Today on Live! with Kelly and Ryan I gave tips for family gardening and shared my favorite new Pinterest trend … Scrap Gardening! If you haven’t heard of it, just you wait – it’s kind of mind blowing!

We’re living through really crazy times right now and people are turning to Pinterest to draw creative inspiration and learn from the amazing community there. One majorly trending theme is gardening – having access to fresh produce has become way more of a concern for so many of us. Even if you’ve never grown your own vegetables before – now’s a great time to start! It’s proven to be a stress reliever, an awesome thing to do with the whole family, and you’ve got indoor and outdoor options! Sounds like a win win to me!

As soon as it’s ready I’ll post the segment here. It’s got everything you need to know about gardening… or whatever I could fit into a TV segment, being shot 10000s of miles away from the hosts, with millions of people watching.

A couple quick hitter tips from the show! Now it a great time to be starting seeds indoors! Plants that originate from warm climate areas should be started inside. Think tomatoes, squash, peppers, beans etc… Since we’re all staying home, you can get creative with your seed starting containers. We used some yogurt and small Tupperware containers – just make sure you poke some holes in the bottom for drainage.

Egg shells for seed starters seem to be popular on Pinterest, but experts recommend using them for herbs or flowers – many vegetables won’t do as well. The cool this is that you can transplant the entire shell and it will break down in the ground, acting as natural compost!

We didn’t get to talk about outdoor gardening on the show, but a couple tips for ya! #1 -You can turn a regular yard/flower bed into a garden this year! Just add some vegetable specific soil to the bed and pop those plants in the ground. This is a time in life to get creative and who knows … growing kale and radishes around your home, just might be the next big thing! #2 – Paint Stir Stick Garden Markers are adorable and a great way to get your kids involved in the process! My daughter Kira made these and I think they’re just about the cutest thing ever!

Just tap them into the ground and voila! One DIY tip – we used oil-based paint pens for these- if you use normal markers, you’d want to use a clear sealant over top so they’re weather resistant!

Ok let’s talk about the majorly trending Scrap Gardening. How did we not know that we can grow more food from our leftover scraps of food?!? It seems magical and awesome.

Since learning about it, my home has been filled with all kinds of cut vegetables and jars! Real life iPhone pic below. I’m not kidding- I’m addicted to it!

Now, just to be clear… not everything will re-grow and some are easier than others. I made a little scrap gardening cheat sheet for you guys – these are the easiest to grow (in my rookie scrap gardener opinion) and what I taught Kelly and Ryan to do today.

We’ve also been pinning all kinds of awesomely helpful gardening info onto our Live! Family Gardening board – Make sure you’re following along. So much good info for beginners!

I hope you and your family are healthy and staying safe at home ! -Monica