Indoor growing gear for house plants
We have a wide variety of lights, tools, climate rooms and more in the store. Please drop in and chat with one of our professionals anytime
Growing Tips:
If you have any questions regarding your plant's requirements or care please do not hesitate to ask your helpful greengate staff.
Lighting:
Plants need good quality light, necessary for photosynthesis. Well-lit rooms suit the largest variety of houseplants. Rooms with south and west facing windows often provide the most light, with east and north facing windows providing the least. During the winter months, plants may benefit from moving to a brighter location until the sun's intensity increases in the spring. Generally, plant growth slows during winter's short days and most plants don't flower as well or at all. Growth and flowering resume in the spring, as the days, lengthen.
Watering:
More houseplants die from over-watering than anything else. All plants need water to grow, but the amount of water required depends on the plant species, the season, and the indoor conditions present. Many plants will require their soil be kept moist during the summer growing period but will require less water during the winter months when the plant is dormant.
Repotting:
Plants need fertilizer only when they are actively growing, which for most plants is spring until fall. Winter blooming plants, however, should be fertilized in the winter. Most plants require only a standard (20-20-20, or 15-30-15) fertilizer, but there are specialized fertilizers available to fill the specific requirements of many plants.
Flowering house plants will flower year after year if given the proper conditions.
In the past winter meant months and waiting and nothing to do but plan ahead for spring without any reprieve and without any way of practising the hobby of gardening.Times have changed thankfully. Today indoor growing is becoming much more popular. Especially in winter. Indoor grow lights have advanced and there are choices for you to do indoor growing from tabletop light stands to full-blown grow tents or Climate Rooms. Lights stands are perfect for growing herbs and the like in your kitchen. These are great for putting into sunny areas in your home where you wish to grow and you just add light as needed. So, if we are getting only 10 hours of light then you set up your timer to add another 6 hours or so of artificial light which makes a sufficient amount of light to grow confidently. Of course, the great part is that if you don't have a sunny area the lights can be set to run 16 hours a day and will work perfectly even without natural sunlight.
Climate Rooms
Climate Rooms are whole other level of indoor growing and they can turn any available space in your home into an indoor garden.These tents are perfect for gardeners who like to start plants that need a long summer which we don't have, or plants that you would like to start from seed that take a long time be ready before they can transplanted into our gardens. Things like petunias, strawberries and peppers need months to come to fruition and a great way to get well ahead of summer is to start growing these plants in the deep winter.
You can also grow tomatoes and other veggies that can be harvested all through the winter, which is an amazing way to get your gardening fix! There are many types of lights that you can utilize in your tent from LED to full spectrum metal halide and everything in-between. This means you don't limit yourself and that you can grow hydroponically, or in soilless mixtures, or even speciality growing mediums. Pretty much anything you can grow outside and maybe a few that you can't, you can now grow inside no problem. Here are a few tips when looking into your new indoor garden:
Choose a set up that will fit your needs. If you only plan of growing small amounts of plants a t-stand light will do. Larger amounts will need bigger lights that cover more area.
Choose your grow tent in person to check that the frame is robust enough to carry your lights and that the canopy is well made and the zipper is easy to use and well sewn in.
Consider using two tents one for propagation and one to transfer to, or use one tent for plants that need less light and one for plants that need more.
Choose a good spot for your tent. It will need access to water and power. Although most tents catch water overspill you may want to avoid carpet or hardwood.
Ensure you have enough light to adequately cover the plants you are growing. It might be a good idea to know what is happening in your tent when you are not watching. High low temps and humidity gauges are good things to know.
Keep in mind all those tiny seeds you have sown will outgrow your tent if you overdo it so leave room to grow.
Consider venting your tent. Air movement is critical and a vent can also evacuate excess moisture. Good ventilation will also ensure your tent doesn't get too hot.
If you're not sure about indoor growing or have questions just come in and see us.
Hydroponic gardening with Root Farm
READY, SET, GROW HYDRO!Hydroponic gardening may seem intimidating but is actually really simple: it's literally just growing without soil. There are a number of different methods to grow hydroponically, but one of the best is with a recirculating system.
The Root Farm™ Hydro Garden System is a water-based, recirculating growing device that continuously pumps nutrient solution to your plants. You control the growing environment so it's easier to give your plants exactly what they need to thrive.
The first step to growing with the Root Farm™ Hydro Garden System is starting your seeds or cuttings. Once they're big enough and you can see roots growing outside of the plugs, pellets or tray they're ready to be transplanted.
The Root Farm Hydro Garden System is easy to use and takes the guess work and measuring out of the equation when using Root Farm fertilizers and nutrients.
Find out more here in Root Farm's video: 
We 'FELT' that...
Most people think that growing hydroponically means growing in water.Although water-based growing is one hydro method, you can also grow hydro using a felt pot, growing mix, and liquid nutrients. Using a hydro growing mix is usually easier for beginners, because it acts as a buffer against nutrient mishaps.
To get started, you'll need a Root Farm™ Felt Garden Pot. Felt pots are great for hydro gardening, because they are made of a breathable material which allows for better aeration and drainage than traditional pots.
Root Farm™ Felt Garden Pots come in two sizes to fit a wide range of plants. Our small felt pot is great for growing smaller plants like oregano or lettuce. In the larger pots, you can grow medium plants like peppers or a few small plants like Swiss chard. You could also grow larger plants that need a little more space, like tomatoes or hydrangeas.
Come in and check out the Root Farm systems here at greengate Garden Centres.