Where should I start my indoor garden?

Once you've decided that you would like to enter the world of indoor gardening, there are a few things that you'll have to do before you can sow your first seeds.

Location! Location! Location!

You are going to want to think about a location that works within your home without being in the way. Tucking your garden away in a room that you never use could possibly lead to neglect. I have found that if you place your garden in the middle of your living room it may disrupt your everyday life and potentially place your plants in harms way. If you have pets or children you may want to consider places they are less likely to interfere with them (my cats loved to sleep on my tobacco when it was still young).

When I placed my garden I ended up using a portion of the dining room (as we usually eat in the bar). There are large west facing windows which help it to get a little natural light. The majority of the garden is over a heat vent, helping to maintain the proper temperature. I also positioned it so that it focuses on a side of the room that receives less traffic, while I still walk past it many times a day.

Climate

But most importantly is finding a place with the correct climate.

When you're growing tomatoes and peppers they enjoy a warmer climate. I tend to keep mine around 68 degrees minimum. When summer comes around that temperature may swell to close to 80 degrees, but they can still tolerate that heat. The last thing that you want is for them to get too cold and freeze to death.

Now with other plants such as lettuces, arugula, and many herbs, the temperature does not need to be so intense. And in some cases too hot can lead to negative effects. An example of this would be the arugula that I started in the same environment as the peppers and tomatoes. They seemed to be doing great, growing more and more every day, only to find that the warm climate and too much lighting causes the plant to become excessively bitter. In the end, make sure that you investigate the natural growing climate and duplicate as much as possible.