A: Start small by choosing easy-to-grow potted plants or herbs that thrive indoors. Use vertical space with shelves or hanging plants to maximize floor space. For limited areas like apartments or home offices, compact container gardening works best.
A: Low-maintenance plants like peace lilies, rubber plants, trailing plants like pothos, and indoor trees such as the fiddle leaf fig are among the best indoor options. They adapt well to indirect light and are easy to care for.
A: Herbs like basil, mint, parsley, and thyme are some of the best herbs to grow indoors. They grow well on sunny windowsills or under LED grow lights, especially during the winter months when natural light is limited.
A: Yes, indoor vegetable gardening is possible with the right setup. Leafy greens, cherry tomatoes, and radishes are great vegetables to grow indoors. Use containers with drainage holes, provide enough light (natural or LED grow lights), and water when the soil feels dry to avoid root rot.
A: Plants that are easy to grow still need adequate lighting. If your space lacks natural light, using grow lights (especially LED grow lights) can mimic sunlight, ensuring gardening success even during darker seasons.
A: Absolutely, mixing annual flowers with purple perennials adds variety and color through different seasons. Include petunias, morning glories (with trumpet-shaped flowers), or ageratum as bedding plants for summer color, while perennial favorites like garden phlox and purple coneflower return each year for flowers to grow over time.
A: Some of the flowers from spring such as purple bulbs or tubers—think Iris (violet and blue-purple blooms) or early-blooming lavender-blue flowers—offer an early purple color kick. These types of purple flowers are one of the first flowers to appear and help set the tone for your spring garden.
A: If you’re looking for excellent cut flowers, consider purple coneflower, garden phlox, lavender with purple flower spikes, or deep purple flowers like Allium. These varieties have sturdy stems, vibrant flower clusters, and lasting flower heads that hold up well in bouquets.
A: Pair purple foliage plants such as Heuchera with green foliage for dramatic effect. Use them alongside plants with purple flowers or violet flowers so that the foliage complements the bloom colors. This contrast brings out richer tones in the flowers and helps the purple garden feel lush and cohesive.
A: For flowers from late summer to fall, Liatris, purple coneflower, and Verbena bonariensis offer long-lasting blooms and violet-blue flowers. These perennial flowers keep your garden vibrant well after the early bloomers fade, extending the season of interest.
A: A cat-friendly plant is non-toxic and generally safe for curious pets like cats and dogs, even if they occasionally nibble on the leaves. These pet-safe houseplants are carefully selected to avoid causing health issues in cats. According to the ASPCA, certain indoor and outdoor plants are specifically labeled as safe for pets and do not pose poisoning risks.
A: Some plants can cause vomiting, drooling, or even organ damage in pets. Snake plants, ZZ plants, and pothos are popular indoor plants but are toxic to cats and dogs. Before bringing home any potted plants or starting your indoor jungle, consult a reliable list of indoor plants from veterinary sources or plant safety databases like the ASPCA’s. Always verify if a plant is toxic or a safe addition to a pet-friendly home.
A: Yes! Many non-toxic houseplants also purify the air, making them great for improving indoor air quality. For example, spider plants, parlor palms, and hoya plants are pet-friendly plants that are safe while also filtering out toxins from the air. These plants bring freshness into your indoor garden without endangering your furry friends.
Alright, let’s dig into growing potatoes – a hardy, humble veggie that’s as versatile in the kitchen as it is in the garden. Potatoes are good for a lot more than mashed and fried deliciousness; they’re packed with nutrients, filling, and surprisingly easy to grow.
Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are tuber plants, meaning they grow underground storage units we know as “spuds.” They’re rich in carbs, vitamins, and fiber, making them a go-to for hearty meals. A few quick details to keep in mind:
Potatoes come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, and choosing the right type depends on your taste and what you want to use them for. Here are some popular types:
Potatoes can be grown outdoors in the ground, in containers, or even indoors if you have the right setup.
Now, let’s get to the actual planting part. Growing potatoes is a hands-on project, but it’s beginner-friendly if you follow these simple steps.
Don’t use store-bought potatoes because they are often treated with anti-sprouting chemicals to extend their shelf life, which isn’t ideal for planting. Pick up seed potatoes at your local garden center, farm supply store, or online seed supplier. These are certified disease-free and come in a range of varieties, so you can choose the best ones for your garden.
What is Chitting? Chitting is the process of pre-sprouting your seed potatoes to give them a head start before they go into the ground. It’s totally optional but can result in faster, more vigorous growth.
How to Chit: Place your seed potatoes in a cool, well-lit area (a windowsill works well) for about two weeks. You’ll start to see little sprouts emerging from the eyes, which are tiny dimples or buds on the potato skin. This shows they’re ready for planting!
If your seed potatoes are on the larger side (around the size of a golf ball or bigger), cut them into smaller chunks. Each piece should have at least one “eye” where it can sprout.
Tip: After cutting, let the pieces sit out for a day or so to dry. This helps form a callous on the cut surface, which protects against rot when planted.
Dig a Trench: In your garden bed or designated potato-growing spot, dig a trench about 6-8 inches deep. Potatoes like rich, well-draining soil, so if your soil could use a boost, add compost or organic matter to improve nutrients and texture.
Spacing: Make sure your trenches are spaced about 12-15 inches apart so the plants have enough room to grow.
Place each potato piece in the trench, cut-side down and with the eyes facing up. Space them about 12-15 inches apart to allow room for growth. Once placed, cover the potato pieces with about 4 inches of soil—don’t fill the trench completely just yet!
Why Partial Covering? As the plants grow, you’ll need to mound more soil around them to protect the growing tubers and ensure a better yield.
As your potato plants start growing and reach around 6 inches in height, it’s time to “hill” or mound the soil around the base of each plant. Hilling helps prevent the tubers from being exposed to sunlight, which can cause greening and bitterness.
How to Mound: Gently pull more soil around the base of the plants, covering the lower stems. Leave some of the upper leaves exposed. Repeat this process as the plants continue to grow, adding more soil to the mounds each time the plants grow another 6 inches or so.
Once your potatoes are in the ground, follow these requirements to help them grow strong and produce a great yield.
Potatoes do best in loose, well-draining, loamy soil that allows the tubers to expand without resistance. Avoid heavy or clay-like soils, which can cause issues like rot and make harvesting tricky. If your soil is heavy, consider mixing in sand or compost to improve drainage and texture.
Keep the soil consistently moist but avoid oversaturating. About 1-2 inches of water per week is ideal. Water deeply but infrequently, which encourages strong root growth. Early morning watering helps keep leaves dry during the day, reducing the risk of fungal diseases.
Temperature: Potatoes grow best in cooler weather, around 60-70°F. They’ll struggle in extreme heat, which can hinder tuber formation.
Humidity: Potatoes can tolerate high humidity as long as the leaves aren’t sitting in water. Damp leaves can invite disease, so aim for good airflow around plants to keep moisture from building up.
They need full sun for at least 6-8 hours a day. So pick a sunny location with open exposure. Sunlight not only boosts yields but also prevents issues like legginess, where plants stretch in low light and fail to develop strong stems.
Choose a spot that allows enough room for spreading roots and ample airflow between plants. This spacing will help prevent fungal issues, which potatoes are susceptible to.
Maintaining your potato plants isn’t complicated, but a little attention can go a long way to ensure a healthy, bountiful crop. Here’s what you need to know:
Start by adding a balanced organic fertilizer or compost when planting. Around mid-season—when plants are really taking off—hit them with another dose of fertilizer to keep them going strong. Look for a balanced fertilizer, like a 10-10-10, or one slightly higher in phosphorus and potassium to encourage tuber growth.
Once your potato plants start poking through the soil, apply a good layer of organic mulch around them—think 2-3 inches of straw, leaves, or wood chips. This layer will help lock in moisture, keep soil temperatures stable, and keep weeds from competing with your potatoes.
Potatoes don’t really need pruning like a tomato or pepper plant might. But if you spot flowers forming, you can snip them off if you want to direct all the plant’s energy into growing those tubers underground. Some gardeners swear by it; others leave the flowers alone.
If you’re growing potatoes in containers, make sure they’re big, sturdy, deep—at least 12-15 inches—and have good drainage. Start by filling the container a third of the way, and then as the plant grows, keep adding soil to mound it up. This creates a cozy environment for the tubers to form.
If you’re in an area with cold winters, it’s best to harvest your potatoes before frost. Potatoes don’t like freezing temps, and frosty soil can damage or ruin your crop. Dig them up once the plant’s leaves start to die back.
Potatoes aren’t immune to garden pests, but you can manage them with a few precautions.
The best part – harvesting your very own potatoes!
A: Yes, you can! Potatoes are perfect for vertical growing setups, like a potato tower or stacked garden. As the potato vines grow, you can keep adding layers of soil or mulch to encourage more tubers higher up. Vertical growing works well in smaller spaces and can even be done in a deep raised bed or large container. Just make sure to keep the vines supported if they start sprawling.
A: "Earlies" are potatoes that mature faster, usually within 70-90 days, and are perfect for harvesting as new potatoes. They’re smaller and tender with thin skins. "Maincrop" potatoes take longer to mature, about 100-120 days, and they’re usually larger with thicker skins, which makes them ideal for storage. If you want a long harvest, you can plant both types!
A: Green potatoes occur when tubers are exposed to sunlight, which leads to the production of solanine, a bitter compound that’s toxic in large amounts. To avoid this, keep the soil mounded over the plants as they grow and ensure that no tubers are peeking out from the soil. Green potatoes should be discarded, as solanine doesn’t go away with cooking.
