During quarantine, I have been very bored. With all the free time I have had on my hands, I decided to create a home garden. The urge came from wanting to have fresh rosemary to cook with (I have also been learning to cook during quarantine). After doing some research, I found that plants were not that hard to grow. Although my knowledge of growing plants came from growing beans in fourth grade for a science experiment, I wanted to see if I could grow other plants.
I took a trip to the dollar store to get all my materials. The dollar store is probably the last place someone would go to for gardening items, but surprisingly enough, my local dollar store had everything I needed. I bought eight six-inch clay pots, basil seeds, parsley seeds, chives seeds, cilantro seeds, sunflower seeds, lavender seeds, Jalapeno seeds, and radish seeds. I was quite ambitious by buying eight seeds at once, so if you plan to start a garden, starting with one plant can help you get a feel for the activity before diving in.
After buying my plants and pots, I purchased soil from Home Depot. Buying dirt was necessary because the land in my neighborhood is too rocky to use for planting (if the soil accessible to you is suitable for planting, you can skip this step). The steps after acquiring the materials were pretty straightforward. I put the soil in each pot with their seeds and watered them every day.
A tip I have is to make sure to check the expiration date on your seeds. They are less likely to germinate if you have passed the sell-by date. Also, depending on the plants you use, there may be pre-planting steps. For me, it was soaking the basil and parsley in water for 24 hours. Most plants take 10-14 days to germinate, and there should be extra information about the plant on the seed packet. Check your plants and research them to make sure you take the right steps.
I keep my plants in a semi-shady area outside where they are sheltered from the rain. Miami weather can be harsh, so I try to bring them in my house when it rains to prevent them from being overwatered.
When my plants get big enough, I plan to move them to a wooden outdoor planter in my backyard. I found my wooden planters on Etsy for a reasonable price. Putting them together wasn’t too tricky, and it gives me plenty of space for herbs.
Overall, I genuinely enjoy taking care of my plants. Waking up and watering them has become part of my self-care routine.
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