Window boxes: Budding gardeners are growing for it in lockdown

From mail-order seeds to watering schedules, Vicky Frost has a guide to creating a windowsill jungle

Shutterstock / Victoria43

14 April 2020

The frothy blossom of London’s fruit trees is a sign that while we’re stuck inside, spring is busying itself. For those with gardens, this is the time of narcissi and tulips. But for those without outside space, lockdown can seem a very ungreen place.

Creating an indoor garden on your kitchen windowsill, a mini-jungle on your bathroom shelf or a green corner next to your desk can be both simple and rewarding. And if finances are tight, you can get started for next to nothing.

Guy Barter, chief horticulturist for the Royal Horticultural Society, advises finding a bright spot and getting started with some edibles. “With a bit of ingenuity and care, you can get something like a bush tomato plant, chilli pepper or sweet pepper to grow on a sunny windowsill,” he says.

Many mail-order companies are currently processing a backlog of orders, but it’s worth checking if your local garden centre or plant shop is still delivering seeds and compost — in south-east London, our independents are doing a brilliant job. If they have small tomato, herb or chilli plants available, you can even buy yourself a head start.

If you’re less lucky, you’ll be surprised at what you can grow with a pot of compost and supplies from the kitchen. “There’s still time to sow seeds from fruits you get in the supermarket,” notes Barter. “Get the ripest tomatoes you can, squish them to get the seeds out, dry the seeds on some kitchen paper and then put them into a pot of compost.”

Vine tomatoes often work best for this, he advises, and you can also harvest seeds from chillis or sweet peppers. And if you’re all out of fresh produce, you can even raid the spice drawer for coriander, fennel, and cumin seeds — just so long as they’ve not been lurking there for years on end.

It should take a couple of weeks for the seeds to germinate, during which time you’ll need to keep the soil moist and warm. Putting a plastic bag over the pot will help. Once you have seedlings, you need to get your watering regime organised.

“Water enough to keep the compost moist to the touch, but never soggy,” says Barter. “When it starts to dry out, the top turns a slightly lighter colour, and that’s when you should give it some more water. Most people kill plants by over-watering.”

Meg Spink, plant doctor at Patch Plants (patchplants.co.uk), which is still delivering houseplants to those yearning for more greenery. She says: “When it comes to watering your plants be flexible, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.

“Rather than scheduling a certain day each week to blindly water your plants, regularly feel down into the soil an inch under the surface.”

If your space is less of a bright windowsill and more of a shady spot, make sure you’re choosing the right plants. “ZZ plants [Zamioculcas zamiifolia] are an ideal choice if you don’t have bright rooms,” notes Spink. “Peace lilies are also tolerant of shadier areas.”

And for those who have killed every houseplant they’ve ever met? Start with a dragon tree, or try a sansevieria, a tough plant that comes in varieties resembling snakes or spikes rising vertically from a pot. “They thrive on neglect and can live almost anywhere. The only thing they won’t enjoy is too much water,” Spink says.

Admittedly, they’re not quite so pretty as the cherry blossom outside. But even in novice hands, they’ll almost certainly last longer.

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Window boxes: Budding gardeners are growing for it in lockdown

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