Note: This isn’t exactly on topic with SHTF Garden, but it is relevant as some of the upcoming topics we’ll be discussing include keeping container gardens.  This article comes from one of my other sites, HiddenHealthScience.com.

A lot of energy in today’s American society is put into “cleaning” our homes.  In my opinion, we over clean and focus too much on sanitizing everything around us.  We have immune systems and body defense systems for a reason, folks.  I’m not saying to let new and interesting bio cultures grow in your bathtub and toilet, but I think 90% of what tends to get doused with “germ killing” cleansers would be just as clean if we just used a wet rag to wipe it up.

One of the areas where many people seem to be putting their focus is the air in their homes.  Elaborate, expensive air purifiers and filtration systems are being sold to people with more money than sense and for those who can’t afford those, there is a thriving market of scented air freshener products to add wonderful chemicals to the air in our houses.

Here’s an alternative that is better for you, for your family, and on more levels than just improving your olfactory experience around the house: houseplants.

There are a lot of plants that work very well as air purifiers.  These include popular ferns like the Boston Ferm, palms like the Areca, the ever-useful Aloe Vera cactus, and the most popular houseplant of all time, the Spider Plant.  There are many more houseplants available for air purification and, truth be told, nearly all living plants purify the air in some way.

On top of that, houseplants improve our moods and make us happier.

So.. how many houseplants do you keep?  Find out more from this NASA study and from this Wikipedia list of plants and soils for air filtration.

I hear from people all the time who tell me that they can’t grow a garden because they don’t have the room.  This is usually because they live in an apartment, condominium, or have a very small yard (or none at all).  In either case, the excuse that there “isn’t enough room” is, well, just an excuse.

There is a lot of potential gardening room.  Over time, I’ll show both non-paying and subscribing members here at SHTF Garden that there are plenty of places to grow a garden, no matter where you live.  Even without setting up complex hydroponics or other systems that could be an even better answer.

Starting An Indoor Vegetable Garden

The first thing to do is open up your imagination and think about what resources you have at your disposal.  Your home has windows, perhaps skylights, and other sources of natural light.  You may have a light in the kitchen, hallway, bathroom, etc. that is on nearly all day – perhaps it’s an otherwise “dark” area, so the light tends to be left on.  These are just a start on your potential garden spots.  Think vertically as well as horizontally.  Could a hanging garden on a door give you the space you need?  Hanging plants outside of windows?  Along their edges?

Do you have a deck or balcony?  Access to the roof?  A relatively large porch?

All of these spaces are great places to grow plants.  In the case of the always-lighted area of the home, why not replace that light with a “grow” light for plants and hang plants along the walls around the light?  In the other locations, you have natural light you can take advantage of, so it’s all a matter of picking the correct plants you can grow in pots or containers and placing them there.

Just measure the light the area gets (watch it for a day or two) and make a rough estimate of the number of hours of direct and indirect sunlight it gets.  Some plants require “full sun” and thus should have 6 or more hours of direct light (likely a south-facing location – window, balcony, etc).  Others are shade plants, so the amount of indirect light they get is what’s important.

Once you know that, you can choose plants.

Choosing What To Grow

Name a common vegetable and it is probably either capable of being grown indoors or there are varieties that thrive in containers.  Cherry tomatoes are a popular choice and the bush varieties can be grown in containers easily.  Leafy greens and, of course, all sorts of spices are also popular.

Just pay attention to the variety and its sunlight requirements and you’ll soon know what to grow in your space.

Other Indoor Gardening Tips

When growing indoors and in containers, realize that the plants will likely require more water than the packets or other references you’re using might say.  Potted plants tend to use more water because of heat and evaporation loss.  So pay close attention to the soil moisture in the container.

The good news, though, is that potted and indoor plants don’t generally require weeding (YAY!) and rarely have pest or blight problems.  So no chemicals are likely needed to keep your plants healthy.

No matter where you live, you have space for a garden.  So start growing!

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