Please welcome guest author: Carrie Spencer!

Gardening is a lot of fun, especially if you grow your own foods or spices! If you don’t have enough outdoor space for a garden, you can transform your garage into the perfect garden and keep using your green thumb all year long with the right prep work.

Why Grow in Your Garage?

Simply put, your garage is a controlled environment and can work as a warm space for your plants or crops, even in the middle of winter! Many people have excess space in their garages, especially if they park their cars outside.

With a little bit of tinkering in preparation, even basic garages can function as beautiful gardens with enough space to grow anything you can imagine. Also, by renovating your garage, it’s even possible to boost your home’s value.

Good Plants for Garage Gardening

First, be sure that you choose plants that can survive or even thrive in a garage environment. The best plants for overwintering in your garage will have very bulbous roots, which can store moisture and nutrients. These include cannas, dahlias, amaryllis, and more. Of course, so long as you have enough pots and fresh soil, you can plant anything you like. Just make sure you have room for all your planned plants!

Setting up the Space

Next, prep your garage garden’s space by:

• Cleaning up any hazardous materials or chemicals

• Sealing the garage against accidental entry (so someone can’t accidentally open the garage door)

• Placing pots and/or soil carefully so you have room to maneuver between your plants Ensuring Adequate Light

Your plants will need plenty of light to survive, even if your garage has big windows, to begin with. Generally, it’s a good idea to invest in sunlight lamps specifically designed for indoor gardening. You may need to purchase several of these (and large variants of those lamps) to maximize your plants’ health. Station the lights at equidistant spaces from one another. Some of the best lamps will come with automatic timers so they shut off at night and don’t unnecessarily add to your electricity bill.

Tempering the Temperature

Your garage garden’s temperature is also important. After all, many common gardening plants or crops require specific temperature ranges to be healthy.

To temper your garage’s temperature:

• Install a separate thermostat so you can control the temperature of your garage separately from your home

• Contact window repair services if your windows are not properly sealed and are letting in hot or cold air. Just be sure to evaluate any window repair company online by reading the reviews from prior customers. To find the best home window repair services, ask for referrals and make sure any company is insured before signing on the dotted line. Additionally, keep in mind that the total cost of window repair will depend on the type of repair and what windows you need

• Invest in localized cooling and heating technologies, like space heaters or fans

• Consider using plastic to create a greenhouse effect if you are growing plants that thrive in humid environments

• Use sealant caulk or other materials to seal leaks in your garage door or elsewhere

While the ideal temperature will vary from species to species, most plants thrive in temperatures ranging from 70°F to 80°F during the day and 65°F to 70°F at night.

Feeding Your Plants

Feeding your plants is also super important. Just like with regular gardening, you’ll need to give your plants food in the form of fresh soil or other nutrients. For easy gardening, keep your food supply in your garage with your plants and keep to the same feeding routine each day. Garage Gardening Can Be Fun!

At its core, gardening in your garage is similar to gardening outdoors – you just have to add a few lights and be sure to control the temperature carefully. But with the right prep work, your garage garden will look beautiful and your plants will thrive. Good luck!

Carrie Spencer created TheSpencersAdventures.net to share her family’s homesteading adventures. On the site, she shares tips on living self-sufficiently, fruit and vegetable gardening, parenting, conservation, and more. She and her wife have 3 kids, 2 dogs, 4 cats, 3 goats, 32 chickens, and a whole bunch of bees. Their goal is to live as self-sufficiently and environmentally-consciously as possible.

Acknowledgements: Photography is by Cottonbro, provided by Pexels.

Questions? Comments? Corrections?

Email it to me at erika@bug.news and get it added to the blog. I love interacting with my readers and I’ll do everything I can to answer your questions, address your comments, and keep the stories updated :)
We’re also on Facebook so you can leave a comment or start a discussion there too if you prefer that medium…

Join the email list

Want Bug News stories & announcements sent to your inbox? Never miss a story: Join the Bug News email list here or email me at Erika@bug.news with “Join email list” in the subject line.

Support the blog!

Like my blog? Want to help keep the new content coming and the pages ad free? Consider becoming one of my Patreon Patrons! Any amount, big or small, helps me spend more time creating and less time trying to keep the lights on. Patreon Patrons can also get exclusive access to monthly newsletters, story sneak peeks, story requests, and more! Please consider supporting the blog and check out my Patreon Patron support page.

Ok, you say, but what is this Patreon thing you are talking about? Patreon is a service that helps connect content creators with folks who want to help support creative endeavors. Patreon is setup to be able to safely handle the financial side of transactions so both the patron and the creator can be confident their information is secure. You can read more about what Patreon is HERE.

Thank you!!

Not interested in a Patreon monthly subscription? Prefer to make a one-time contribution? We have that option too! Help support the blog with a one-time donation through PayPal instead! Thank you!!

Printed Calendar and Newsletters

Want Bug News in print? We’ve got you covered :) Check out the Bug News 2022 wall calendar:

Our Bug News Newsletters are also now in print and available on Amazon.com:

There will be a cumulative 2021 newsletter compilation published soon as well. Stay tuned!

Gifts & Swag Galore

Now you can get prints of some of our favorite critters on Red Bubble! Everything from tote bags and pillows, to greeting cards and note books, to t-shirts and mugs!

Check out it out HERE. The store is organized by design, so pick a critter picture to see all the gift options :)

Here are just a few examples:

And so much more! Check out all the bug patterns HERE.