With summer around the corner, now is the perfect time to start working on a garden! Don't worry, this doesn't have to be a huge project. Start small with some simple outdoor or indoor gardening (or both!). Get started with a few indoor plants (or even just one! Even one indoor plant can improve your indoor air quality) Here are a few easy tips on how to keep your weed killers and pest control nontoxic, and ideas for how to start your own indoor garden.

Photo credit: Photo by Flickr user Andy Ciordia

Weed Killers: Distilled white vinegar, the nontoxic wonder ingredient, saves the day again! Did you know you can use plain, non-dilluted vinegar as an easy nontoxic weed killer? The Frugal Girls recommend filling a spray bottle and spraying the weed's roots early in the day while the weed is still exposed to sunlight. According to Healthy Child Healthy World, you can also recycle newspaper and use it as a weed barrier.

Garden Pests: To get flies out of your garden area, try this odd and easy trick: Fill a plastic bag with water and put a penny in it. According to the Healthy Home Economist, the way light bounces off of the water affects the eyes of flys, keeping them away from your outdoor area. For other garden pests, Care2 has nontoxic pest control recipes that you can make out of ingredients from your pantry and kitchen.

Indoor Gardening: Gardening doesn't have to be relegated to the backyard. Small spaces and apartments can be home to beautiful indoor gardens. AARP has amazing tips on how to choose plants, find the right indoor light, and the best practices for caring for your indoor garden. You can contribute to your nontoxic lifestyle by growing herbs or vegetables. You can also clean up your indoor air quality with a houseplant. Try planting one of these powerful air detoxing plants.

Recycle household items to create your own plant container. Cans, old coffee pots, jars, pots, shoes---find items in your home at your local thrift store and start planting! You can also try one of these plant container projects:

• Seed Starting Containers: The Real Dirt, from Garden Therapy: This guide shows you how to turn everything from salad containers to toilet paper rolls into a plant container.
• Top 10 Recycled Plant Containers, from TLC Family: Easy instructions on how to turn shoes, old sinks, and jeans into gardening containers.

If you're feeling crafty, try one of these indoor gardening set ups using recycled jars, pallets, and boards. You can also replace the mason jars with other glass jars recycled from the recycling bin.

• Transformed Mason Jar Herb Garden, from Camille Styles
• DIY Mason Jar Planter, from Econesting
• DIY Small Space Pallet Garden, from Apartment Therapy

Not sure what to plant, or where to plant it? Check out Garden Guides: They break down how to plant different veggies and herbs in containers.