With some people having surpassed 60 days in lockdown, finding creative activities to fight boredom can be challenging. Probably, one of the most soothing and rewarding activities is growing plants. In fact, growing plants or gardening can teach us a lot about life, including patience, which is highly needed during quarantine. Gardening can improve your mood and sense of fulfillment. Green plants have been proven to improve people’s lives in more healthy ways than one.
Confinement laws in different countries had fewer limiting protocols on the agriculture markets since this sector is considered vital for life. Therefore, we have a high chance of finding what we need nearby.
First, get some pots with holes in their bottom, and some soil. A big variety of soils might be sold at any agriculture shop near you. Preferably, get some peat moss as this is a professional soil for planting and gives your plant the best chance to grow. If you can’t find any, you can use any other kind of soil; your plants will still grow but would probably require more attention.
Choose a spot in your place that has the most sun. By a window or on a balcony, even inside the house as long as the place has plenty of sun and regular fresh air. If you are planting seeds, always soak them in water a couple of hours before as it wakes them up and prepares them to open.
The first advice would be to start planting your pharmacy. Aloe Vera looks good and is quite useful, it likes indirect sun and little water to thrive and live. Put the pot in the shadow and leave heavy sun for other plants.
Mint is also a good idea. Its aroma is always distinguished. It likes sun and water, you can notice it grow quickly, and you can consume it as a tisane or in a salad.
GROWING VEGETABLES
Vegetables are quite easy to plant, and you can grow almost all vegetables you eat.
When you slice a tomato to eat, leave a slice with some seeds aside. Put it under the soil (peat moss preferably), water it and wait for 3 to 4 days to see small tomato plants sprouting up. Tomatoes are like ginger which you can also plant in soil and will grow out in its own time.
Eggplants also grow easily. Take out some seeds from any eggplant and plant them. In no time you will see them growing. Also, if you have an old potato in the house and it began to grow white sprouts out of it, put it in soil with the points facing upwards; it will grow easily but it might take some time to grow up since potatoes are slower than other vegetables. Do not dig deep for the seeds. 2 cm below the soil should be enough as you would need the seed to breathe, otherwise it might suffocate and die.
Onions and garlic are related, but sometimes garlic requires more time to grow. However, homegrown onions and garlic are a special treat. Onions are easy to grow; they grow in any season and under any temperature. To plant an onion, put half of one in soil and wait for it to grow. If you put it in water, you will see it growing roots very quickly. If planted in soil, watering twice weekly should be enough.
To plant garlic, remove one clove of garlic and place it soil at a 2 cm below the surface. You might need to water them less as they don’t like wet soil, this is why garlic fully matures in hot and dry climates.
Lettuce, cabbages and broccoli can also be planted easily. Take the lower part (base) of the vegetable and put it in water for two or three days, then plant it in the soil. They will live and thrive under the sun.
For peas, put a seed at 2 cm below soil surface and watch it grow. Beans also make a good meal. If you grow 3 plants of beans, you will have produce to eat. Remember to soak all seeds in water before planting them. Watering peas and beans depends on the heat and soil moisture.
Carrots and radish can be grown in pots take 2 cm from the top (the part that you don’t usually eat) and plant them in the soil. It’s very important that their soil is not thick and tender, as the carrots cannot grow if the soil is hard because they cannot extend as easily (peat moss is ideal).
GROWING FRUITS
As for fruits, most fruit seeds can be put directly in the soil and they will grow. When you peel a pineapple, put its green leafs in the soil and water it. It will grow into a couple of pineapples in 3 months. Watermelon and melon’s seeds can also grow easily, and you can plant them in spring. They only need water and sun. However, these two fruits can grow up to 4 meters. You need to give them the needed and better to grow them in a garden.
Passion fruit trees and kiwi trees are vines that are easy to grow. For the passion fruit, take one fruit, open it and put its content in soil. Each fruit contain a lot of seeds, you will see so many green leafs growing up, take one or two and plant them in a bigger pot. As for the kiwi, you can slice a piece from the fruit and put in the soil also many will grow up. Put them in a bigger pot. Most sub-species of kiwi require a male and a female so that the female will grow fruits. It’s the quickest vine we know, grow rapidly and spread out in no time.
Most fruit seeds can grow, but most of them will need a big space and will become big trees. If you have the space, soak the seeds in water for a week and then plant them in the ground.
A lot of people also like flowers; they are easy to grow and also require sun and water. Flower seed bags usually have instructions on required watering and amount of sun the flower needs. If not, you can do a quick research on the internet on the type of plant you are growing.
The most important thing is: Stay safe and stay at home.
