I live in southern Wisconsin and am researching starting an inside garden. I'm here to learn about the pro's and con's of having one from the people who have lived them.
Hi there and welcome to the group ! I have not tried an inside gargen but I think some have ! I am in NE Texas so all here is outside ! At least most of the time !
Hi Robb, welcome to Gardenstew from Chelmsford MA, glad to have you with us. By inside garden do you mean a greenhouse or perhaps a window garden? Jerry
We've got a 16' x 7' second floor porch with windows on 2 walls. We would like to start small and if it takes see how big we can go. A good planter box suitable for indoor use would be an ideal start if anyone has suggestions.
Welcome to the stew, Robb, from the northwest coast of Norway. That is an interesting project, actually my husband has been talking about something similar on our porch. We have not yet started it though. Life keeps getting in the way.
I find it a bit hard to imagine your place with a second floor porch Robb. Could you post a photo do you think? I am wondering if weight of planters etc might be an issue, as it can be with roof gardens and verandah plantings.
Here is what the porch looks like. Sorry about the boxes we moved in a year ago and have been using it as a staging area. The left windows face north and the other east. The house was built circa 1900 so I don’t think strength is going to be a problem. I’m imagining the porch want always enclosed.
@Robb Marklein . I am a bit confused, you said your ''porch'' was on the second floor. My vision of a porch would be on a ground floor. If it is two floors up what supports it? Is it anything like this ............ I think your designs are probably very different to the ones we see here in the UK and my worry would be that pots of soil/compost on this kind of structure, especially when watered, would be extremely heavy. If the structure is definitely strong enough, the space you show in your picture could be treated in a similar way to a greenhouse, and would be super for growing your plants. What plants are you hoping to grow there?
Your image looks a lot like the conservatories we have here Robb but ours are on ground level. Happy planting!!