The Indoor Garden - by Janet Melrose & Sheryl Normandeau Paperback

Book Synopsis

In their thirteenth book, experienced gardeners and authors Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau share their wisdom on growing veggies, herbs, fruits, and more indoors in our homes, bringing the greens inside and growing food all year.

Whether plagued by a short growing season or a lack of outdoor space, or inspired by a love of edible greens, there are a dozen reasons to bring the garden indoors. Plants outside their natural habitat need a totally different kind of tender love and care, though, and that's especially true of voracious sun-drinkers like veggies, fruits, and herbs. In their signature accessible question-and-answer style, Janet and Sheryl explain the differences between standard houseplants and edible plants and cover everything you need to know to have a thriving garden right inside your home.

After a strong foundational chapter in essentials like natural and artificial light, temperature, tools, and growing medium, you'll be fully equipped to learn about techniques like hydroponics, aquaponics, vertical growing, and grow tents. If you're daydreaming about what you can grow for the dinner table, dive into the nitty gritty of each type of gardening with chapters on microgreens, veggies and root veggies, herbs and spices, and fruits. After the harvest, learn about making more with less by growing from kitchen scraps. Of course, Janet and Sheryl also answer all your questions about what happens when things go wrong and help you tackle pests and mould, brighten up leggy plants and less-than-abundant harvests, and troubleshoot more complex growing systems. Full of valuable tips and tricks and heartening enthusiasm, The Indoor Garden is the perfect companion for first-time and experienced indoor gardeners alike.

Review Quotes

"You don't need to be an expert gardener or invest in a lot of fancy equipment to grow food indoors. The Indoor Garden is packed with easy and effective techniques for growing a wide assortment of edible plants like microgreens, tomatoes, mushrooms, citrus, and spices!" -- Niki Jabbour, author of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener

"It's no secret that the cost of fresh produce is continually rising . . . . How sustainable is our fruit and vegetable supply along with the resources (like water) needed to grow them? Indoor growing may provide a solution to some of these costs along with identifying ways to use resources more efficiently. In easy-to-read prose, the authors discuss how to set up your indoor home garden keeping in mind your project goals and budget. You'll get help with the initial seeding process and with garden maintenance including information on watering, fertilizing, and diagnosing problems. Last but not least, read about how best to harvest your produce. . . . Sheryl and Janet are gifted, always reliable and expert writers. Like the information they provide our readers, you can be sure that the advice they provide will be helpful and valuable in creating your indoor garden." --Evelyn Lundeen, Editor of The Prairie Garden

"What better solution to food security issues than growing your own food indoors year-round? Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau come to the gardener's rescue once again with this most recent addition to their Go-To Guide series. When Janet and Sheryl team up, readers receive a mountain of combined expertise and an equal amount of shared passion to help gardeners succeed. From sprouts to microgreens to hydroponics to growing tropical fruit indoors, anyone who has ever entertained the thought of indoor gardening on any scale will find practical advice, troubleshooting, humour and wisdom within these pages." --Noelle Chorney, Editor for The Gardener