Apartment-friendly gardening: How to grow plants from food scraps, and what does well in containers

Green vegetables are shown in a photo from shutterstock.com.

VANCOUVER — Finding yourself with some time on your hands during the pandemic? Thinking of picking up your first seed packet?

According to data from social media site Pinterest, searches for "starting a garden indoors," and "micro gardens" are up more than 200 per cent.

First-time gardeners are looking for ideas on what they can plant, particularly with the limited space that comes with apartment living.

Whether you're thinking of installing window boxes and patio planters or wondering how you can turn store-bought veggies into an at-home source of food, here's a quick look at some tips for experts.

And if you love plants, but don't trust your not-very-green thumb, there are even some suggestions for how to make fresh-cut flowers last a bit longer.

Regrowing from food scraps

The University of British Columbia revealed some beginner-friendly tips from an instructor in a statement Friday.

Egan Davis, principal instructor of the horticultural training program at UBC's botanical gardens, says there are a lot of plants you can grow from food scraps.

He suggested trying leafy greens, which can be planted even when the weather's cooler.

"Foods like lettuce, bok choy or spring onions are easy to regrow – when you’re making dinner, just preserve the stump and ideally the shoot in the centre," Davis said.

Stick that stump in a jar of water, and put the jar on your windowsill. Change the water every few days, Davis says, and "nestle it" in soil in a container when you see leaves and roots starting to form.

The leaves from such plants can be harvested until the plants start to flower in the heat of the summer.

"At that point the leaves will get bitter and the plants are done," Davis said.

He also recommended trying tomatoes and peppers from the seeds of the fruits and vegetables you bought at the grocery store.

Depending on the time of year, you may want to start them inside and move them outdoors toward the end of this month or early June.

He said herbs can be grown from cuttings as well.

Container growing tips

Davis says plants grown in containers should be watered until the water starts coming out the bottom of the pot.

Then back off, and let the soil dry before watering again.

"The cycle of moist soil to dry soil and back is important because rooted plants need oxygen," he said.

Choose a container based on the size of your plant. Putting a small plant in a large pot may be bad for the plant, as the soil will stay moist too long.

A plant in a pot that's too small can dry out, he said.

Not sure about what soil to choose? Davis recommends formulated potting soil, rather than taking earth from the ground in an area near you.

This ensures the soil you use is porous enough to get saturated when watering.

How to make fresh-cut flowers last

A director of floral art and design at Hanatombo in Japan says in a statement through Pinterest that adding flowers can bring "vitality" to your home at a time when you may feel trapped indoors.

"Flowers are living things so you can feel the positive energy by incorporating them into everyday life," Aimee Isobe said.

Her tips to make them last longer are as follows: