Growing your own food is beneficial for many reasons, but it can require patience and resources. That's why gardening hacks, like the one below, are so important — they can be encouraging and save you some time and money while you grow your own food.
The scoop
In an Instagram reel from Top Garden Ideas (@top_garden_ideas), we are taught that just because pepper plants aren't annuals, it doesn't mean you can't grow peppers two years in a row from the same plant.
The process is broken down into four easy steps. When your pepper plant has grown in full, step one is to harvest all of those peppers.
For step two, cut off about two-thirds of the plant, stems and leaves included, even if it feels wrong. The third step is to use a shovel to gently scoop the plant and its roots out from the ground.
Once that is complete, your final step is to put the remaining plant and roots into a pot, feed it with some fresh soil, fertilizer, and water, and you'll be all set.
"You'll have your favorite pepper plant next season with about a two-month head start," Top Garden Ideas added.
How it's working
Gardening and growing your own food are hugely beneficial both for the environment and for human health. On the environmental front, a 2022 research paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health highlighted that gardens of any size (from an entire farm to a few window boxes) should be considered significant.
"These areas could provide several types of increasingly uncommon but essential ecosystem services … Some studies have also linked these small areas with biodiversity and nature conservation," the report stated, explaining that the total area of small urban and suburban gardens has a big positive impact on the natural world.
Gardening is also proven to increase human well-being. Studies have proved that gardening decreases stress and increases optimism. It also has physical health benefits, with some studies finding that the increased time in green spaces is linked to a decreased risk of developing certain types of cancer.
What people are saying
Commenters on the Instagram reel were curious about the process, asking questions for guidance and showing interest in trying it themselves.
"I have a Carolina Reaper plant that is 4yrs old," chimed in one user
"Don't forget to occasionally water it throughout the dormant season," another user added.
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