In The Garden — Amenities For Indoor Gardening
By JOYCE ARLEEN CORSON
Master Gardener
SYRACUSE — Once you have the feel for an indoor garden many options for grooming and managing will take place. Smaller tools will be helpful. Many sizes of tools can be found in bonsai catalogues or from your cast-off table silverware. Soil and containers need to be groomed just as if they were outside, but much smaller.
Soil is a natural resource for plants. It is 25 percent water, 25 percent air, 45 percent minerals and 5 percent organic matter. A man-made mix of soil, some may be called “soil less,” may be purchased at a garden center or you can make your own. In all cases the basic ingredients should be included. Consider the nationality of the plants you are using in your indoor garden trying to keep the soil contents indigenous to the native home of the plant. Not all plants can survive on soil from a high moraine or flat land clay.
Composting the organic matter from your indoor plants is a start for the organic matter the plant needs. It also creates a seed bed for maturing seeds from the plant. Check labels to see if the soil contents are sterile. This will eliminate unwanted pests and diseases.
If you want to try your hand at planting a shrub or tree for bonsai this is a good recipe for soil mix. 1 cup Growing Grit. I use limestone, sieved through a 3/16 colander. Two cups composted bark, one-half to three-fourths-inch pieces and 3 cups calcined clay — baseball diamond clay. Mix all ingredients together and keep a small amount of mulch for top coating. Remember bonsai may be indoor or outdoor plants. Tropical plants are for inside, all others which can tolerate zone 5 should be left outside.
Consider starting some spring bulbs. Now is the time to plant them in containers to accent your garden. The force of early growth will be an added dimension for holiday decorations. It is not necessary to keep spring bulbs under lights for them to grow into health brilliant flowers. Be patient, plants do not all mature at the same time.
A table top fountain is another feature you will not want to omit. The setting should be water proof as small drops of water will splash out, no matter how small the stream. A stone wall back-drop is ideal. The catch basin needs to be big enough to catch overflow. Fountains running succumb to water evaporation, checking level is necessary to keep your pump healthy.
Check garden often for hitchhiking insects or disease such as gnats and fungus that may have been brought in on unsuspecting outside plant. Too much moisture causes these maladies to thrive. Often the plants brought in from outside or store bought plants with sphagnum or Spanish moss can cause the plant to stay too wet and crown rot may occur. Occasionally allow plants to dry out, this will cause the larvae of the gnat to die. Check tips from the experts often to keep your garden healthy.
Corson is a graduate of Adams Central High School, Manchester University and Ball State University. She and her husband, Ron, were married and enjoyed many years of traveling before they settled at Lake Papakeechie to raise their family. Soon after moving to the Syracuse area, Corson joined the Syracuse/Wawasee Garden Club and then became a Kosciusko County Master Gardener in 2002, the same year she retired from teaching.
“Early on my interest in gardening came from a lineage of farmers and their wives, including three generations of generosity, giving me an enormous collection of heritage trees, shrubs and flowers. History and traveling has given me special interest in native flowers, hosta, the art of bonsai and many plants that have been naturalized.”
Individuals who wish to contact Corson for further information or questions may email her at [email protected].