 Using Electric Lights To Cultivate Crop Plants 96

12.3.3 Using Electric Lights To Cultivate Fruits, Herbs,

And Other Economically Valuable Plants 97

12.3.4 Electric Lights Affect Water Usage Efficiency

of Plants 97

12.3.5 Using Electric Lights to Cultivate Model

Plants and the Relevance of Such Studies 98

12.3.6 Mixed Reports Across Model and Representative

Crop Plants Require Molecular Validations 100

12.3.7 Using Functional Genomics for Economic Gains 100

12.3.8 Functional Indicators Diagnostic of

Light-induced Regimes 101

12.3.9 Light Regimes Affect Hormonal-Related

Gene Expression 102

12.3.10 Light Regimes Influence Photosynthetic

Apparatus-associated Genes 104

12.3.11 Influence of Light Regimes on the Protein Abundance 106

12.4 A Highly Tailored Approach to Indoor Plant Cultivation 107

12.5 Exercise 109

13 The Science of Indoor Gardening 110

13.1 The Rising Profile of CEA 111

13.2 Farm Models Differ 112

13.3 Operational Challenges 116

13.4 Safety First 118

13.5 Growth Agendas 120

13.6 Can Indoor Farming feed The World? 122

13.7 Exercise 125

14 The Roots of Indoor Farming 126

14.1 The Path to Growing Food Indoors 126

14.2 The Present: Modern Farming Indoors 127

14.2.1 Hydroponics 127

14.2.2 Aeroponics 127

14.2.3 Aquaponics 128

14.3 The Future Looks Ripe 128

14.3.1 Food Supply For A Growing Population: 128

14.3.2 Water Scarcity: 128

14.3.3 Biodiversity: 129

14.4 Exercise 129

15 The Market for Indoor Farming 130

15.1 Market Overview 130

15.2 Scope of the Report 130

15.3 Key Market Trends 131

15.3.1 A decrease in Global Per Capita Arable Land 131

15.3.2 North America - The Largest Market for

Indoor Farming 132

15.3.3 Competitive Landscape 132

15.4 Major Players 133

15.5 Exercise 133

16 The Power of Water to Grow Food 134

16.1 The need for Innovative Agriculture 134

16.2 The Invention of Modern-day Hydroponics 135

16.3 Hydroponics for a Sustainable Future 138

16.4 Unique Offerings 140

16.5 Branching out 141

16.6 Exercise 141

17 New Tech Innovations for Growing Indoors 142

17.1 Automated Watering System 143

17.2 LED Growing Lights 143

17.3 Aquaponics 144

17.4 Exercise 144

Appendix 145

Glossary 147

Index 149

Chapter 1. Introduction to Indoor Gardening

1.1 Personal Plants

You can grow and display many kinds of decorative house plants in your home by using an indoor garden. People realize that house plants—displayed in planters equipped primarily with fluorescent lamps—are an attractive asset and a constantly changing decoration for any space in the home. Much of this popularity has been due to the production, distribution, and varieties of house plants that have been made available to the consumer. Most house plants are grown commercially under a protective covering in artificial growing media and fed regularly with fertilizers. Care is taken to see that plant diseases and insect pests are controlled. A major aim of the plant industry is to broaden the range of plants—their foliage and their flowering—which can be grown successfully. They have worked to develop easy-to-understand care instructions for handling the plants and to encourage the installation of lighting facilities suitable for showing, acclimatizing, and growing them. This accomplishment is made possible by cooperation between many specialists. Florists must work with engineers and lighting designers to build the facilities for highlighting and maintaining the plants. Interior designers and architects must mix plants aesthetically with other furnishings. Growers and indoor gardeners must select both the plants and the watering techniques to ensure the continued success of the plants.

1.2 Types of Indoor Plants

Most house plants require light to survive in indoor locations. If natural light in the living space is insufficient to help maintain the plants, then artificial light must be used. To grow plants satisfactorily in an indoor garden, one must remember to:

• Water the plants thoroughly, but only often enough to prevent wilting.

• Fertilize the plants every 2 to 4 weeks while they are actively growing.

• Illuminate the plants with fluorescent lamps 12 to 16 hours daily.

Fluorescent lamps have allowed house plants to thrive in indoor gardens—plants that barely existed indoors before the development of such light sources. These lamps have many benefits: they give uniform illumination and emit a minimum amount of heat into the air, they are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they give the proper environment for the propagation of plants by root cuttings, air layering, or seedlings. Whether the location has some daylight, or little or no daylight, fluorescent lamps provide the proper illumination. To determine whether adequate light exists in a location, it is necessary to use a light meter specially designed for measuring artificial lighting Plans for II types of indoor gardens are shown in this bulletin. Anyone who can use woodworking tools should be able to construct an indoor garden by following these general plans.

• PLAN A is for a garden about 4 feet long and 12 to 18 inches deep. This long, narrow garden is most useful in a dimly lighted corridor. It will brighten as well as decorate the corridor. This version of the indoor garden may