Indoor farming, often referred to as indoor gardening, can be used on both small and large scales, in home and commercially. However, indoor farming has a particular popularity in large cities where plots of land, in any size, are not readily available for growing and farming.
On a large scale, indoor farming is being used to help bolster local food supplies and provide fresh produce to communities in large cities. Many of these farms are vertical farms and can produce much more crops in a small area than can be produced in outdoor, soil-based farms. However, not all indoor farms are built on such a large scale. Some indoor farms can be created in an area as small as a basement and used by a single gardener to provide fresh produce for their home.
Most indoor farming uses a combination of hydroponics and artificial lighting to provide plants with the nutrients and light they would only receive when grown outdoors. However, some indoor farming methods, like those implemented in greenhouses, can use a combination of natural and artificial resources.
When growing indoors, many indoor farmers appreciate having more control over the environment than they do when they are using traditional farming methods. Light amounts, nutrition levels, and moisture levels can all be controlled by the farmer when they are growing crops solely indoors.
Although growing plants indoors can limit growing options, gardeners and farmers have a wide variety of plants to choose from when deciding what to grow indoors. Some of the most popular plants grown indoors are usually crop plants like lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs.
The size of the container will affect the size a plant can grow. I’m not a huge fan of small pots for growing anything you’re going to want to eat. Plants in a small pot might not die, but many will not come to full maturity — so what’s the point? Small pots will also dry out very quickly.
The absolute smallest pot I recommend would be one that’s six inches deep and about the same width. If a windowsill is your only option, don’t worry — a long, narrow pot will also work well and can house one or two different plants.
It’s also important that your pot has drainage holes (or at least one!) so that the water can flow through the soil. If you fall hard for a planter that doesn’t have holes, you can usually get away with creating drainage by adding pebbles to the bottom of the pot before you add the soil. Just something to think about for now — more on this later.
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