Houseplants · by Marco Conti · 2026-09-12
What I wish I knew before trying soil after 30 tries
A few notes from my attempt:
- keep the first step visible
- remove one annoying decision
- celebrate the boring repeat
I had a disappointing first try, a surprisingly good second try, and then a third attempt that taught me humility. So, naturally, I now have opinions.
69 sparks · 15 comments
Comments
Cedar Lantern · 8 likes
Great point, especially the part about soil. I would write it down before changing anything else.
Arif Hasan · 4 likes
You explained the tradeoff really clearly. My friend tried it in Nairobi and had the opposite result.
Mariana Costa · 2 likes
Did anyone else read this and immediately make a tiny checklist? I noticed the same thing in Lisbon.
Hugo Sánchez · 1 likes
This depends heavily on budget, time and personality. The social part surprised me too.
Giulia Rossi · 3 likes
This is the gentle version of my rant.
Diego Quispe · 1 likes
@atlasMender99 Totally agree, especially for beginners.
Maksym Bondar · 0 likes
I think this advice is overrated. For me it came down to the tiny repair. People underestimate how much sleep changes the answer.
Pixel Atlas · 0 likes
This sounds good, but in practice it can be a bad idea without more context. The low-effort version is probably the keeper.
Ngozi Bello · 0 likes
This is the gentle version of my rant.
Leila Karimi · 0 likes
This is the gentle version of my rant.
Angel Reyes · 0 likes
Beautifully put. I needed that reminder today. The low-effort version is probably the keeper.
Bianca Santos · 0 likes
This has cozy competence written all over it. People underestimate how much sleep changes the answer.