Indoor gardening is a lot of fun. It doesn’t matter what you are growing and how you are growing it, having a garden is always exciting. There are different methods through which you can make gardening even more interesting. Small hacks used for your indoor garden can make it more soothing to be around.
There are many hacks ranging from growing herbs in a limited space, to remodeling an earlier established indoor garden, which will turn your garden into an amazing lavish venue.
These tricks and hacks can help you employ the best methods to take care of your garden in the long run. With some simple tricks you can change the whole look of your indoor garden in no time. Most of the gardening enthusiasts do the mistake of not looking out for the little things, while paying whole lot of attention to the big changes they can make in the garden.
The simple hacks you are about to learn, will help you in giving a new shape to your indoor garden without taking much of your time. So without further ado, lets learn the hacks that can help make your garden better.
Use An Egg Carton For A Seedling Pot
Want to grow minimal space consuming herbs in your indoor garden? Then do not throw the six or twelve count egg carton. You can use it to officially start your own indoor garden, or add some more herbs to an already established green heaven. To grow some plants into an old egg carton, put a little bit of soil in each pocket. Then put the seeds of the herbs you want to grow. Cover them with soil again.
Then keep this egg carton in the right place amidst your indoor garden. Continue giving it adequate water. And before you know, you will have your herbs sprouting out in no time. This hack is also good if you have little space to establish an indoor garden to begin with. You can continue planting herbs in egg cartons and have a mini-garden ready in no time.
Plastic Bottle Planters
Plastic is, in every way an enemy of the environment. But you can put used plastic bottle to a very good use. Plastic bottles can be used to make a highly appealing indoor garden. Instead of throwing them out the next time, you can actually use them to make your indoor garden more elegant and visually appealing. They can make really neat planter displays for our green leafy pals. Putting then to use is pretty easy too, and wont take much time.
Plastic bottles are easy to cut. You can cut them in a proper shape using a pair of simple scissors. You can also use a serrated kitchen knife to get to work. The best way to go about is to cut a whole at the side of the bottle. Put the plant in the bottle along with some soil.
You can then choose to display your recycled pot in whichever manner you deem fit. You can secure a few of them together with a string and create a really fabulous hanging basket. You can also tie then with the help of a garden wire and create a vertical garden!
For more on how this can be done, check out our article on what indoor plants can be grown in plastic bottles.
Allow Your House Plants Shine
A lustrous indoor garden is a dream come true for every gardener. More often than not, gardeners are faced with the problem of dust settling on their plants. This not only makes them dull but also blocks the vital pores through which plants breathe. There are many solutions that can be used to clean your plants. But the issue with them is that they can clog and block the pores too.
To tackle this problem, wash each leaf with a soft cloth dipped in half and half mixture of warm water and milk. Not only will you get a nice shine, but there won’t be enough residue left to clog the pores.
Do this once a week and keep all the plants in your indoor garden shiny. Opening up of their pores is an added benefit. The plants will be able to breathe more freely and appear as refreshing as new ones.
Finding the Best Light
Lightning is essential for optimum growth of plants. It is vital that your plants get adequate sunlight. When you decide to establish an indoor garden, one of the many factors that should be crossing your mind, is the site where the garden would be established. It is very important to dedicate the space of your home, that gets the right amount of sunlight, to your indoor garden.
When deciding where to establish a garden, keep in mind that south facing windows receive more light as compared to the ones facing north. When it comes to east and west facing windows, you need to observe the amount or morning and afternoon sunlight they get, before putting a plant near them.
The rule of thumb is that plants with bright foliage require more sunlight. Also remember that half a turn of pot everyday will keep the growth of your houseplant even. This is so because foliage automatically moves towards light. In summers, you may need to keep the sun sensitive plants away from the windows.
For more information on best lights for your plants, check out my article on best indoor garden lights.
Improve Drainage For Your Plants
New garden owners face the problem of under watering their plants. They realize that the plants are getting drier every passing day. To compensate for this, they pour water as often as they can.
This conversely results in over watering. Both these conditions are deteriorating for your plants. Plants need the right amount of water for healthy growth period. The soil condition also plays a major role in deciding the growth of the plant.
Tuck a damp sponge into the bottom of the pot before repotting your plant. This will help you in ensuring that your plant gets adequate water. The sponge will act as a water reservoir and also prevent a gusher, if you accidentally over water. This simple hack will help in ensuring that all the plants of your indoor garden are optimally watered.
Drainage is so important for your plants, so much so that I have a dedicated article for it! Check it out here.
Mist Your Plants
We all know that water is essential to plants for their growth. Same is the case with humidity. A certain amount of humidity in the air around them, helps plants to grow well.
Some plants require humid conditions to develop while others need little less moisture content in the air around. That makes misting your house plants very important.
Contrary to lore, squirting foliage is not a good way to increase humidity for houseplants. You should use a humidifier. Misting keeps the leaves clean and provides moisture to the cuttings that are developing new roots. Mist in the morning whenever it is possible.
Also keep in mind to never mist the plants that are exposed to sunlight. Using this hack, you will be able to provide the right moisture content needed for your plants to grow well.
Know When To Repot
The best time to do repotting is when the growth phase is about to begin. For most of the house plants that you may grow in your indoor garden, this phase comes in spring.
For knowing when to repot, you should be knowing the sure shot signs a plant gives when it’s growth phase is about to begin. The first sign is that the new leaves appear slowly and are smaller than the older ones.
Another sign is the frequent drying of the soil, in which the plant is kept. This can be seen by observing that the water runs down the inside of the pot without soaking in. Another sign is the roots growing through the drainage holes.
The roots may also appear above the soil’s surface in pots. The roots may also be so tightly coiled that when you pull the plant from the pot, you see all roots and no soil. If you see any of the above features, its time to repot.
Keeping Plants Alive When On Vacation
While most of us rely on our friends and neighbors to take care of outdoor gardens when we go on a vacation, this cant be done for indoor gardens. Most garden owners are in a dilemma about the situation.
This indoor garden hack can help you in watering your plants even while you are far away from them. The only basic requirement is to fill a large vase with water and grab some thin pieces of rope.
Once you have filled the vase with water, grab the pieces of rope. Put one end of the rope pieces in the vase and the other in the pots of the plants. The water will then flow from the vase to the pots.
This method will work for at least 2 weeks. Even if you are going for more than 2 weeks, rather than watering all your plants, your friends just need to fill the vase with water. In this way, you can keep your green buddies alive while you are out.
Cure Wilted Plants With Your Hair
Remember how you are used to throwing away the hair that get stuck in your hairbrush. What if I tell you that instead of throwing them away, you could use the hair in curing a wilted plant.
As crazy as it sounds, the scientific evidence proves it to be true. This is so because the nitrogen present in human hair can help the plant in gaining nutrients. Nitrogen in itself is an essential plant nutrient.
This is like giving your plants a snack everyday to give them an energy boost. It is an easy way to provide nutrients to the plants in your indoor garden without parting ways from money.
No fertilizers, no chemicals, but enough energy for wilting plants. So, the next time you are planning on cleaning that hairbrush, instead of throwing away the hair, use them to aid your plants.
Heal Rotting Roots
Roots are the most vital parts of any growing plant. They provide nutrition and help in plant growth. If you see that your plants are getting wilted and the leaves of a plant are getting yellow, then there may be a case of roots getting rotted.
One of the main causes of this can be lack of oxygen or more water than needed. If you pull out the plant out and see that the roots of the plant are black and mushy, then it is the case of root rot.
To fix this, all you need is combining hydrogen peroxide with water. Water your plants using this combination and you will see the results fairly soon. This will also help you get rid of common fests and fungus.
Such a simple hack will help you make your indoor garden more elegant. You can even make a huge batch and keep it in reserve for further use.
Rice Plant Food
Giving your plants the right food is essential. Most gardeners are confused about the optimum food and nutrients that they should be giving to their plants. It is essential that plants receive the right nutrients.
Using this indoor garden hack, you will be able to make plant food in bulk. Take some rice, put it in water and allow the two of them to mix together. Once the rice has infused into the water, take out some water and divide it into an ice cube tray. Then pop these rice water cubes into the freezer.
Once these cubes are solid, you can use them as plant food. Add these rice water cubes to the soil. As the cube melts, the nutrients are absorbed by the plants. Rice contains abundant amount of starch, which is essential for plant growth. This hack works amazingly well for potted plants that are rooted in soil.
Boil Eggs
Eggs constitute one of the most widely consumed breakfast dishes. They are nutritious and help you give the right amount of energy to last whole day. But do you know that the water you use to boil the eggs, can prove beneficial to your plants too.
This indoor garden hack will help you prepare another energy snack for your green buddies. Grab a pot, fill it with water and boil the eggs just as you do normally.
Once the eggs are boiled, remove them but do not throw the water. Let it cool and use it to water your plants. Egg shells contain calcium which infuses into the water while your eggs are boiling. Plants need calcium to maintain normal function. It is also a great way to recycle water.
Fly Repellent
Flies are a common problem faced by every garden owner. They can infest your plants and degrade them. Some of them can be harmful to humans too. To make sure that your indoor garden is free from flies, use the following garden hack.
Using this hack will help you get rid of flies without using any chemicals. All you need is soap and water.
Take a normal water bottle. Mix soap and water and shake well. Use the mixture to spray on your plants. This will keep the flies away from them. Soaps contain potassium of fatty acids, which breakdown the exoskeleton of many insects. In this way, you will be able to fend off your indoor garden against flies.
Flies can be a nasty problem with indoor gardens and so I took some extra time to make sure you wouldn’t have this problem. Check out my article on how to keep flies away from your indoor garden.
Watering Plants Using Vertical Bottle Garden
Watering plants in your indoor garden can be a tough job. Do you always worry whether or not you are your watering your plants enough? Do you see water dripping out of the pots every time you have a watering session? Not only is this a waste of water but also makes the garden a good humid place for insects to thrive.
To fix this problem, you can create a vertical garden. Cut the top of few bottles. Put a coffee filter inside them. Then put some soil and plant. Once this is done, all you need to do is punch some holes, put strings in them and then knot it and connect to other bottled plants. Not only is this environment friendly but is also a home decor hack.
Growing A Rose Bush
Have you ever been given a bouquet of roses and wished you could have it forever? All you need for this is honey and potato. Make a hole in the potato. Put some bit of honey at the end of the rose stem. Put the rose in the potato hole and plant it in the soil.
Since honey stems rose and potato fertilizes it, you will be able to have a rose in your indoor garden. By this simple indoor garden hack, you will never need to go out and buy expensive roses when you have them in your garden!
These are 15 indoor garden hacks that will help you become a better gardener. These hacks will make your garden more elegant and interesting too!
Sam is a graduated biologist who sub-specialised in Botany in his final years. With a passion for human health and food, this was the perfect marriage of his interests. Having been born in the country but spent most of his life living in cities, this blog was his answer to learning how to grow a garden indoors if you didn’t have ample space outside.