Grow your own plants

Imagine a seed. A tiny one. Think about all the potential lying inside. You give it water and it starts to sprout. The life intelligence is in action. You give it soil and light, the life goes on, and there is a plant. Growing, little by little. You give it love, it thrives even more. It‘s almost growing in front of your eyes! You talk to it, you play music for it, you are happy for every new leaf. You observe it. You are fascinated by its structure and colour.  You are amazed by the greatness of life. Every morning you go and check your plant. The first thing you do, even before you go to the bathroom. The plant got you. You feel joy.  You want more. This is what happened to me.

It all started with a mango. My favourite fruit. One day we ate a mango in the garden and my mum then just threw the mango stone on the outside compost place, where all the organic waste goes, to be re-used for gardening once it‘s ready. One day she spotted a nice strong plant popping out from the compost place. She got curious and at her big surprise she realised it was the mango stone she had thrown away some weeks ago. She took it out and planted in a pot at home.

I loved this story and wanted to grow mango in my own room. After watching some youtube videos I found out it was a super easy thing to do. Here is how:

1. Buy a mango.
2. Cut out the stone.
3. Open the stone carefully with a knife. Use some ease and patience here. Inside you find a seed. This already is kind of fascinating!
4. Place the seed in a wet napkin, then in a small plastic bag and close the bag.
5. Put the plastic bag with the mango seed somewhere you will not forget it. I put mine on my wardrobe.
6. After 10 days or so, the magic is happening. The seed gets a root and even a little sprout. If not yet, the sprout is definitely coming soon.
7. Place the seed in a pot with soil, the root pointing down. Make sure the top of the mango seed is not covered with the soil. It wants to see the world.:)
8. Water your new plant.
9. Say something nice to it. Give it some love. Moving in a new place is always a little difficult, right?
10. Get ready for the life changing experience.

Currently, my flat mate Janne and I have 16 mango plants, 5 different herb plants: rosemary, basil, thyme, chives and sage, some wild strawberries plants which I found in the forest and planted at home on the balcony, 4 cactus plants, and 5 other bigger plants,  which names I don ‘t even know. Also, we are trying to plant pineapple, kale, cucumber and sweet potato!:)

So, what can we learn from the mango plants? Many things! Each plant is different and  unique. They are all perfect exactly as they are. They don ‘t care so much if one leaf is bigger then the other, or if the shape or colour is different. They don‘t rush anything, they are just present the whole time and enjoy growing. They always go where the light is. They drink a lot of water. They are great listeners and they totally love space!

Frankly, these mango guys have a big impact on my life. They are my friends, they become gifts for my friends. They teach me to be present and patient, they make me feel joy, love and excitement.  They totally make me want to plant more!

The more you plant, the more you discover how much more you can plant! Basically, you can sprout and plant whatever seed. The potential of growth lies in every single one! Coffee bean, avocado stone, apple seeds, sunflower seed, carrots, melons, garlic,….. You name it. The principle of reproduction, the magic of life, which goes on and on and on and on, in the plants, animals, humans. The same life. Everything connected, growing, evolving, coming back to soil, a new seed sprouting, this beautiful, mind blowing, never ending circle!

So, here I am sharing my passion for mango plants and my mum would be laughing at me because I have never been a big gardener at all. My eyes where looking up towards the sky rather then the soil, and the only time my interest for gardening appeared was when the whole garden became full of delicious fruits and berries. But the more I have been learning about the Earth, realising her power, her love and generosity, and our total dependence on her, I got more and more fascinated by the greatness, by how amazingly things in nature work and wanted to join this process with all my heart. And hands.

I really hope you got inspired to grow your own plants. It is an incredibly rewarding experience in so many ways. Go and buy some nice ripe sweet mango and remember to keep the stone. Chances are, it is hiding magic.

For more inspiration check this amazing video! It is about a woman who has more than 500 plants in her apartment in Brooklyn! It‘s crazy beautiful, creative and wild!