Hi everyone! I'm Natalie, I'm 17, and this all started when I grew some lettuce, basil, and cilantro in my bedroom window. Being able to eat plants I grew myself made me so happy, and I wanted to share that joy with my community.
Especially families who don't have easy access to fresh herbs or vegetables.
Recently, I brought 12 basil plants and 2 pepper plants I grew in my bedroom from seed to my local Dallas church food drive and gave them away for free. I was honestly shocked by how quickly they went, I ran out before everyone could get one. That experience made me want to grow even more next time for the thanksgiving and Christmas events so everyone who wants a plant can have one.
I'm hoping to expand this little project, and I'd love advice from experienced gardeners: what are some fast-growing herbs or vegetables that do well in 4-inch pots? Also, if anyone has ideas for ways local communities might help with things like small pots, soil, or seeds, I'd love to hear them!
by sleepingstrawberrii
1 Comment
You know your “customers” better than we can, out here on the internet, but I think one important factor is where people are going to grow their plants. Are you in the city, where people probably don’t have backyard gardens? If people are going to put their plants on a windowsill and hope for the best, then focus on herbs which do well indoors in small containers. Basil is perfect, and other leafy herbs like parsley. Scallions are another option and you can grow them from the ones you get from the grocery store (eat the green tops, plant the white bottoms). Cilantro seems like it should be perfect but in my experience it goes to seed extremely fast and the flavor gets weird and the leaves change shape.
If you’re in a more suburban area where your customers are likely to have gardens, you have more options. In this case, you would tell people to plant the seedlings outside (offer instructions if necessary) and the plant would not spend its whole life in a tiny pot. Peppers are good and so are tomatoes and eggplants. Maybe tomatillos? Ask people what kind of vegetables they like to eat!
Plants that grow outside get lots of sunlight (ideally) and room to grow. It takes a lot of energy to make flowers and fruits so outdoor life is better for vegetables. It’s a lot easier for plants to make leaves, so indoor life is better suited to leaf-makers like herbs.
This is a great idea and I hope you can get some donations of pots and supplies from your community. Good luck!