Have you ever grown plants at home before? According to Interpark, last summer’s sales of gardening products rose 32% compared to the previous year. The pandemic, combined with people’s increased interest in eco-friendly products, led to more and more people seeking their fun in home gardening. Here we provide some interesting factors that can make your home-stuck life fresh and green.

As you tell from the name, ‘home gardening’ covers all kinds of plant-growing activities which are done in personal living spaces. Plants grown at home are usually either edible or ornamental. Recently, the concept of planterior, a compound word of ‘plant’ and ‘interior,’ has newly emerged for many people using ornamental plants as natural interior decorations. Thanks to their air-cleansing abilities, protecting your home from the threat of fine dust is one of many home gardening benefits. Furthermore, according to studies conducted by the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, growing plants can even emotionally stabilize people by relieving feelings of stress and loneliness. Simply put, home plants are not just plants in this era. Instead, they are seen as companions to people, just like pets.

First Step to Becoming Home Gardener

Once you have decided to grow plants at home, getting equipped is the first thing to do. Basic items essential for home gardening include pots to hold plants, trowels to repot plants, watering cans to water plants, and scissors to manage leaves and branches of plants. These items can be easily found in nearby malls. Nowadays, you can also easily fi nd a product called a ‘home gardening kit.’ These kits contain all of the materials needed to grow a particular plant, including the plant itself and planting equipment, so keep an eye out for them.

Manage Big 3 Factors

The most important factors in growing plants are light, temperature, and moisture.
The proper management of these three factors will determine the life and death of
the plant. Not so sure if you are doing well enough? There are some home gardening applications to help you. Meet PlantFit, Pliary, and Plant119

PlantFit : This app tells you information about plants. You can see how to manage your plants from the watering cycle to the amount of sunshine needed on this app.

Pliary : You can record your plants’ growth on this app. By using this app, you will be able to see how much your plants have grown at a glance.

Plant119 : You can communicate with other plant-growers on this app. When beginners ask questions about plants, experts called ‘master’ answer them. Users earn points by answering questions, which can be used as money to buy plants.

Soil, Not All the Same

Many different types of soil are used in horticulture. Here we introduce some common types of gardening soil below

You will be able to grow plants better by using properly mixed soil depending on each plant’s nature. If it is too hard to mix soil on your own, do not worry! Soil packaging experts have already mixed the soil according to their use. For example, ‘soil for succulent plants’ or ‘soil for repotting’ is on sale.

How to Water Plants

Water your plants when the soil is dry. It is more accurate to check the dryness of the soil by touching it with your fingers or by poking a wooden chopstick in it rather than to depend on your naked eyes.
There are two ways to water plants: overhead watering and bottom watering.
Overhead Watering : Pour the water on the soil. This is the most common method of watering.
Bottom Watering : Put the pot into the bigger container, and pour the water into the container. This is a useful method when watering succulent plants or plants that hate water touching their body.
Remember, when watering plants, it is better to use tepid water that has been kept for a day or two.

Try Water Culture

Despite all these useful factors, if it still seems too difficult to grow plants in your home, why not try water culture? Water culture is the method of growing plants without soil, by putting plants directly in the water. Using this method, even busy modern people can easily manage their plants as it’s much more convenient to control watering. All you have to do is to occasionally supplement water when the level is low and to refill it when it becomes turbid.

Repotting, Step by Step

Repotting is necessary when a plant outgrows its pot; roots climbing out of the pot and withering leaves are the signs. It is best to repot in spring or fall after sunset to lessen the plant’s stress.

1. Put a mesh on the hole of the new pot.
2. Fill one-third of the new pot with culture soil.
3. Separate the plant from the old pot carefully. Do not dust off the soil from the roots because it can hurt the roots.
4. Put the plant in the new pot and add more culture soil.
5. Put decomposed granite soil on top of the soil until an inch of the pot is left.
6. Spray water on the soil like rain and leave the plant in the dark for a day.

For professional information on growing plants, we interviewed an anonymous horticulturist at Aelim Flower Farm. The following is based on his answers.

Help!

My plants keep dying!

It's probably because of poor ventilation and improper watering. Providing fresh air is important because plants originally grow outside. Also, plants should be watered when the soil is dry, not when the owner feels like watering them.

My plants are sick!

If the plant is partially sick, you can just wipe that part with weak pesticides sold in flower shops nearby. If the entire plant is sick, you need to spray strong pesticides sold in professional pesticide stores. Pay close attention to your plant before it gets sick all over!

Q&A

Q. How can my plant grow stronger?
A. The easiest way is to use fertilizers. There are two types of fertilizers: liquid and solid. Liquid fertilizers are like injecting glucose to humans; it does not bring dramatic change. Liquid fertilizers are eff ective when pinned in the soil at all times. Likewise, it is the cheapest and most accessible fertilizer. On the other hand, solid organic fertilizers bring noticeable change after being scattered on the soil for a month.

Q. Does spraying water on fl owers and leaves really help?
A. It is not wrong, but it is more for the owner's self-contentment. Some plants absorb water from their leaves and stems, but such plants are rare. Spraying water is good when the weather is too dry for the plant.

Suggestion

Plants for Beginners
Sanseveria stuckyi, succulent plants, cactus They don't need much attention or frequent watering. Without enough ventilation, however, they might grow ugly.

Plants for Indoors
Alocassia, Monstera, Areca, Broadleaf Lady Palm, Anthurium Except for flowers, most plants have no problem growing indoors, if fresh air is provided. All of these plants purify air.

Growing a plant can feel like a big responsibility in the beginning. Once you get the hang of it, the green in your home will become a big comfort. Why not start with a small one?

By Kim Eun-ji, Chin Da-youn Reporters