Indoor Plants for Home Garden – A guide for the beginner (Part2)

This is part 2 of ‘Indoor plants for home garden – A guide for the beginner’. Here we are covering edible plant types for home garden.

Yes, these are plants that we can grow at home and consume as a part of our diet.

Herbs as Indoor Plants

Herbs are an integral part of everyone’s diet. These edible plants are a rage in urban gardening now a days and rightly so. Fresh herbs are a go to thing in modern day cooking. The health benefits that they bring along with distinct taste are an added benefit. Growing herbs at home is not that difficult. We do need to consider certain factors beforehand though.  Herbs generally grow well as per their seasonality. Secondly they need decent amount of direct sunlight for growth. Additionally a good mix of organic fertilizer comes in very handy while growing herbs. Standard 4 Inch or 5. 5 Inch Pots are ideal for growing Herb Garden or Kitchen Garden. They will usually need daily and consistent watering.

We can grow many different types of herbs at home such as-

Mint, Basil, Rosemary, Cilantro, Parsley, Thyme, Lemon grass, Dill, Oregano, Sage etc.

Usually, we grow Herbs from seeds. Generally we don’t get saplings or small plants of herbs ready. Thus we must bring in high quality seeds with maximum potency for best results.

Vegetable & Fruit Bearing Plants as Indoor Plants

We shall be honest growing vegetables indoors may not be an easy task. Urban homes simply lack the area and sun exposure needed to do so. For growing vegetables at home you must use either grow bags or raised beds. We are not saying pots are not useful but we get best results when we use grow bags or even better the raised beds.

Vegetables have similar consideration as herbs albeit on much bigger scale. They need ample amount of direct sunlight. Water needed is also much higher and needs to be consistent & regular. Considering lifestyles of typical urban resident it may be difficult to achieve the same. If you have an attached balcony which is big enough or have a small terrace where you can set it up then you must consider it for sure. It is also a task that requires a lot of patience and monetary resources. Additionally quality of seeds plays a major role in getting best results. Good and ample amount of organic fertilizer is also a must for good healthy vegetables. Thus it is an expensive affair in comparison to having herbs, flowering or ornamental plants at home. Rewards, needless to say, are much greater as you get to have organically home grown vegetables for your consumption.

Speaking from an aesthetic point of view a vegetable garden is not an ideal choice when you wish to do it to augment beauty & décor for the space.

Fruit Bearing Plants

These are the most demanding type of plants out of all mentioned here. Bearing fruit is an end result of long growth process for plants. We need huge space for growing such plants and it is ideal for us to plant these directly in the soil instead of any pots or raised beds even. Needless to say care needed for them is of highest level and they need to be fed with right amounts of fertilizers as well for proper growth.

What could be more satisfactory than being able to pluck a fruit from a tree grown by ourselves? Can we do it indoors though? Well, it is a long shot. If you happen to live in a house big enough to have your own backyard then sure you must try it lest we suggest not to take that route especially in urban set ups where we may not have such luxury of space.

We can set up a home garden in many different ways. A combination of different plant types mentioned above can really add charm to any dull indoors. We can play around with colors, textures and shapes and sizes these plants come in to make an indoor garden of our choice. We can also use commonly available accessories to accentuate the whole experience even more.

In our subsequent articles we intend to tell you more about having an indoor garden. We shall do an in depth coverage of individual plants that are categorized under 5 broad categories that we have mentioned above. Till then as we always say happy gardening to you.

If you have not read the first part of this article which deals with non edible plant types that can be grown at home, please find it here. – https://folifab.com/indoor-plants-for-home-garden/