The harsh winter weather is upon us this January, and many Iowans are left longingly looking at their outdoor gardens buried in snow wondering what they can do to stay busy during the winter months. While some may opt to visit Iowa's many wonderful indoor botanical gardens, another option is to create a similar atmosphere within your own home. Assistant director of Reiman Gardens, Aaron Steil, has suggestions how to create a humid atmosphere for plants to grow.
"One of the big challenges at home is humidity," Steil says. "The way we heat our homes dries the air out, and the air this time of year naturally has a lot less moisture in it. If you can figure out how to add humidity to the home, and spraying water in the air doesn't work; you need to use a humidifier, then that's the hardest part."
On this Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe speaks with Steil and Iowa State University Extension Horticulture Specialist Richard Jauron about indoor botanical gardens in the area, their own New Year's resolutions about gardening, and they take calls from listeners.
