How to Start an Indoor Garden
the *easy* way! a step-by-step guide for beginners.
I love living in NYC but it’s hard to have a vegetable garden living in a concrete jungle.
I always thought I needed to wait until I could upgrade to a larger apartment with outdoor space before my fantasy of growing purple striped heirloom tomatoes would materialize.
When I learned you could grow veggies indoors, I felt like I had unlocked a secret.
And when I found out a method of soil-less gardening existed, that virtually eliminated bugs, I was hooked.
Growing your own veggies can be incredibly simple, if you do it my way.
Here’s my beginner guide to getting started with indoor gardening.
1. Get an Indoor Garden Machine
When I first started, most people were making DIY builds.
Buying buckets and piping from the hardware store, stringing together aquarium tubing and water pumps from the pet store and piece-meal assembling everything together.
It was a bit complicated and quite frankly, looked.. ugly.
I much prefer to use indoor garden machines.
They’re sleek, well made and do all the heavy lifting for you. Assembly is minimal and they come in all different sizes, shapes and colors.
Especially if you’ve never been able to keep a plant alive, these all-in-one machines are a game changer.
They have built-in timers, high-powered LED lights and an integrated water pump to simulate the sun and rain for you.
All you have to do is plant seeds, and do bi-weekly maintenance like re-filling the tank with water and adding nutrients.
It makes it almost foolproof!
I recommend this machine if you’re a beginner. It’s very affordable, looks cute and is compact enough to sit on even the smallest kitchen counter.
It also has space for up to 10 plants, so you can grow a decent variety with your first grow.
And, it’s currently on sale!
P.S. You can also stack discount code INFLUEN10 for an additional 10% off.
It’s the most affordable garden I’ve come across that doesn’t skimp on quality or features.
2. Buy Your Own Seeds
The machine comes with everything you need to get started except seeds.
You’ll need to purchase your own, but I actually prefer that!
This way, you can choose exactly what you want to grow and pick up unique plant varieties that aren’t available at the grocery store.
I think it’s more fun to grow things you can’t even buy :)
Not all seed packets are the same! I’ve tried seeds from the dollar store, various grocery and hardware stores and the germination rate was really poor.
Now I primarily buy from heirloom seed companies.
They offer non-GMO plants, send out fresh, high quality seeds and offer a huge selection of unique varieties.
These are some of my favorites places to buy seeds:
I have a more in-depth seed guide on my website, if you want my full list of all the best online seed companies.