Mini-Gardens: Small Container Gardens and Aquaculture

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Articles & Lessons >> Green Topics >> indoor & small space gardening >> small container gardening and aquaculture >> Bonsai Series >> bonsai growing tips>> Also Growing tomatoes >> Container gardening >> more

flower and catepillar
© Jessie Grable

Share my Interest in Indoor, Container and
Small Space Gardening

Herb gardens in tea cups and cereal bowls; cuttings sprouting in water-filled, recycled/repurposed catsup bottles; green onion bulbs in pots on the porch; these are all familiar small space and container gardening. Vegetables growing in growth boxes, hanging tomatoes upside down in growing bags, specially grafted 5-variety fruit trees, and potted trees and bushes can all be seen in patio gardens. Add to this the plastic rafts planted with small gardens and floated on ponds. In this series of articles are tips and info on container gardens, vegetables, bonsai, aquaponics and other mini-gardening techniques.

Tips on Container Gardens from Windowbox.com

Usefulness and Lighting for Indoor Gardening

This book is by a retired NASA botanist and reports on plants that can be used to cleanse the air in you home. Wolverton originally did the research as part of the search for plants to use in biohabitats in space. It is a fascinating little book -- yes, I own it.

Growing plants such as bonsai, potted succulents, and hothouse flowers indoors takes special techniques and plant care. Indoor gardening requires articificial lighting. Grow lights shine most brightly in the blue-to-ultravioilet frequencies. A lamp designed for the special light bulbs must be placed close to plants that require bright light to grow properly. This lamp from Glentronics seems most suitable. From Amazon.com I copied the product descritption so you could see why I like it so much.

"Keep indoor plants healthy with this ingenious plant light from Glentronics. Its patent-pending assembly automatically changes the amount of light it gives the plant, depending on whether it's spring, summer, fall, or winter. Just set the season once, and the lamp's internal computer chip starts the daylight cycle, simulating Mother Nature. A 9-watt, full-spectrum fluorescent bulb mimics the sun's rays for optimal growth. As if that wasn't helpful enough, an accompanying sensor signals when plant needs water. The lamp accommodates plants up to 14 inches tall in a 5-1/2-inch pot."

Mini-Gardens Make Great Gifts!

The basics for starting a container garden is always a great gift! From herb garden starter kits to fully matured bonsai, mini-gardens are always welcome presents. Below are a few other suggestions.

Find the perfect gift with the Gift Advisor from Windowbox.com! Gifts for the seasons are available. One idea is the Herbal Pocket Tea Garden (seed Kit) Got Kids? Help them grow a green thumb at Windowbox.com Teach small children about plants with these gardens of rye grass from Windowbox.com

WindowBox.com - Chinese New Year Special 5% Off All Bamboo Products. CODE: LUCKY5P

Bonsai are special favorites of mine, so I set up this sampler of Bonsai products from Amazon.com. Special tools, bonsai plant food, special pots and stands are all part of the bonsai gardener's collection. In fact, one gift idea for the afficionado is a dish for the container garden or the pot for the bonsai. Small figurines and interesting stones are often used as "ground decoration" in the pots. These can be collected during flea market forays and walks in the woods or by the creek, respectively. Often the ground decoration is used in sets of 3 or 5 arranged in an interesting manner. Sometimes the stones are stacked, sometimes overlapped. The beauty of container gardening and bonsai growing is the artistry, after all.

Grow your own Food in Small Spaces

An intriguing aquaculture kit that combines a growing platform for vegetable mini-gardens watered and fed from the fish tank below is available from Aquaponics. It can be set up in a garage if the grow lights are added; in the or backyard or greenhouse if not. It is currently designed to combine vegetable gardening with growing talipia. It should be customizable for growing southern catfish, though, as some are trying to do. (I live in MS and love catfish grilled, sauteed, baked, "gumbo-ed," blackened and fried equally well!)

Watch a video or two about aquaculture from Aquaponics.

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate of many merchants. Even so, the opinions expressed are my own, and I do not speak for the merchant. Being an affiliate, however, does mean that the possibility of compensation does exist. --Valerie