Gardening Apartment Style

Make the most of your apartment home with indoor gardening! With most of us spending so much time at home, it can’t hurt to have beautiful plants to gaze at and a functional garden to grow veggies and herbs. Let’s check out the ways to make your indoor garden the best it can be!

Sunlight – First, you need to find out what parts of your apartment get what amount of sunlight. If you’re planting indoors, chances are you’ll be getting partial sunlight, however if you’re planting outside on a balcony or patio, you might get more. Here’s a little cheat sheet for tracking what type of sunlight your apartment gets: 

• Full sun. 6+ hours of direct sunlight.
• Partial sun. 4-5 hours of direct sunlight.
• Partial shade. 2-4 hours of direct sunlight.
• Shade Less than 1 hour of direct sunlight.

You’ll want to compare what you’ve tracked for sunlight with what you want to plant. After that, you can figure out how to set up your garden to get the most out of the type of natural light that your plant needs.

What are you most interested in planting? There are so many possibilities, even if you live in an apartment. Let’s check out four categories that are best for apartment gardens.

Herbs – Choose from a variety of herbs like basil, mint, cilantro, and many more. Herbs, for the most part, need about 6 hours of sun to thrive, which means you’ll need to find a space in your apartment that receives a lot of sun or place them outside on a balcony. Herbs do best at around 65 F without cold drafts, which can kill herbs.

Veggies – There is a huge variety of vegetables that you can grow indoors. Carrots, garlic, micro greens like sprouts and lettuce are all super easy to grow indoors. Each has their own needs when it comes to light and watering, so it’s best to decide what you want to grow first and then set up individual pots for each type of veggie. 

Indoor plants – If you’re new to gardening, your best bet is to go to your local nursery, choose the plants you’re interested in growing indoors and ask specifically how much water and sun it needs. Each type of plant is different and if you don’t naturally have a green thumb, this little step will save your plants! Don’t try to guess, instead get specific instructions on how to keep your plant alive and thriving. 

Flowers – Although flowers are usually saved for outdoor gardens, some flowers can thrive indoors like African Violets, Peace Lilies, and Jasmine. Most flowers need heavy sunlight and moist soil.