Sick of feeling the need to plant all of your vegetables in one go? One TikToker has a simple solution.
The scoop
Alex Vee (@alexveevlogs) vlogs on his TikTok account and posts gardening hacks.
This hack in particular is astonishingly simple. Take the center of a bell pepper — the part you don't eat — and sprinkle the seeds in a free area of your garden. Then, cover them with a layer of soil and water the patch of seeds.
The video then cuts to two weeks later, where Vee showed a number of sprouts from the area he planted in, and pepper plants in various stages of growth in his "pepper palace." They ranged from tiny seedlings to full bell peppers.
"It feels illegal [that] you can buy fruit at a grocery store and then plant it to create clones for free," said one commenter.
@alexveevlogs Replying to @Hawaii Khai Seed update just for you 🤣😋 im running out of places to put these plants 😱😱😱 #vegetablegarden #gardeningforbeginners #raisedbedgarden #springgarden2023 #veggiegarden #vegetablegardeningforbeginners #growyourownfood ♬ original sound - Alex Vee | Minivlogs ⚡
How it's helping
Growing your own fruits and veggies can be a great way to save money, especially for the more expensive produce. In fact, one user even commented, "Bell peppers are expensive, good for you." Plus, this hack in particular will mean that you'll get bell peppers all season as they bloom at different times.
Gardening also has a number of health benefits beyond just providing you with nutritious food. It leads to increased exercise — think of all the squats you're doing — and has also been shown to improve mood and reduce stress. Gardening is also a great way to encourage social connection — it's an activity to do with family, friends, or your local community.
As for the planet, gardening helps to reduce planet-warming gases. Trucks release a large amount of these gases in the transportation of produce from farms to your local grocery store — in fact, the agricultural industry makes up 11% of the world's carbon pollution.
If you don't have a yard or a lot of space, that's OK, too! Growing even just a few plants in pots on your balcony or near a window can make a difference.
What everyone's saying
Commenters on the post were excited to give the hack a try, "I need to do this, this year! I won't be buying a bell pepper plant anymore," said one user. Others couldn't help but share their successes with the hack, "It's my new obsession," wrote another.
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