HouseplantsPlant Guide

5 Tips For Beginner Apartment Gardeners

Gardening is an excellent past time for both adults and children. It is a stress reliever and offers a great opportunity for exercise (depending on what you are growing).

Starting an indoor garden can be as easy or difficult as you choose to make it. There are simple things to start with that can set you on a fun and addictive path of becoming an indoor gardener. Here are 5 tips on how you can start your journey as an indoor gardener.

1. Start Small

I remember when I started my indoor gardening journey I went and bought 10 plants. My excited self went home and placed them in different locations and out came the camera because I was so ready to showcase my prowess as indoor gardening. A few weeks in and 3 plants died. In about two months all the plants had died. Looking back at that experience the main cause of death was lack of knowledge. I had no idea what I was doing, so I did not water the plants right, did not use the right soil, I denied them the right light. So many things. But this experience scared me a little bit because I felt like I could not garden. About a year later I started large scale farming and spent full days at the farm so I learnt a lot about plants, soil and so forth. I spent a lot of time reading and studying about gardening and I then figured that plants (like children) are best spaced for new plant parents. Start with one or two plants, grow them successfully and then add another and so forth.

2. Regrow Fruit and Vegetables

You can easily regrow fruits, herbs and vegetables from either bulbs or cuttings using simple steps. For example: Onions - Place the root side of the bulb in a jar with water. In about a week or so you will see the roots growing and delicious shoots at the top. Snip the green shoots off and place the bulb back in the water. You will need to change the water every couple of days to keep the oxygen flowing.

3. Indoor Plants Choice

Indoor plants come in various forms. I have done a video on 7 best indoor plants for beginners that are easy to find in Kenya, so you can have a look at that. But if you do not wish to start with a soil-based indoor garden, you can go for an epiphyte or an air plant. These are great for mounting on a wall or placing strategically on a table or shelf.

4. Grow Easy Vegetables

You can grow certain vegetables indoors. Baby spinach, lettuce, coriander are examples of some vegetables you can grow successfully indoors.

5. Re-use Containers

Gardening can be an expensive hobby, and if you start with fancy expensive equipment you can easily get discouraged if things go wrong (and they often do). So why not use upcycled containers, for example, the aluminium cans used for jams, tomato paste and coconut cream are great for succulents and even for planting coriander or lettuce. You can also upcycle glass jars and glass bottles for propagation or to grow succulents. The beauty of re-using containers is that you can get your creative juices on and decorate them. This is a great activity to do with chldren to get them excited about gardening.