During the month of January, it is time to start planning your garden and studying seed catalogs and websites like http://www.backyardstyle.com/.

Developing a garden plan begins with choosing the vegetable, plants, flowers and tree varieties you may want to grow. If you start planning now, you can give some vegetables and herbs a head start indoors before planting outside. January becomes none too early to start.
To start with, know which planting zone you are in. Arborday.org published the handy chart to the right in 2006 and it is still very applicable.

Of all of the factors affecting plant growth indoors, adequate light is by far the most important. Light is needed for plants to produce food and survive — generally, the more light available, the more food produced for growth. Hydrofarm has a great Grow Light System that can be an invaluable tool for indoor planting.

If you intend to use natural lighting, windows with eastern exposure within your house provide the best light and temperature conditions for indoor gardening because plants receive direct morning light from sunrise until nearly midday. Windows with northern exposure provide the least light and the lowest temperature. Because the United States is in the northern hemisphere, it receives most of its sunlight from the south.

Relative humidity is the amount of moisture contained in the air. For indoor plants, relative humidity below 20 percent is considered low, 40 percent – 50 percent is medium, and above 50 percent is high. Relative humidity is a very important factor, but it is easily overlooked. You can use a standard Terrarium Humidity Gauge to test the humidity. Use a mister like the Habba Mist Mister pictured to the right to keep your plants humid especially if you leave your home for long periods.

There are many other factors .. but one common theme is “Get started now” on planning your spring garden or things may catch up to you all too soon!