Fresh produce, right in your own home, using what you have? Yes, it is possible! Gardening is just one way to boost your mental health, and when you are using what you have as planters, and even food scraps to get your plants, it is a win-win!  

 

So many of our food containers get tossed into the recycle bin these days, so why not use them for planting? Plastic is the easiest material to plant in because you will need to drill holes in the bottom for drainage. Add small gravel or shredded newspaper to the bottom to help the water drain away, and fill with potting soil made for indoor plants. Ideas are not limited to these types of containers: 

 

  • - Coffee containers 

  • - Milk jugs 

  • - Laundry detergent/bleach jugs 

  • - Disinfectant or baby wipe containers 

  • - Soft drink bottles 

  • - Cat litter jugs 

 

Metal cans and tins would work well, too, especially for plants with shallow roots. Add sturdy tape (like electrical tape) around the top edge, use a hammer and large nail to put in drainage holes, and you can have an indoor herb garden on your windowsill! Another--and surprising--idea is using cardboard boxes to grow a variety of plants, depending on the depth of the soil in the box. Why not give this unique approach to container gardening? Birds & Blooms tested out a few different methods and found the right way to use boxes.  

 

Plants that will grow well indoors: 

  • - Root vegetables like carrots, onions, beets 

  • - Most herbs:  basil, parsley, sage, dill, rosemary, chives 

  • - Tomatoes can be grown inside, but that job is best for Winter, as a sunny window can get too hot inside. 

  • - Houseplants do not have to be only green in color! Add a burst of color to your interior with African violets, begonias, kalanchoe, jasmine, and geraniums. 

 

Another way to save waste--specifically food waste--is to regenerate food scraps instead of throwing them out or composting them! 

  • - Leafy veggies like lettuce, celery, or bok choy will sprout new plants from the base. Placed cut-side up in a dish with about ½” of water in a sunny window will soon produce new leaves, and eventually, a full-grown plant ready for the table! 

  • - Try the other side of root vegetables, the greens, by placing the cut-off top of a beet, turnip, or other root vegetable into a dish of water. Leaves can be sautéed or used in a salad. 

  • - Many have seen how to grow a pineapple plant from scraps, but other fruits may need more care and patience.   

  • - Seeds from peppers will produce plants, just be sure to use seeds from the red fruit; the green peppers, though delicious, are not ripe, and neither is the seeds inside. 

  • - Planting seed from fruits like apples and even citruses can be fun to watch grow into a small tree, but all take years before producing any yield. Avocado trees, for instance, can take up to thirteen years before producing. 

 

If you plan on creating a growing space inside, make sure the amount of sun, the temperature and humidity levels are right, and you can have a small garden at your fingertips. Not to mention that gardening is good for the soul, and we all can use some of that right now! 


Courtesy of New Castle County DE Realtors Tucker Robbins and Carol Arnott Robbins.  

Photo credit: CountryLiving