I'm trying to start an indoor garden with my son to grow some flowers and food for his mom, but I'm completely lost! We planted radishes, cucumbers, carrots, mint, dill, parsley, and peonies, along with a mystery flower that's doing great. Everything else sprouted but quickly started falling over and looking sick. I tend to overwater, but I've been careful and only water when the soil feels dry about an inch down. They're in potting soil and have been growing for about a month now. The temperature in my garage stays between 68-75°F with LED lights above, although they're not specifically grow lights. I move them outside for sun on nice days and turn off the lights at night. Can anyone give me tips on why they might be dying? Do I really need special LED lights to grow plants? I want to do this right for my son, even though I'm not really into gardening myself!
2 Answers
Just a heads up about root plants like radishes and carrots: they don’t like being moved once they’re in the ground, so those are best planted directly in outdoor soil. And about peonies, they do take a while to bloom since you're planting roots, so don’t feel discouraged if they take time! If you want easy plants to grow with your son, maybe go for herbs or sunflowers – they tend to be simpler and fun for kids to watch as they grow!
It sounds like your plants might not be getting enough strong light. Regular LED lights don’t usually provide enough intensity for plants, especially during their growth stages. Plus, moving them outside suddenly can shock them if they aren't acclimated first – that's called 'hardening off'. If you haven’t heard of it, check out how to do that! Also, you might want to consider getting proper grow lights to boost their growth indoors. Just a thought!
Thanks for the tip on hardening off! I’ll definitely look into that.
Thanks for the advice! I appreciate the info. Do you have specific suggestions for easy plants to grow in Texas? My flower bed only gets morning sun, but I still want him to see the plants thrive!