TAMMY: In my world, you can never have too many plants.
Today, we're going to experiment with propagating plants
and think inside the box.
So, you could say this undercover area at my place
is a bit like a climate-controlled greenhouse.
There's not many temperature fluctuations in here
and it's well protected from winds.
There's also moisture circulating in the air.
As the plants transpire, they release little droplets into the air.
There's high humidity, so it creates a nice little warm microclimate.
So if you're a plant, it's a really nice place to be.
And this part up the back here is one of those DIY greenhouses
that we just knocked up.
Nice and protected, it is perfect for seedlings.
So that's my version of a greenhouse.
So I'm going to take those aspects
and show you how you can make your own mini greenhouse at home.
So, plastic containers like this one aren't very pretty,
but they're super practical when it comes to turning them
into mini greenhouses.
It's really important that your plastic containers
have these air holes.
They're perfect for ventilation,
but also they need drainage holes too to allow the water to drain away.
When you do pick your container,
make sure you do clean and sterilise them.
That may mean just using a bit of dishwashing detergent
and then popping them into the sun.
So, these are ones that I've sown earlier
and you can see the condensation around the edges
and that means it's keeping the moisture in there,
which the seeds love.
But at the same time, we don't want too much moisture in there,
so we've got these air holes that we've cut out on top
to allow for airflow.
And getting the air in and circulating
will discourage any mould from growing in the moist conditions.
So to get growing, I've got my seed-raising mix here.
So, this stuff is nice, light and friable.
There's no big pieces in there,
which is really what you want for growing your seeds.
So we're gonna fill the plastic punnet.
We don't need to fill them up the whole way
because we want room for the seeds to grow.
I'm sowing some microgreens, or baby greens,
which are just tiny versions of our common leafy greens
such as kale, mustard and coriander.
They're a quick crop.
You can keep them on your kitchen windowsill
and you can harvest in two weeks' time
so that you can quickly sneak them into your salads and sandwiches.
I just simply sprinkle over the top...
..just if you were adding sprinkles to your cupcakes.
And then I'm gonna gently just push them in.
And then I'm going to get the seed-raising mix
and just lightly sprinkle that on top.
Use a spray bottle to keep the seeds moist.
Microgreens are just one option.
There's lots of easy things that you can sow.
Try spring onions and parsley.
And check the back of the pack to see
if it's the right time to sow.
As a general rule, once your seedlings have their true leaves,
or second set of leaves,
you can then pot them up or transplant them into the garden.
Whilst these miniature greenhouses are perfect for raising seedlings,
when it comes to getting your cuttings off to a good start,
a storage container can be turned into a great little hothouse.
As it's made out of plastic, it holds the moisture and the humidity in.
You can drill holes on the side for ventilation
or you can just keep the lid ajar.
Let's take a few cuttings of some favourite plants
that'll be right at home in this little hothouse.
Angel-wing begonias are really easy to grow.
I'm going to show you how to take a cutting
because, well, why wouldn't you want to replicate
more of this beautiful plant?
Simply take 10 to 15 centimetres of the stem
but make sure you cut underneath a node.
A node is where the leaf or the bump along the stem is
and that's where new growth will form from your cutting.
So make sure you cut underneath there.
And then we're going to cut the flowers off
because we don't want to waste any energy into growing more flowers.
Then we're going to cut the bigger leaf in half
so the plant doesn't waste any more moisture being lost
through the leaves.
So what I'm gonna do now is pot up the cutting
and what I've got here is a 50/50 mix of perlite and premium potting mix.
But make sure before you do work with the perlite
that you do damp it down 'cause it's really quite dusty to work with.
So now I'm going to part-fill the pot
with some of the mix,
then I put my cutting in the centre.
Suspend it,
and that way when I backfill, it doesn't damage the cutting.
And then use your fingers to lightly tamp down on the mix
once you're done.
And there's your cutting.
So now I'm gonna show you how to take a cutting
of a watermelon peperomia.
The leaves are so cute. They look like little watermelons.
Just from this one leaf, you can actually get two cuttings.
I'm removing the whole stem from the plant.
Then I'm removing the stem where it connects to the leaf.
I am then removing roughly about the top two-thirds of the leaf.
I'm going to fill up a pot
and I'm going to bury that leaf into my propagating mix
just enough so that it's just slightly covered.
So with the remaining leaf, we can also use it as a cutting.
I'm simply going to bury it into the propagating mix, the stem end down.
And now I'm watering in the cuttings.
(GENTLE MUSIC)
Make sure you do keep it in a brightly lit spot
but out of direct sunlight - you do not want your plants to cook.
Now, if you want to start even smaller than a little hothouse,
I've got a nifty idea for you.
You can simply get a plastic bottle, cut it in half
and fit it over the top of your plants.
That way, you've got a mini-mini greenhouse.
It doesn't matter what you use to make your own mini greenhouses.
So go on and have a go at growing your own seeds and cuttings.
And if you end up with too many plants,
that's a pretty good problem to have.