Simple ways to get some green in your life
Spring is almost here, and with the warmer weather and melting snow comes this innate desire to brighten up your green thumb and grow something. Unfortunately, not all of us are so skilled at fostering the growth of another living thing. I, for instance, once managed to destroy a bamboo plant’s life span, which is apparently the hardest plant to ruin.
Fret not, my fellow gardening-inept! There is hope yet to turn our skin-coloured thumbs green. It turns out that you can do some pretty neat things with the leftovers of already-living plants.
With spring on its way it is time to begin thinking about indoor gardening.
Grow romaine lettuce or green onions from a stump
After using the tops of the vegetable, simply use the two or three inches left at the bottom, placing the stump in a bowl or jar, submerged a half an inch in water. You can use rocks, pebbles, marbles, or pretty much any other non-absorbent small pieces of material to hold the end up straight.
Check the stump regularly. Make sure to add fresh water daily, keeping the water level at a half an inch. Note that sometimes, the water and green onion ends will combine for a not-so-pleasant smell. You can eliminate the smell by cleaning the bowl and adding fresh water.
Leave your stump somewhere sunny. Within a week, your stump should be sprouting like nobody’s business.
Grow herbs in an egg carton
All you need to grow your own herbs indoors are some seeds, some soil, an old egg carton, and a lot of patience.
Choose which herbs you’d like to grow (basil, parsley, and chives are almost foolproof, I hear), and grab some potting soil. Fill each cup of the egg carton with three or four scoops of soil; then, place a two or three seeds of in each cup.
Move your egg carton to a sunny spot, placing a plate or some plastic wrap underneath so the water won’t leak out of the cups. Water each plant daily, and then wait.
Eventually, your herb plants will get too big for their tiny egg-cup-houses. You can then simply plant the entire cup into more soil in a bowl, jar, or small pot.
Grow flowers in a glass cup/jar/vase
If you’re looking for less functionality and more fun in your gardening experience, try growing a bulb plant, like tulips, in a glass vase, jar, or cup.
Line the bottom of your glass container with small pebbles or marbles. This will be the stabilizing base for your bulb.
Put the bulb root-side down atop the pebbles. Add a few more rocks to keep the bulb from tipping or rolling in the glass.
Add water to the container, submerging only the bottom inch of the bulb. Make sure to keep water levels at an inch consistently.
Keep the glass somewhere warm, but not sunny, for the first week or two. Then, move the glass to direct sunlight.