Gardening in a dorm can be especially difficult if you don’t know where to start. It’s hard to find enough sunlight or space to set everything up, and even knowing which plants to grow can be challenging.
Some plants are grown in dirt, some are grown in water, some plants require a lot of sunlight, and some plants won’t grow in a lot of sunlight. It’s all just discovering what works best in your dorm or apartment, and what your goal is in gardening. Do you want decorative plants, or plants that you can use for cooking?
If you have a hard time remembering to water your plants, you might be better suited to caring for plants that grow in water. If your apartment or dorm room gets a lot of light, you might be more suited to growing plants that thrive with a lot of light.
how to start planting
Plants can be expensive, but they don’t have to be. Buying a bigger plant is going to be more costly, but seeds aren’t that expensive. In fact, there are so many growing kits that have an assortment of different plant seeds you can use in your space, and they usually come with little pots, so you don’t even have to buy those!
Otherwise, if you want a more specific variety, Amazon has little packets of seeds that you can buy for less than $10. These packets are especially helpful if you want a more herbal garden to use for cooking. With this option, you might have to source the dirt and pots yourself. To at least start the seeds growing, you can scoop some dirt up from outside your residence in those little paper cups and watch them sprout!
It can be more difficult to grow seeds from scratch in water. If you want to have plants that grow in water instead of soil, it might be the easiest and cheapest option to buy a small plant that’s already situated in water, rather than trying to grow the plant from a seed yourself.
You can also try transferring the plant from soil to water if it can handle the changing environment and grow in water.
To do this, carefully remove the plant from the soil, gently brush off the roots, gently run them under water to remove dirt, and place it in water. It might struggle a bit at first, but as it assimilates to its new environment, it should perk right up.
Depending on the seeds, it may also be beneficial to soak them in a bit of water or in a wet paper towel for 12 to 48 hours. Different plants require different conditions to thrive, though, so if you want your plant to grow, double-check to make sure you’re doing the right thing!
common Water-grown houseplants
There are a few tried-and-true houseplants that work especially well for beginners. Remember, though, a glass container in direct sunlight may facilitate the growth of algae, so keep that in mind when deciding where to place your plant!
One of the easiest to grow is bamboo. A shoot of lucky bamboo can be planted directly in water, either with rocks at the bottom of the glass or not. If you get a healthy shoot, it should live for a long time with almost no maintenance at all. If planted in water, these little guys can survive in little sunlight, usually without much help, aside from the occasional water top-off
Another popular, albeit infamously difficult option, is orchids. These guys are notoriously tricky, but with enough guidance, they can be successful like anything else.
If you buy your orchid pre-planted in soil, as many are sold, carefully remove the plant from the soil and gently rinse it under water to remove the dirt. Then, cut off all the rotten bits of the roots, and leave it out for about two days, so it gets used to not growing in the soil, and its roots can heal.
Then you can move it to your water, using a glass container with long sides, so as not to drown the roots in the water. Don’t fill the container all the way, and it’s often healthy for the plant to have little pebbles at the bottom of the glass to give the roots some ventilation and something to grow around. You should change the water weekly or biweekly to keep the roots from decaying.
If the little guy still isn’t growing healthily, it might benefit the orchid to have some time in the container without water for a few days. Sometimes you must find a balance; they’re picky like that. It’s also important to note that with orchids, the plant isn’t dead when all the flowers fall off. They’ll come back!
common dirt-grown houseplants
One of the most popular houseplants that thrives in dirt is aloe vera. The insides of these spiky little guys are great for sunburns, and easy to grow for beginners. They enjoy lots of sun, but if their leaves start turning a red-brown color, you’ll know it’s too much. When you’re watering aloe, it’s wise to water it completely, then let the soil completely dry before you water it again. This should be done every few days.
One untraditional plant that’s also easy to grow in a lot of sun, and I mean a lot, is mint. So, if you have the light in your space, go for it! This guy loves water as well, and it grows quickly, which makes it fun to grow. You can watch the progress as it happens (not to mention, the leaves are really yummy as garnishes or in salads).
Finally, someone had to say it: the cactus. It’s an obvious choice, but for a reason. Succulents are good at thriving in neglect. Just make sure you give it some love (with water) from time to time, every month or so.
what to do if your plants don’t get enough sunlight
If you want to grow a plant but it requires a lot of sunlight, buy a grow light! This way, you can provide sunlight artificially with the help of modern planting technology. Most are cheaper than you’d imagine, with a great variety on Amazon being less than $20.
In all, make sure to do your research to find the right plant that works for you. Happy gardening!
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