After hearing about Houda's weed-like looking, now deceased, tomato plant, and watching Habib's store bought decorative plants slowly but surely wither away, I thought I'd give a primer on growing things indoors. Or in Germany, which qualifies as indoors because of a certain lack of... er... shall we say, sun!
Tips on Growing an Indoor Garden
Most vegetables and herbs require a good deal sunshine to thrive, sometimes up to 18 hours of daylight per day. So here's a few other things you might not have known.
On Light
Plants need both light and dark to grow. And indoor lighting, such as incandescent or energy saving light bulbs count as light. Incandescent provide more red light, as does the energy saving warm light. Where as the cool white energy saving bulbs provide more toward blue light. Plants need both.
Most vegetable garden plants need around 18 hours of day light, and 4-6 hours of direct sunlight (preferably not the Arizona summer noon scorching kind). Think facing south.
Getting darkness is important too. It's when the plant does much of the actual growing. I noticed a huge improvement in my pot plant in Arizona, when I started taking it to the dark indoors at night because the street light outside is always on.
If you live in Arizona, sunlight is no problem. If you live in the northern soggy, cloudy parts, where sunshine is not so common, that's a problem for some vegetable plants. It's easily solved by getting two low watt energy saving bulbs, (a warm white and a cool white), and placing your plants directly underneath both of them for a few hours everyday. This is especially important for plants like tomatoes that need lots of sunshine and a warm environment. Otherwise, they will look spindly and wilted like riffraff weeds, and you will not be able to boast about homegrown tomatoes in your salad to friends!
On Watering
Some plants love water. Others, like the large rosemary that grew on our windowsill for years, handle droughts and forgotten watering well. Learn about the plant you are growing and water accordingly.
When growing in pots, make sure to have a bottom gravelly layer and holes in the pot to water can escape. This way roots won't get soggy, and mold doesn't develop. I generally water plants once every 2 weeks in normal or humid weather, once a week for some vegetables, and in desert 40C weather like an Arizona summer, I water a smaller amount every 2-3 days, and spray my plants with water.
Aromatic herbs in general, like basil, prefer a slightly sandier soil, and no watering more than once every 2 weeks. This will make sure your herbs have a strong aromatic flavor, and are not watery flavorless leaves.
For most vegetable plants, water a lot especially during the growing period, but decrease the watering once a fruit develops and needs to ripen. It'll concentrate the flavor and you'll end up with tastier produce.
Of course, always check the soil before watering. Don't water unless the top layer is dry. Don't flood it, but make it moist.
Seeds versus Ready Grown Plants
Most people like to buy an already grown plant because it's easier. Of course, most people also kill their plants soon afterwards, or throw it away because it's wilting, and return to buy some more. Mostly because they have no idea how to properly care for it.
Personally, I think even for a beginner, it's better to start with seeds. The reason being that, when you start with seeds, to grow them you'll have to read the instructions. This will help you understand what a plant needs. Sunshine or shade, frequent watering or not, if it needs a large pot or needs transplanting, etc. Also, because after you've cared for the seeds and seedlings, transplanted them to pots, and watched them grow, you'll gain a sense of what the plant needs and how to gauge early on if it's healthy or needs something changed.
Tips on Common Plants
Tomatoes
Squeeze the pulp from a tomato and place in a jar and put aside. Two days later, you'll notice a layer of fermentation on the pulp. Add some water, shake, wait for the seeds to settle and pour out the water and pulp. Repeat until seeds are mostly clean. Dry on a glass plate in a well ventilated area. Seeds are planted around 1/4" deep in soil. Once they are around 4-6" tall and have at least 3-4 leaves, they can be transplanted to a pot.
These need a lot of water during the growing phase. Plenty of warmth and sunshine to thrive too. Expose the stems to a breeze, or a light fan for five minutes at least once a week while it grows, so the plant develops a good strong thick stem.
Grow tomatoes around 2-3" near a stake (at least 1/2" in thickness) and very loosely, so as not to choke it, double tie it to the stake. Or alternatively grow in a cage. After all, tomatoes are vines.
Decrease the water once the plant flowers and while the fruits develop. Add some natural non-chemical compost to the pot, and re-pot once a year. Make sure to water a lot when transplanting to avoid shocking the plant.
Chili Peppers
Those are really easy to grow. Basically scoop out the seeds from your favorite kind of chili pepper. Place them around 1/4" deep in the soil. Water regularly to keep the soil moist but not drenched, and place in a sunny warm area. Once they grow a bit and have 4-6 leaves, transplant them to a pot.
Expose to a good amount of sun, and water once per week once they're well developed. Again, decrease watering once the plant flowers and fruits start to ripen.
Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Etc.
Grow in somewhat sandy soil with just a bit of compost. Water only once every two weeks when grown. Rosemaries grow really well in shallower but larger in area pots, but will probably do just fine in any kind of pot. Also, expose to a lot of sunshine, or direct indoor lighting if the sun is not available.
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