The Vertical Gardening Guidebook (11 page)

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E
XCERPT
F
ROM
T
HE
U
RBAN
G
ARDENING
B
OOK

G
ROWING
P
LANTS
I
NDOORS

Who said that you have to have plants growing outside?

If you don’t have the luxury of having a yard, balcony or rooftop for gardening you can grow plants in the comfort of your own home. Just make use of the windowsills throughout your property. You can build shelves for the ones that don’t have a sill. Some people even have a vertical garden on their walls, which can be constructed with shelves or pockets on a board. There are different designs available for these – some you can even build yourself.  Another great option is to use a vertical aeroponics system near a window to grow 20-30 plants in a 2 ft by 2ft area. More on that in Chapter 13.

If you don’t get enough sunlight coming into your home because of your location, you can opt to buy artificial lighting, called grow lights. Make sure to purchase grow lights that are specifically designed for plants. Not just any light bulb can be used. Also, you’ll need to have the right temperature and amount of light spectrum (red, white and blue light) for your plants. Some grow better under red light, while others need the full spectrum.

C
HOOSING A
S
ITE THAT HAS
P
LENTY OF
L
IGHT OR
S
HADE

When it comes to choosing a site for your plants, it’s important that you know all you can about how to nurture and grow them. This means researching whether that specific plant needs majority sunlight or majority shade. You can set up your urban garden in a way that will allow this to work out for each of your plants. For instance, you can have some plants facing south where it will get plenty of light and others in front of larger plants, so that it will get lots of shade. Not paying attention to this important detail could leave you with shriveled, withering plants that are dying from excessive or insufficient sunlight.

If you’re planting from seed, the seed packets should tell you how much sun your plants need. Otherwise, just Google it to found out. For example, you can search “Sun Requirement For Tomatoes” to find out how much sun tomato plants need to produce fruit.

C
ONTAINERS,
W
ALL
G
ARDENS,
W
INDOW
G
ARDENS AND
A
EROPONIC
S
YSTEMS

The easiest ways  to garden indoors are to use containers, an aeroponics system, window garden system or a wall garden. We’ll cover container gardening and wall gardening in the next chapter. Aeroponics systems are covered in Chapter 13.

Right now let’s talk about window gardening.

Above is a picture of a typical “Window Garden” made using plastic bottles. You can either manufacture them yourself or buy a complete system like those found at
windowfarms.com

Here’s a complete video tutorial for you if you want to grow your own window garden using plastic bottles:
http://bit.ly/Tvf0UG

Personally, I don’t recommend using plastic bottles for food gardening as the phthalates and other chemicals can leach into the food. I’d much prefer to use food safe plastic to grow to avoid any contamination. But that’s just my opinion. If you want to make your own window garden with old plastic bottles, by all means go for it!

Above is a picture of the Windowfarm system which start at $199.

L
IST OF
P
LANTS
T
HAT
C
LEAN
T
HE
A
IR

The following is a list of amazing plants you can grow indoors that help clean and purify the air you breathe. These plants are perfect for anyone who has allergies or frequent respiratory infections (colds, viruses, flus, etc.). They’re also just great for anyone who loves breathing clean air and gorgeous plants!

A
LOE (
A
LOE VERA)

This easy-to-grow, sun-loving succulent helps clear formaldehyde and benzene, which can be a byproduct of chemical-based cleaners, paints and more. Aloe is a smart choice for a sunny kitchen window. Beyond its air-clearing abilities, the gel inside an aloe plant can help heal cuts and burns. You can also make smoothies with the inside flesh of the aloe (just avoid the outer green flesh as it will make you very regular!)

S
PIDER PLANT (
C
HLOROPHYTUM COMOSUM)

Even if you tend to neglect houseplants, you’ll have a hard time killing this resilient plant. With lots of rich foliage and tiny white flowers, the spider plant cleans the air of chemicals including benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and xylene, a solvent used in the leather, rubber and printing industries.

G
ERBER DAISY (
G
ERBERA JAMESONII)

This bright, flowering plant is effective at removing trichloroethylene, which you may bring home with your dry cleaning. It’s also good for filtering out the benzene that comes with inks. Add one to your laundry room or bedroom — presuming you can give it lots of light (south-facing windows are best!).

[End of Excerpt] If you enjoyed reading this excerpt from
Urban Gardening:
How To Grow Food In Any City Apartment Or Yard No Matter How Small
, you can grab your copy here:
http://amzn.to/ZEIGNX

S
NAKE PLANT (
S
ANSEVIERIA TRIFASCIATA '
L
AURENTII')

Also known as mother-in-law’s tongue, this plant is one of the best for filtering out formaldehyde, which is common in cleaning products, toilet paper, tissues and personal care products. Put one in your bathroom — it’ll thrive with low light and steamy humid conditions while helping filter out air pollutants.

S
PECIAL
F
ACEBOOK
G
ROUP

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BOUT
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HE
A
UTHOR