Dwell on This: Start an Indoor Herb Garden
Instead of tossing those scraps in the compost bin, invest in your own countertop harvest.
When the pandemic hit, you started off strong: You nurtured a sourdough starter and baked your first Instagram-worthy loaf, finished the books on your "to-read" list, cleaned out your pantry, reorganized your closet by color, and maybe even indulged your inner interior decorator through hours of Animal Crossing.
Now, my friend, it’s time to graduate to the big leagues of domestic hobbies and start growing your own edibles. No, not those greens—we’re talking about herbs and vegetables that will elevate your home-cooked meals for months to come.
Starting an indoor herb garden is such a no-brainer that it often starts as a happy accident. You’re preparing dinner and toss a few scraps of celery or green onion into a cup of water for freshness, only to discover that they’ve grown back a few days later. Fennel and baby bok choy are also extremely easy to grow from discarded ends, only requiring water and bright sunlight. Garlic and ginger can also be coaxed back to life: Just plant each piece in potting soil—garlic facing downward, ginger facing up—and keep them well lit and lightly watered. In a little over a week, you’ll have edible green stalks to use as a flavorful garnish.
If you live somewhere temperate and have a little outdoor space to call your own (even if it’s just a porch or balcony), consider setting up a mini greenhouse. Otherwise, there are several indoor garden kits that can help even the blackest of thumbs reach their green potential. The key here is to start simple and begin with kitchen scraps. You can save the serious gardening for Animal Crossing.
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Click & Grow Smart Garden 9
The Smart Garden 9 is a meticulously designed, self-growing indoor garden that revolutionizes how fresh food is grown. Specially developed Smart Soil and built-in sensors make sure plants get the optimal configuration of water, oxygen, and nutrients so your plants thrive with zero effort. The Smart Garden 9 comes with a complimentary set of plant capsules: 3 x mini tomato 3 x basil 3 x green lettuce
ShopModern Sprout Garden Jar Herb Kit
We always seem to find bundles of wilted, forgotten herbs at the bottom of our crisper drawer. Save that basil a slow, painful death and exercise your green thumb at the same time with easy-to-use garden jar herb kits. You’ll have your own fresh herbs that you can snip from whenever you need a sprinkling of the good stuff! The jar is outfitted with a passive hydroponic system, which is a fancy way of saying it waters itself (no fear of over- or under-watering here!) The kit comes with everything you need to get to growing, all you provide is water and a sunny spot to set it in. Each kit comes with a quart-size mason jar to plant in, seeds, plant food, a stainless steel net pot, a bag of grow medium, coco pith disk, activated carbon, polypro wick, and simple instructions. Choose a single kit for growing basil, parsley, oregano, mint, cilantro, or pansies. Or opt for the set of 5, which includes basil, parsley, oregano, sage, and cilantro. While the mint is out stock, sage will be shipped to replace the mint. Wire stand pictured is not included with the individual kits or the set of 5. Each Kit Contains: Stainless Steel Net Pot Recycled Glass Grow Medium Polypro Wick Coco Pith Disk Activated Carbon Water Reservoir Plant Food Non-GMO Seeds photo Courtesy of Food52
ShopPlantui Smart Garden 6
Smart Garden 6 by Plantui is an innovative, soil-free indoor gardening device. Now you can grow your own herbs and salads easily at home whole year round! Smart Garden functions almost automatically: you only need to add water and nutrients and place Plantui’s own plant capsules to the device. Smart Garden is designed and manufactured in Finland by Plantui. The 18 high-end LED lights provide the best spectrums and intensity needed to create perfect germination and growth conditions for your greens. Smart Garden uses the same irrigation method as professional greenhouses: it quietly pumps water to the roots 0-7 times a day. Note that the plants need rest just the same as we do – the innovative light unit has a timer that is easy to use and change just by touching the top of the device. Choose your plants from Plantui’s wide selection of herbs, salad greens and edible flowers. The germination takes about two weeks and the plants are full grown in about 6 weeks. In one Smart Garden 6, you can grow six plants at a time. You only need to add water and nutrient couple of times during one growth cycle. The bowl, water tray, plant tray and plant holders are all dishwasher safe. Photo Courtesy of Finnish Design Shop
ShopIllustration by Mar Hernández
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