Use lemon peels as pots to grow new plants from its seeds!

How many times does it happen that we use lemons and then throw away their peels and seeds? Yet both can be used for a simple experiment to try at home: growing the seeds, and raising the seedlings inside the lemon zest itself.

It's a different and fun way to grow plants indoors from seeds, and while it requires a little patience before you find yourself with a fully formed plant ready to transplant into a pot, it's pretty simple and practically almost zero cost to you. In fact, you will only need a lemon, some soil, some water, some patience and... time!

Choose large lemons, so that you will then have more space to fill them with earth. Instead of lemons, you can also use other citrus fruits such as oranges or grapefruit. Limes or tangerines will also work, but these are small fruits that can only hold a small quantity of soil.

Cut the lemon in half as you usually would, and squeeze it to remove the juice (which you can use as you wish in the kitchen). Then take care to eliminate all the pulp that remains inside with the help of a teaspoon: you must have only the rind, with the white part still intact, but without the membrane and any internal fibers.

Fill the two halves of the emptied lemon zests with good quality, nutrient-rich and well-nourished universal soil.

Put the seeds, cleaned of the pulp that is often attached to them, in the soil, an inch or two below the surface and cover with a little soil on top (not too much).

With a glass, or better still with a spray bottle, pour / spray water on the earth: it will take just a little - just to wet all the soil (do not soak). Since the lemon peel has no holes, the water will evaporate slowly, so be careful to check the soil frequently, wetting it again only when it is almost completely dry.

The ideal temperature for germination is 21°C (70°F) . It will take a few weeks for the sprouts to produce a seedling a few centimetres high, and when this happens, it will be better to divide the seedlings up, putting only one seedling in each lemon half.

As the plants get more mature, each will develop several leaves and at this stage, you can move everything into a jar - preferably an earthenware one (terracotta). The lemon peel, in fact, will decompose into the soil, continuing to feed the plant and aiding its growth.

To fertilize, use a potassium-rich product once or twice a month, and always keep the soil moist, but not too wet. The plant will need at least 4 hours of direct sunlight and temperatures between 15 and 21 degrees C (60 - 70°F) . Do not fertilize in winter, and do not expose the pot to drafts.

You can use the peels of various citrus fruits to try to germinate and propogate other seeds in a similar way!

Would you like to try this experiment?