DIY by Design: Bring the Family Together with an Indoor Garden

I'd like to welcome Jack Mauro who has written a post especially for DIYbyDesign. ?Enjoy!

Are you looking for a fun way to get the family to spend time together creating something that the whole house can enjoy? Why not set up an indoor garden! Gardening is a fun, low-stress way to fill the house with beautiful green growing things. Depending on what you choose to grow, you can either enjoy the beautiful smell and appearance of your plants, or you can harvest them for?

delicious home-cooked meals. How to Create Your Indoor Garden - Prep Work
The first step is to choose your spot. You will want a place that gets plenty of sun, so near a window or sliding glass door is always a good choice. If your home has skylights, these are perfect for your indoor garden. In the event that there are no sunny spots inside, you can always purchase fluorescent grow lights for your plants to help them get the nutrients they need. Alternately, you can plan to garden only with plants that require partial sun. Once you have a space to set up your garden, get everything you need to buy. This will include a gardening trowel, seeds or seedlings, planters, drainage saucers and potting soil. A gardening spout or can is also a good buy. Make sure to buy planters that fit the size of the plants you're getting.?

How to Create Your Indoor Garden ? Planting

Once you have all your things together, then the fun part begins!

1- Fill the planters with soil and place them on top of drainage saucers.
2- If you've purchased seedlings, dig a hole large enough for the seedling to fit, carefully remove the seedling from the pot it came in, and gently dig out the bottom so the roots are free.
3- Place the root ball in the hole and fill it back up with soil, burying the roots completely.
4- If you've purchased seeds, simply plant one as deep as the seed packet suggests.
5- You may be able to plant multiple seeds in the same planter. Be sure to space them apart in accordance with the instructions on the seed packet.
6- Finally, water the soil thoroughly until you see water begin to drain into the drainage saucer.

Caring for Your Indoor Garden
Nature is beautiful in that it tends to grow all on its own. This is the perfect lesson for young children, who will be excited to see little sprouts and to track the plant's growth progress. You can tell them how its growth is just like their growth and watch their little eyes get all big! Be sure to caution them about being too rough with your new plant.

If the plant begins to get too big for its initial planter, replant it the way that you initially transplanted the seedling from one pot into the planter.

For the first couple weeks, you be in charge of watering duty. Have the kids watch you do it so they can learn the proper technique. Water your plants according to the instructions on each seed packet. Once the plant is acclimated to your home and is strong enough to handle the occasional over-enthusiastic child, you can have your kids water it as part of their chores.

Having a plant will help your children learn the value of responsibility, as they will be caring for a living creature. This can be an important educational lesson for your kids. Even though the plant does not move around, it is still alive and must be treated with respect. Indoor gardening can bring you and your entire family together. Try it out today!

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone. ?

Source: http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/2012/08/bring-family-together-with-indoor-garden.html

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