Sunday was the first day of spring (even if it didn't feel like it everywhere), and if you are like me, you itch to have some greenery and color around, but can't because you live in a dorm and likely don't have a backyard to plant flowers. So, I collected some of the coolest indoor gardening tips and ideas in case you wanted to test out your green thumb this spring.
1. Growing from Egg Shells
This is one of the coolest and most environmentally friendly ways to start out seedlings and small plants, such as succulents. This also means you are reducing your waste--if you learn how to crack your eggs the right way whenever you make an omelet or scrambled eggs, you can reuse the shells for your garden! Here are the specific instructions on how to do it like the photos above! Here are the specific instructions on how to crack the eggs like below.
2. Beer Bottle Blooms
Recycle your beer bottles as hipster looking vases and keep some tall stalks in them, adding a bit of color to your window sill. You can also use them to regrow spring onions to add to your dish. Just take the scraps left from your green onions, place them in a jar with some water and you’ll have green onions forever. They only take a week to mature. Here's an article to learn more.
3. Tea-sized Gardens
Chipped tea mug? Turn it into a little succulent garden to keep by your window or bedside table.
4. Citrus Peel Pots
Along the same lines as the egg shells, this is a super environmentally friendly way of starting seedlings. Use any type of citrus peel: grapefruit, oranges, pomelos, or lemons. Poke a hole in the bottom and then add seeds, soil and water. Once the seeds have taken off, transplant the whole thing in the ground or a bigger pot and the peel will take care of itself! Make your own little lemon pots here!
5. Glass Tulips
If you want to add an elegant dash of color to your dorm or apartment, growing tulip bulbs in glasses is the way to go. With just a tiny bit of water, some pebbles, and an elongated glass, you can grow your bulbs inside. Take a look here!
6. Sprouting Jars
You can start your very own sprout garden in jars for a fraction of the cost of what you can find at the store. Just make sure they’re close to the window and get plenty of light during the day. (You can also do a simpler version on damp paper towels, like the experiment in school) Learn about how to do it here.
7. Colorful Cans
Instead of going to Home Depot, Lowes, or a gardening store to buy pots, you can recycle your cans to make pots as your plants continue to grow from seedlings to bigger plants. They can range in size, from Pepsi cans with their tops cut off to soup and bean cans, up to the larger coffee cans. Make sure to poke holes in the bottom for drainage!! You can paint them a variety of colors to help add pizzazz, color code them to remember the different types, or if you are feeling extra artsy, use blackboard paint to write the name of the herbs or plants on the can. Want more instructions?
