How To Get Started With Indoor Gardening: The (Ultimate) Guide

Published May 15, 2023

Indoor Gardening has become an increasingly popular way to bring the beauty of nature indoors while also enjoying fresh, healthy produce all year round. Whether it’s for urban farming, small-spaced gardening, or even just growing indoors, the landscape of contemporary gardening is rapidly changing. In order to address issues such as sustainability and how we acquire our food, indoor gardening has become a viable and smart choice in drastically changing our eating and purchasing habits.

Learn how to start your new indoor garden with information on space, lighting, temperature, and humidity. Beyond grasping the different benefits of growth material and how to look out for disease of your plants, we’ll also address:

  • What is Indoor Gardening;
  • The different types of indoor gardens;
  • What you need to know before starting your indoor garden;
  • And what you can grow.

What Is Indoor Gardening?

Indoor gardening is the practice of growing different types of plants, flowers, herbs and vegetables inside an enclosed space. Also known as a greenhouse, you can have seed to harvest yields without dedicating much space outdoor to growing while also maintaining a healthy living and self-sufficiency that takes advantage of small spaces, especially in urban areas. You can use soil, but thanks to hydroponic systems, you don’t need to since all nutrients are delivered via watering. This is seen with vertical indoor gardens as they use LED grow lights. No taller than a lamp, you can grow multiple plants in a space as small as your window sill, a small side table in your kitchen or just in a tiny corner.

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How to Begin Your Journey To Indoor Gardening Step By Step

Before you busy bee it up with your indoor garden, there are a few things you need to know. Indoor gardening is still gardening. It may not be as easy as “sit down and watch it grow”, but by just keeping a few things in mind, it can surely be a less time-consuming practice.

STEP 1 : Seeing What Available Space You Have

Find where in your living space (or office space or building space) you want to have a garden and measure it. Most indoor garden structures only take up a small amount of space and can be safely installed in even the most unused corners.

Take note of your vertical space too! Vertical indoor gardens are a great way to save floor space and to give the impression that you have a budding green oasis.

Keep in mind what the space is lacking, because that’s what your plants will lack as well.

STEP 2 : Lighting, Temperature, and Humidity

It all goes into space. Measure your room, figure it out, indoor gardening is an achievable science.

  • If you’re lacking something, you can always supplement it with artificial lights, heaters, and humidifiers. The nice thing about plants is they hardly know the difference.
  • High Pressure Sodium (HPS) Lights are a common choice for large installations, but they burn foliage in small spaces. High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights are great for blooming plants, but have the same issue. Unfortunately, plants are flammable.
  • LED lights are long lasting, efficient, and won’t set your plants on fire. For indoor gardening it’s the best pick. LED lights range from blue to the far-end-red, giving you control of the lights your plants need.

STEP 3 : Choosing Your Growing Medium

It’s always a difficulty, but it’s a way plants get their nutrients. Indoor gardening wouldn’t be what it is without it.

  • Soil is the go-to, it provides nutrients and holds water, but it’s heavy and messy.
  • Coconut husks can be used as a soil alternative, great at retaining water and fighting pests but expensive and not nearly as nutritious.
  • Perlite and vermiculite are great for aerating roots, with similar drawbacks to coconut husks.
  • Hydroponics use a nutrient rich water system, allowing for faster growth. But they take time and require sometimes extensive equipment to set up.

STEP 4 : Be Aware of Pests

Pest control is a common surprise when it comes to indoor gardening and plant care. Plants can get sick with disease or pests like the best of us. Thankfully like our bodies, they have a way of communicating when they are sick.

  • Discoloration, wilting or irregular leaves and stems are two common signs of disease.
  • Some pests leave sticky residue and can be seen.

The best way to mitigate these things and to make sure your garden is thriving is regular maintenance and care. Committing time to maintenance and care helps maintain your own healthy lifestyles. Indoor gardening isn’t any different.

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Things You Need To Know Before You Start Your Indoor Garden

So you ready to jumpstart you healthy and sustainable initiatives? You’ve made the right choice. Just a few things to take into consideration before starting your indoor garden…

What Do I Need for Indoor Gardening

Sprout Nurseries are where you plant seeds in soil and let them sprout which is important for both planting and reseeding your gardens. However, germination can hinder seed growth. Thankfully, ventilation can improve conditions.


Water nutrients for hydroponics, is what allows the water to be nutrient rich. Be aware some do not tackle root issues and only last a short time.


Pods are meant to maintain sprouts and help them grow. With indoor gardens they work to suspend your roots and let you take out plants to check on the root systems without damaging the plants themselves.

What Vegetables Are Good for Indoor Gardens

  • Carrots and onions thrive in gardens. With onions, make sure they’re bunching or small as they will compete for what limited space you have;
  • Fresh herbs like basil or mint are phenomenal to grow. Some can even be made into herbal teas;
  • Leafy greens: lettuce, kale, arugula, and spinach;
  • Microgreens are young plants that are harvested just after sprouting. Highly nutritious and can be grown relatively quickly;
  • Peppers just need ample light and room to grow;
  • Fruits like lemons and limes can grow if you’re using dwarf citrus trees. Avoid fruit trees in general;
  • Tomatoes, technically not a vegetable, small variety tomatoes can be grown.
  • Though also not a vegetable, surprisingly, strawberries.

Can You Grow Vegetables Indoors All Year Round?

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: yes, because you control the growing conditions. But you will need to adjust planting and harvesting schedules accordingly. As well as, if you’re relying on natural conditions like light and temperature, you will need to supplement them in seasons where many conditions are not maintained.

Indoor Gardening Tips & Best Practices

  • Start small.
  • Celebrate the small victories.
  • Learn more.
  • Fertilize if you’re not using hydroponics.
  • Find online communities for indoor gardening.
  • Prune and trim regularly.
  • Watch for disease and pests.
  • Be persistent.
  • Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

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Gardyn: The Ultimate Indoor Gardening Solution

There’s a lot to take in when getting started, but you deserve to grow healthy and enjoy fresh produce. The reality is it’s getting harder to do so, indoor gardening changes that. But with this endeavor, the money you save on setup means your crops are reliant on your commitment to time and knowledge, and we’re not all botanists. Thankfully Gardyn is here to help.

  • Gardyn Home Kits lets you check on your plants 24/7, thanks to the built-in camera sensor. Your AI assistant, Kelby, will give you personalized assistance and recommendations.
  • Thanks to patented hybriponics technology Gardyn saves 95% of water compared to your traditional garden.
  • Gardyn’s website also has a built in calculator to show you how much you will be saving per month on groceries.
  • Gardyn can also watch your plants while you’re away, Vacation Mode technology manages the growth of your plants while you’re away for up to 2 weeks
  • Gardyn Home 3.0 is plug and assembly ready. Thanks to its enhanced durability you don’t need to worry about damaging the electronics.
  • 30 free plants are included with purchase so you can begin growing as soon as possible.
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Start Indoor Gardening Today

Gardyn’s Home starter kit, you can do that with the comfort and ease you deserve. Thanks to easy-to-use technology and a variety of plant pods to choose from. You’ll be able to create an oasis right in your very home. Don’t have to worry about DIY when you have to grow it yourself (GIY). Indoor gardening with ease is just a click away.

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