Have you ever dreamed of growing your own food, or owning a farm? Do your eyes sparkle at the mention of an allotment? While many aspects of a lifestyle decorated with haystacks and horses might be far out of reach, one part of the dream is very much achievable: growing your own food.
Indoor gardening has been around for a minute. Hydroponics and soil-less gardening is traceable all the way back to the Hanging Gardens Of Babylon, while indoor planting with soil goes back even further. Ever since human beings have had roofs over our heads we have also come up with ways to grow our food indoors. What’s more, it’s also remarkably easy to start, even if you’re a complete beginner.
You can grow a huge variety of food indoors including carrots, ginger, kale and tomatoes. All of these plants need well-draining soil and good sunlight, you’ll need a window that faces east or south. Over-watering isn’t an issue, these plants all use loads in the growing process. A good starter is the tomato, although it will also need something to grow on. Grab some canes from your local gardening center and tie them together with string to make a teepee-like structure. Most foods that can be grown indoors are sold in seed variety at your local plant store or supermarket.
If you don’t want to grow something from seed then let us introduce an indoor plant that features in many a dish, tea and dessert: the humble lemon. The citrus wonder grows remarkably well indoors, but takes a long time from scratch. This means lots of plant shops sell small versions, specifically bred for indoors with smaller fruits. Useful if you have a small kitchen! Put one of these in a sunny spot and water frequently, you’ll soon be rolling in your own organic lemons. Money doesn’t grow on trees, but expensive citrus fruits do.
