1- It’s an Affordable Way to Decorate

Looking for a fresh way to add some style to your indoor lair without breaking the bank? Growing a few potted plants does just that. If you’re lucky enough to have a room that’s well-lit and has plenty of ventilation room with doors and large windows, you could probably plant almost anything you want. If you’re having a hard time selecting the right plants for your living space, consider choosing a plant or two that would complement that room. For instance, if you currently love the look of your Spanish-hacienda style kitchen, you could grow a potted cacti or other succulent plants.

2- It’s a Natural Way to Clean the Air

It’s simple science – we breathe oxygen in and breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants do the exact opposite. They take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Keeping a few indoor plants inside your house creates a natural balance for perfect harmony.

3- Some Plants Serve a Functional Purpose

Save some money and grow your own herbs in your kitchen.  Grow parsley, rosemary, terragon, oregano, mint, or cilantro. Grow your favorite herbs inside small pots for added convenience. If you have a pet cat, you could also grow cat grass or catnip too.

Hydroponics is loved by many, as it is an efficient way to grow plants in indoor spaces or urban areas that don’t have a lot of soil to work with. The main drawback to this system is the possible contamination of water. To prevent disease in plants, proper sterilization of all hydroponic equipment is crucial after each crop. This can be accomplished in a few, fairly simple steps for most hydroponic systems.

First, you’ll need to empty out your hydroponic system, removing all plants and anything else in it. Using your hand, clean the whole system with a towel. If there are any stubborn solids that won’t come off with the towel, a wire brush, such as a baby bottle brush, will likely do the task.

Rinse the system out and then fill it up with water to the halfway mark. Use a pH testing kit, along with a store-bought pH adjusting solution to get the water’s pH to around 5.

In a bucket, mix 4 tsp of chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Add this solution to fill up the remainder of the system and stir it well. Lower the lights in room, and let the system sit for at least 24 hours.

While the system is sitting, it’s necessary to run the system’s pump for 15 minutes each hour. For run-to-waste hydroponic systems, the pump will only need a single blast each hour.

Your last step to complete the sterilization is to dump the water out and flush the system with fresh water until the chlorine bleach smell and residue is washed away.

1- Use Organic Compost

When it comes to gardening, organic is almost always the way to go. You can purchase organic compost, or you could make your own. According to Herb Gardens Guide from About.com, you should gather materials that can decompose like fruit, vegetables (more specifically peelings and cores), twigs, greenery, and a little bit of water.  The article specifically advises that you turn the pile inward about every seven days for several months or at least until the compost turns dark. To keep the recipe organic, you should only use organic materials.

2- Fight Pests the Natural Way

Just because you’re keeping your green container garden pesticide free, doesn’t mean you have to let your hard work go to the bugs. You can find alternative methods to protect your garden. Milky Spore Powder is one of the best natural solutions as it specifically targets the bugs that damage the plants without poisoning the environment or animals. Other options include incorporating nature’s solutions into your small container garden. If you keep your plants outdoors, you could get some ladybugs to get rid of aphids. You could also buy some extra plants as natural repellents. Golden Harvest Organics suggests adding anise or petunias to deter pests and insects.

3- Use More Natural Light

The sun provides the best source of light for any living plant, so if you can keep your plants outdoors most of the time, do that.

Home grown sprouts offer loads of nutritional value that is low-calorie and low-cost. Vitamin C, iron, and magnesium are just a few of the nutritional elements of this food. To get started on enjoying these in your own kitchen, you can buy a ready made kit or sprout grower. Alternatively, you can sprout seeds, nuts, or grains in a mason jar. Just put cheese cloth over the mouth of the jar and use a rinsing technique to sprout your food.

Whether you choose commercial sprouting equipment or a mason jar, here are a few tips to get the most out of your sprouting experience.

Use the Right Seeds
When sprouting for immediate consumption, any garden seeds will not do. These are often treated with chemicals. Instead of these seeds, look for seeds (and nuts and grains) sold specifically for sprouting. These are often found in health food stores.

Rinse!
To get the best results and reduce any possible bacteria or fungal growth, you should rinse your sprouts several times a day. This will also help sprouts achieve an even color, and keep them from getting too impacted.

Store Sprouts Well
For the best taste, sprouts should be eaten as soon as they are ready; however, if you’ve sprouted more than you can eat in a day, make sure you store the sprouts in an air tight container in the refrigerator. If you need to store them longer than a few days, freezing is necessary.

Clean Sprouting Equipment
Bacteria can grow in your sprouting equipment and cause dangerous illnesses. It’s very important to clean your equipment after each harvest. The best way to kill any possible contaminants is using a mixture of bleach and water. Scrub the equipment thoroughly and rinse well. If your equipment is dishwasher safe, that is another option for getting it clean after each use.

1- Decide if you can grow one. Not all areas are favorable for growing poinsettia plants as they originated from the warm, humid climate of Mexico. The prime time for these plants to bloom is during the winter, but you can keep them all year round as long as you regularly fertilized them. If you live in a very cold climate (primarily the northeast and northwest regions), or in an area that gets a lot of frost, be prepared to keep your plant indoors.

2- Monitor your soil’s pH levels with a specialized soil testing kit. Follow the kit’s instructions, and test as often as the package indicates. Make sure that the level remains at medium to prevent disease and decay. Another important thing to monitor is the temperature. Whether the plant is outdoors or indoors, you need to keep it in a place that’s warm but not too chilly (preferably not below 55 degrees). To help your poinsettia maintain its vivid red flowers, you will need to provide it with pure darkness for 15 hours (from the evening to early morning). Around 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning, you can bring your plant back out so you can enjoy the blooms.

3- One note of caution: a real poinsettia plant is not ideal for households with dogs or cats. If you must have one of these plants in your home, get a faux version or keep the real one in a high or otherwise safe area.

1. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
This easy-to-grow plant is perfect for anyone new to growing house plants. It is one of the few green-leaved plants that can survive with incredibly low lighting requirements. These beauties love heavy soil, with moderate watering. You should wait until the soil has dried before watering again, as they don’t like soggy roots. As long as you keep these indoors, they should grow many years with little hassle or maintenance.

2. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
This tropical plant originated in Africa, and it is commonly used indoors in a wide variety of environments. The spider plant is one of the hardest house plants to kill and a pretty fool-proof option for almost any gardener. It’s also effective in removing formaldehyde from indoor spaces. Like the Chinese Evergreen, this plant doesn’t like too much water. You can find spider plants at garden centers across the country.

3. Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
If you’re a slacker when it comes to watering your indoor plants, the Ponytail Palm may be the perfect house plant for you. This Mexican native can actually store water within its trunk, and it can even thrive for up to a year without any additional watering. Of course, that’s not recommended. This unique-looking plant is used as an outdoor ornamental plant in warm, dry climates, but has also been used extensively as a house plant. Although watering isn’t really important, you’ll need to grow this one in lots of light for best results.

However, any passionate gardener will want at least a couple of plants inside to occupy him or her during the winter. And while keeping potted plants requires the same basic skills as keeping an outdoor garden, you should remember a few basic pointers to help your plants thrive indoors:

• Think from the ground up… in this case, from the pot up. Provide an optimum growing environment to help your plants survive through the winter. You don’t have to buy new potting soil every year, but you should mix in new materials every year. Peat moss or sphagnum moss, when integrated into your potting soil, will act as a sponge, helping to spread water and nutrients throughout the pot (and your plants root system.) Also, remember when choosing your pot that its size will determine how big your plant can grow. If you want a bigger plant, use a bigger pot.
• Water – it’s obvious, but crucial. A small, enclosed body of soil, with the exposed surface area on the sides and bottom of the pot, dries out much faster than the ground outside. As a result, watering potted plants requires more attention than plants outside. Plants outside can be saturated with water every few days; potted plants need water every day or two. If you can’t handle that daily committment, consider a plant waterer.
• Square meals…not every day, of course, but you’ll need to mix plant food in with your water every week or two. In a small environment like a pot, the roots of a plant can suck all the nutrients out of soil sooner than you’d think. Whether you want to use Miracle Grow, a generic substitute, or an organic specialty feed, follow the directions.
• Sunlight and warmth…both are just as important inside as out. Most indoor gardeners are smart enough to find somewhere sunny in their homes, but they forget about the heat. While it might not be economical to keep your whole living space warm enough for your plants, consider keeping them in a warm room. (The bathroom is great for this…and the steam from your shower helps, too).

The first step to creating a fabulous garden right outside your window starts with the perfect window box planter, and unless you live in a relatively dry climate (meaning it doesn’t rain much), you would probably fare better with a window box that was made from fiberglass, aluminum, or iron. Once you have found the perfect box, here are some cool ideas to help inspire you for gardening success even with limited space!

A Burst of Color

Show off your colorful side with a wide array of different flowers in the same variation of color. Love yellow? Try growing a garden of yellow daisies, black-eyed susans, and roses. Prefer pink? You might like to start a small garden with pink asters and carnations.  You could also mix up it up by growing flowers of different colors.

Growing Vines

Make your window box looks even more unique by growing plants that produce vines. Ivy and hydrangeas are good examples of such plants.  Both plants can grow upward and “climb” walls and trees, so you may have to create a plan to keep the plants from damaging the exterior or other plants indirectly. This may include pruning them from time to time.

 Miniature Herb Garden

If you are a true chef in the kitchen, and you love to use fresh spices in your culinary masterpieces, maybe you will want to grow a miniature herb garden. You could grow thyme, basil, garlic, cilantro, parsley, and more. And as a bonus, it’s a great way to encourage healthier eating.

First of all, don’t rely on nature to water your container garden for you. It’s easy to remember to water plants right after they have been planted, but it’s also necessary to continue to water those plants regularly.

Relying on the rain to keep a plant healthy does not necessary work out, especially with plants in containers. You should water your container garden at least once a week. During hotter months, plants may even need to be watered once or twice daily. In addition, after a day of rain, check the plant’s soil to make sure it has gotten thoroughly wet. The leaves of potted plants can prevent rain water from getting down to the soil and roots.

You should be careful to never let potted soil dry out. If you have to, you can water your plants when you’re away. A simple way to do this is by using an empty plastic water bottle. Cut the bottom off, cut some holes in the lid, and then turn the bottle upside down and anchor it into the soil. Fill the bottle with water, and it will slowly release moisture into the soil while you’re away from your container garden.

Every time you water, make sure you give your plants enough so that it comes out the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. This will ensure you are getting plenty of water to the roots. Use a turkey baster to remove excess from the saucers that sit under your potted house plants to keep them looking tidy.

1- Pick fun pots.

Who says all plant pots have to be plain and plastic? There are lots of fun and funky planters out there to choose from – ceramic, terra cotta, fiberglass, rattan, and more. If you live for creativity, you could make your own small pots, or you could buy a few already-made pots, and paint them to make each one look unique.

2- Mix and match pots.

Plant pots are just as much about style as they are about functionality, so go ahead and purchase a few small pots in different colors or textures.  Try mixing a few solid plastic pots in fun colors, with ceramic pots in neutral hues. Alternate each plant pot for a kick of style. You could also line up a few of the same style of pots on a bottom shelf, and then place the other style of pots on the shelf above.

3- Keep a theme in mind.

It is possible to fill your container garden completely with plants you love, but it might be more pleasing to the eye to keep your garden within a theme.  Do you want your small garden to inspire romance? You could grow several types of roses in traditional colors like red, pink, and yellow. If you like lots of greenery, you could grow ferns, philodendrons, and small trees.  Find a theme that works for you and your home (or balcony).