This is a list of the things I like to keep handy for my "gardening." I'll add to it if I find anything new:
Poly (Polyethylene) Bags: these heavy-duty plastics make a great makeshift greenhouse to put over developing plants that require high humidity (like cacao). They're also useful for transport and protection. You can find them online, at hardware stores and I believe Staples carries them as well.
Peat Pellets: these may just be the best invention ever! They're cheap, easy to use and seeds germinate
so well in them. Jiffy even makes little greenhouses that you can buy for a minimal cost with the pellets in them. I have one that I bought for ~$5 and I use it over and over. It's not high quality but it's sufficient.
Heating Pad: I find a heating pad essential to seed germination and plant growth (especially if it's cold out). The one I have for my windowsill is just a simple back heating pad but I've been planning on investing a
seedling heat mat and a heat mat
thermostat. I think even a reptile heat mat would do, just be sure not to cook your plants! I usually set my jiffy greenhouse on it and the seeds are nice and warm (and humid!) all through the night. At some point if you find you're germinating a lot of seeds at once you can also invest in a
set with a higher quality greenhouse and mat.
A Balanced Fertilizer: what I mean by balanced is that they have fair percentages listed for N-P-K. For instance I use Osmocote's flower & vegetable plant food which has a 14-14-14 content value, meaning 14% of each
Nitrogen,
Phosphorous and potassium (
K). You can use custom fertilizers for different types of plants but mine have been fine so far with just this and approximately a 1:5 dilution of 10-10-10 fertilizer watering every other day or so (in other words I put about 1/5 the regular amount in the water). You don't necessarily need both, but a balanced fertilizer can be a good base for your growing needs.
A Plant Mister: can be very useful when dealing with plants like cacao that are sensitive about water and like a little misting on their leaves. Actually, what I have is a
Misty Mate Cool Blast mister. It's perfect, easy to use and it doesn't require a battery. I bought mine at Five Below for (obviously) under $5, but they don't have an online store. Seems these guys are tricky to find but you can surely dig up one or something comparable if you
really want. Any mister should be fine, however.
Pots: obviously, right? I like the cheap
nursery pots to start since inevitably some plants won't be making it to the full-grown stage. I only have a few that I reuse until they're gone because I've given them away or they've ripped. They're pretty sturdy and easy to store. You might even have some saved from those houseplants you bought at the grocery store or Home Depot over the years. I also like to have some
net pots which are great when you're growing plants that need a lot of drainage (like most tropicals do). The ratio of pots you have will depend on what you're growing. In the end, nursery pots are usually sufficient for any plant.
Remember to recycle! Soil: again, I know, it's obvious. I keep
citrus soil around for my tropicals because it's well-draining and I can mix it with
orchid soil to even further improve it if need be. My cacao plants really like that mix.
Rocks or Pot Shards: for the bottom of the pot. Helps with aeration and water drainage. Hey how about that pot the kids knocked off the table last week? This is a great way to reuse those broken and rejected pots you've been collecting all these years.
There you have it, folks, the basics of what (I think) you'll need to grow most plants including the exotics. You might have a few additional things like gardening tools you might want (as you'll see I use a spoon and my fingers since there's not a lot of extra cash flow on my part).
*Note that any links to stores are just the first examples I stumbled on. You'll probably want to shop around to make sure you're getting a good deal.
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