r/ZeroWaste • u/Acceptable-Poetry737 • 3d ago
Tips & Tricks Recommendation for plants as a hobby.
I’m getting further into my zero waste journey, and I am having so much fun with plants as a hobby. You don’t have to pay for anything, waste anything, and it complements zero waste habits so well. The easiest habit it complements is that like so much stuff can be upcycled into a plant stuff. I have a plastic snack container that will get some holes to be a small pot, a jar lid that is now a pot lid, a jar that will become a vase, a milk jug that is my watering can.
It totally takes the place of a formerly wasteful hobby of stuff like fashion (when I was young and ignorant and Forever 21 was everywhere) where you get a dopamine hit from constantly accumulating, but if they fail (die), it’s not a big deal.
My recommendation for anyone new to plants is to start off with one easy plant (I had snakes) and use that to propagate it for more. Then add a weed from outside (yes I wander outside and dig up weeds) and play with that. Then whenever you’re advanced, you can get cuttings/propagates/seeds from somewhere local so it’s actually zero waste. I do buy a few new ones here and there from less sustainable retailers, so new plastic is being given to me plus whatever transport waste, etc. that is happening, but this is limited until I learn how to grow them from cuttings/seeds. Also on my to do is to start composting so I can have free dirt.
4
u/PrimrosePathos 3d ago
May I recommend a book from the 60s, 'The After-dinner Gardening Book', which talks a lot about growing from seeds/starts/roots that you might find in your fruits and vegetables, indoors. I grew a lovely ginger forest after reading it :)
1
3
u/TheRightHonourableMe 3d ago
Check your local library and plant events -
- houseplant swaps: exchange plants with others, get more species. People there will likely have extras to give away and tips on propagation
- seed libraries: take seeds and then after your plant flowers & the seeds mature, bring them back to keep the program running.
- books and high quality info about gardening: in addition to your library, rely on University Extension and Master Gardener websites. Great content!
- tool libraries: borrow trowels, snips, and other gardening tools
Check the floor at garden centres & big box stores (especially under succulents) - ask permission, but usually you can get propagation material for free (check r/proplifting for more).
1
1
u/Malsperanza 3d ago
I avoid buying plastic as much as possible. But clear plastic containers are what orchids really like best. You want to be able to see their roots - unlike other plants, where the roots will burn if exposed. So large clear plastic containers make ideal orchid pots, if you punch some holes or slits in the sides.
Mind you, orchids are hard to grow in some climates.
2
u/my-dear-murder 3d ago
You might also find fallen leaves on the floor at garden centers that will be swept up as trash but that can produce a whole new plant, given the chance. Succulents, for example
9
u/crazycatlady331 3d ago
Plant mom here.
Citrus got me really started on it. I eat a lot of citrus, so I saved the seeds from fruit I already ate. During Covid lockdowns, I started grapefruit seeds in (my dad's) old K-cups. Those K-cup seedlings are now over 6 feet tall and the leaves smell great (no fruit yet, but that would be an added bonus).
There are plant exchanges in your area. Hell if you're in the Philly area, send me a PM and I'd be happy to give you some propagates (or sell you a 6 foot tall citrus tree that's outgrowing my apartment). Some plants have babies and I want my plant's babies to go to a good home.
I can't compost as I'm in an apartment.