#CheckersLittleGarden and some tips on how to keep your new plant babies alive and thriving An ever-growing THREAD:

Shoutout to @CheckersSA for this initiative, as an agronomist and all-round plant nerd I think it's really cool that they're getting you excited about plants

I'm making this thread because a lot of my friends were scared they were going to 'fail' at gardening and kill their plants, but as an avid gardener and plant scientist I can reassure you there is no such thing as failing at gardening! Gardening is all about learning

I've grown (literally) millions of plants in my life, and even now I kill plants... Often. It happens, and it's not always possible to prevent Plants are dynamic systems and death is part of their cycle. If one of your little gardens die, we will learn from it and try again

We'll start where (most) plants start their lifecycle: The soil

The #CheckersLittleGarden don't actually contain any soil The little pellet is coco coir pith that's been compressed. Coco coir is a by-product of the coconut processing industry

It's commonly used in the horticultural industry as a growth medium because it's cheap, renewable, and very lightweight. It has incredible absorption capabilities and can expand to hold about 66% of it's volume in water

Although coco coir is pretty great at absorbing water, it can dry out relatively quickly and this is why it's important to water your pots regularly I remove a small amount of the coco coir to allow the water to pool a bit, which helps it rehydrate completely

The most common question I get asked about growing plants is how much water should you be giving them There are a lot of factors that affect how regularly you need to water your plants, but the most NB thing is to make sure the growing medium is moist but not water-logged

The pots do come with a drainage hole, but I made them a little bigger just to ensure they don't get blocked. If your Plants roots are standing in water, they won't be able to breath and will rot

I've been watering my #CheckersLittleGarden pots every second day, which has been sufficient even in the hot Pretoria weather

I purposely didn't water this marigold, and you can see from the wilting (loss of turgor pressure) that it definitely isn't happy. Although it will recover when I water it, you want to avoid plant reaching this stage as it can cause lasting damage

Very young seedlings are particularly vulnerable, and are unlikely to recover once they wilt

(A side note: If you're watering your plants *often* and they start wilting like this it could also be because the roots have become infected and are starting to die. This is why drainage is so important, to ensure the roots are aerated so they can breath and live happily)

Planting you seeds Each little seed packet shows the depth that your seeds need to be planted at. Although the instructions tell you to just plant the packet as is, I personally prefer to take the seeds out and plant them individually

This is because I don't want my seedlings to have to push through the paper packaging (They'd probably be fine doing it, I'm just trying to give them the easiest life possible) It also allows me to space them apart, which is important for transplanting later

To help your seeds germinate faster, put the pots in a warm spot and keep the coco coir moist so that the sprouts don't dry out (noticing a pattern yet?)

Once the seeds sprout, the next important input is light Light is how your plants will turn carbon dioxide and water into sugars and oxygen

The @CheckersSA website advises you to avoid direct sunlight As a plant scientist I disagree with this advice to some extent, and am growing all my #CheckersLittleGarden plants in direct sunlight so that they get as much light as possible There are pros and cons here:

If your plants are growing right up against the glass, direct sunlight can burn them if it's concentrated by the glass (Sort of like a magnifying glass) But if they're away from the glass pane, they should be fine. Direct sunlight will dry out the growth medium faster though...

...so it's important to water regularly and keep the it moist (again, seeing a pattern)

Indirect light is also fine for your plants, as long as it's bright enough. I left this seedling on my desk where there isn't enough light, and you can see how it bent towards the light

If your plants start bending like that, move them to a place with more light

Your plants won't be able to stay in these tiny pots forever though, and soon you'll have to transplant them once outgrow the pot (as is the case with this marigold)

Some of the plants, like the sunflower, can get quite big so it's important to do a little Google'ing about your plant before you decide where to plant it out in your garden If this thread gets enough interest I'll do a thread about each of the #CheckersLittleGarden species

If you've got only one seedling in the pot it will be quite simple to transplant, as you can simply remove the plant from the little pot and replant not elsewhere. If you have multiple seedlings, I'd recommend splitting them apart so when you replant you can space them correctly

This is important because if they're too close to each other they'll compete for nutrients, water, and sunlight as they grow. This will negatively affect http://them.in  the long run

When transplanting, be careful of not damaging the root systems and keep the seedlings moist as they'll be in a state of shock after planting. They'll probably wilt a little bit, but this is normal When transplanting, add some compost to the soil to improve soil fertility

If you're planting them into bigger pots you're probably going to use commercial potting soil, which is mostly partially composted pine bark I'll be honest this stuff isn't the greatest, because it dries out very quickly. Just water regularly

(Another side note: Some of the better brands actually mix in coco coir to improve the mix's water holding capacity)

Please don't plant the damn pot into the ground! I know they're compostable, but it will take a few months to break down and your plant's roots will get trapped inside it

That's all the info I think will be useful for now, but I'll keep updating the thread as I think of more and if you have questions please ask!

If you found this thread useful please retweet so more people can benefit

While I'm here I must say that, while I absolutely support the #CheckersLittleGarden campaign as a way to grow plant love, it isn't going to do much for the bees

Pollinator conservation is complex. In Africa the main factors affecting pollinator populations are loss of habitat, incorrect use of pesticides, and climate change
https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/e5b4/ac7d/15f592d0af6224900c95d04b/sbstta-22-inf-16-en.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjX8tjLsvXrAhUiRxUIHfqKB0IQFjACegQIDhAH&usg=AOvVaw2DGJfoKupuH1kPcgo-zsUi

But, although we need to continue monitoring them, honeybee populations in Africa have not seen the same declines as those in Europe and North America https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13592-015-0406-6

Urban spaces have a role to play, and your little gardens will feed some pollinators But the best thing we can do is conserve natural ecosystems

I also want to encourage you to plant more locally-indigenous plant species in your gardens, not just for the pollinators but for lots of other reasons including saving water. South Africa is one of the most plant-rich countries in the world, so the options are many!