With everyone staying home during the Circuit Breaker, now’s the perfect time to work on some hobbies to pass the time. Not only does having greenery around the house beautify the space, growing plants also help to reduce stress and anxiety, especially if you’re feeling a tad cooped up indoors these days. It’s a therapeutic hobby worth picking up to feel a sense of accomplishment once the little baby plants grow.
Starting your own home garden can seem a little daunting for those with a budding green thumb. But you don’t actually need much to get started and we’ll show you how, by using everyday items that you probably already have at home. For stuff like soil and fertiliser, you can easily order them from online nurseries and have them delivered to your doorstep.
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Image credit: Stacie
Seedlings are finicky little things. To ensure that their roots don’t get disturbed when you’re transplanting them into soil, start them off in paper roll cups. Get them from your used-up kitchen or toilet paper rolls.
Items needed: Paper tubes from used-up toilet or kitchen paper rolls, seeds of your choice, soil, a pot, and any available windowsill.
Time taken to grow: 4-7 days
How to grow:
Pro-tip: Make sure none of the paper roll is above the soil as it’ll wick water away from the roots. The paper rolls will eventually degrade into the soil, turning into compost.
Image credit: SewCream
After using up about a dozen eggs for egg recipes at home, reuse your discarded eggshells as mini seed starters. They’re filled with nutrients and will be a quirky addition to your home garden.
Items needed: Eggshells and its used-up egg carton, seeds of your choice, soil, a pot, and any available windowsill.
Time taken to grow: 4-7 days
How to grow:
The eggshells will be a good source of calcium for your plants as it degrades into the soil.
Image credit: GFinger
If you’ve ever forgotten about a bunch of potatoes in a dark corner of your kitchen, you’ll probably see small buds starting to pop up on the surface. Instead of throwing them away, plant these potatoes for an endless supply of fries in the future.
Items needed: Potatoes with emerging buds, soil, a pot, and a spot that gets at least 6 hours of strong sunlight each day.
Time taken to grow: 18-20 weeks
How to grow:
Image credit: Getty Stewert
The next time you’re making a salad at home, don’t throw away the base of the lettuce you’re using. This part of the lettuce which is usually headed for the trash can be repurposed into a brand-new lettuce head.
Image credit: GardenTech
Items needed: Lettuce base, a shallow dish, soil, a pot, and a spot with at least 6 hours of strong sunlight each day.
Time taken to grow: 45-55 days
How to grow:
You can use grow bags instead of pots and ensure that you have a trellis for your cucumber plant to coil around
Image credit: Ace Gardener
Technically a fruit, the versatile cucumber can be eaten or used as a cooling mask to soothe puffy eyes. Grow them at home and you get the added aesthetic benefit of a leafy twiner plant that’ll give you fresh returns for your daily salad bowls.
Items needed: Cucumbers, a sieve, paper towels, a trellis, slow-release fertiliser, soil, a pot, and a spot with at least 6 hours of sunlight each day.
Time taken to grow: 50-70 days
How to grow:
Avocado plants are actually pretty sturdy greens to grow at home. The next time you’re done making avo toast or guac for your chips, save the whole pit to start your mini avocado plantation in yor home.
Avocado seedlings ready to be transplanted into pots
Image credit: @nelplant
Items needed: Whole avocado pit, toothpicks, a jar or cup, slow-release fertiliser, soil, a large pot, and a spot with at least 6 hours of sunlight each day.
Time taken to grow: You should be able to see the first sign of leaves in 2-8 weeks. But to test your patience and determination, it may take anywhere from 4-15 years for your tree to bear fruit.
How to grow:
You can even paint your bottles to make them more aesthetic
Image credit: Kelly Ladd Sanchez
Instead of throwing your plastic soda bottles into the recycling bin, turn it into your next fun family activity. Adults can take care of the cutting while the young ones can paint and decorate these hanging planters for your garden. It can also help free up more space if your floor is starting to get overrun by pots.
Items needed: Plastic bottles, twine or rope, a penknife or pair of scissors, soil, and seeds or seedlings of your choice.
How to make:
Starting an eco-friendly home garden and tending to your growing plants every day is a great way to do something productive as we #stayhomeforSG during this Circuit Breaker period. While you’re at it, use existing houseplants to decorate your workspace and bedroom to keep your spirits up and improve the air quality indoors.
As we stay home, we are playing our part to protect our loved ones and others around us. In the spirit of #SGUnited, all of us can lend a helping hand in trying times like these. After all, we can only overcome the COVID-19 situation by banding together.
But even as we stay home during this Circuit Breaker period, we can continue to remain active and engaged. If you’re itching to do more, check out the link below to lend your support to community initiatives and donate to help vulnerable groups.
More things to do indoors in Singapore:
This post was brought to you in support of SG United.
Cover image adapted from (L-R): @nelplant, SewCream
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