I used to be one of those people who killed any plant I ever tried to grow, indoors and outdoors - I even killed mint which is almost unheard of! Over the years I have learned some simple guidelines to follow, mainly by watching nature and reading a few sustainable gardening books too. Now my plants are kickin' it!
Here's some tips that will help you keep your house plants alive!
1. Try and start with organic or ecologically grown plants. The ones purchased at the big box stores are like buying a heroine addict who's gonna get fast worn out and go into shock when the blast of unnatural fertilizers run out. It's near impossible to save these pesticide laden plants once death is near... but if you already have some re-pot them right away with some compost dirt & a non plastic container.
2. Build an Empire. Literally build a little eco world in your pot, with pine cones, leaves, cut grass, decaying sticks, rocks and dead flowers. You should get some little bugs living in there who come with the stuff listed above that will constantly be feeding on the decaying matter & turning into compost to slowly fertilize the plant. Adding worms is good too - but I once had a weird mass suicide of worms where they all jumped out the pots at the same time and dried up over night! Poor worms!
3. Good dirt! Mixing some yummy dirt is essential. Using some dark black mushroom compost, chicken poop and sandy soil to hold water is pretty ideal across the board, especially for most common house plants.
4. Don't water with chlorinated tap water. Potted plants do not have the filtering range of outdoor plants and all chemicals will eventually build up in the pot making it toxic to the plant. Use some sort of filtered water (which we all need to have for our health too!)
5. Use a healthy pot. Sometimes plastic is just not breathable for a plant, and likewise some decorative containers have paints or glazes that are hazardous to the plant. If you are growing indoor herbs to use in cooking, it is essential to not use a crappy possibly toxic pot! Go with Terra Cotta or some other natural element that gets good circulation.
Happy growing this winter season!
See all those plants? Those are some of my organic babies I keep indoors in the winter, a few year round... I fill up half my bedroom with plants mainly cause i love them, but also for good indoor air quality. You can see my cat Toots loves them too, she likes to sit in the pot with the tiny pine trees i started this past summer from pine nut seeds. :) I am always adding things to my potted plants to help keep them alive- like leaves, horse dookie, wood shavings, dried flowers/weeds, rocks and pine cones. It gives the little slugs, doodle bugs, and worms a place to live, eat and breed- making the plant's soil much healthier in the cramped space of a pot.
Today I went for a walk down Willow Creek Road to a spot where I had seen some big sap layered pine cones, that I wanted to collect for my potted plants and for decorating with AND so i can touch them and smell the pine sap whenever I want... ;) mmmm. It was so fun to get out the freakin' house after all these weeks of frigid temperatures keeping me mostly trapped inside, we finally got up to almost 50 degrees today... ya know, in the sunny spots.
When I got home I gave each of my babies a few new pine cones. :) YAY!
XoXo
