A few months ago my housemate and I decided to dedicate a corner of our house to a garden. We live in a small loft apartment with about 70% of the day’s sun beaming over our house; the sun’s rays just slightly missing our windows. We get 5 hours of direct sunlight into our living room every morning. That brief amount of sunlight in the life of plants who thrive off of sun rays was just enough to give life to a beautiful garden consisting of a variety of plants.
Starting an indoor garden is easier than you would expect. All you need is an empty cardboard egg cartoon, a few packets of seeds (which you can find various kinds of in the dollar store. We found ours for 25 cents a pack!), soil ($10 a bag in our local supermarket, which yielded plenty for our garden), water, and sun. After you have gathered all your items what you’ll need to do is find the sunniest spot in your space. Dedicate a section of the spot to only your plants. All we needed was our windowsill and a small 12 in. by 12 in. table.
Next, simply divide your egg cartons into three sections, four spaces each, dedicated to three kinds of seeds. We used oregano, parsley, and marigolds. Depending on the kind of seed you have decided to plant, you could see sprouts as early as a week, to up to four weeks.
Patience is an essential virtue to have when starting a garden from seeds. It took us three tries with three different egg cartoons to finally see lasting results. With a garden you will learn that plants, like all life forms, are resilient. The most challenging plant we grew was lettuce. Six months passed since the initial sprout and the lettuce has since dried out and regrew at least four times.
Gardening is an experiment, teaching you valuable lessons about how we nurture and how nature does its job with grace and relentless strength. Since starting a garden I have learned the most valuable lesson of all. Plants want to grow. They will seek what they need and communicate with their caregiver what it is that they need.
All in all, do not be hesitant to start a garden if you are unsure about sunlight, your ability to care for a living thing, or space. Gardens, like us, will always find a way to live. Start with simple plants like marigolds, oregano and basil. I have found that herbs and flowers are the kindest plants to start with and the most rewarding because you can enjoy their visual beauty and use them in your cooking!
Once you begin to see your garden come to life you can easily transport the egg cartons directly into a pot since the cartons will decompose on their own. In just a few weeks you will see the beginning of new life forming right before your eyes. In a few months, you will see a self-sustaining garden filled with the will to live and the ability to enhance your life - even if it is just by enhancing a simple egg omelet!
-Samantha Garcia
Photo Credit: Photos by Samantha Garcia. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Photos are not to be used without prior permission & license.
1 Response