How I Got Started With Succulents During ECQ

With more time on our hands during this lockdown, a lot of us are looking for ways to occupy ourselves to beat boredom - may it be learning a new skill, taking up an online course, or maybe getting back to an old hobby that we stopped doing.

In my case, I decided to try my hands on something completely new to me - indoor gardening with succulents.

I live in a small condo, so I figured tiny plants like succulents would be perfect. They won't take up much space, and I'm hoping they're not that hard to take care of.

Before ECQ, I could easily get some succulents at Market Market, but since they're temporarily not available, my only choice would be to order everything online.

At first, I was very hesitant because they're plants. How are they supposed to get delivered to me in one piece? Won't they get smooshed or something while on transit?

Thankfully, I found a shop that sells succulents with stellar reviews on Shopee, so I decided to go right ahead and get started with indoor gardening.

Here's how it went:

FIRST, I GOT SOME CACTUS SOIL.

It definitely helped that I'm OC about everything. I bought soil first because I wanted to put my succulents in uniform pots, and I figured I would need more soil to do so. I ended up ordering cactus soil and pebbles, because I have this specific picture in mind where my succulents would be in these cute little pots with white pebbles on top.

Amazingly, I found out that they don't cost much. I got my cactus soil at PHP 19.00/kg, which was hella cheap. I also added a small bag of white marble pebbles that cost PHP 35/bag, and since I wasn't sure if I would just get succulents, I also got a bag of loam soil for PHP 25/kg just in case.

Where I bought: https://shopee.ph/shop/39679775/

SECOND, I BOUGHT MY SUCCULENT POTS.

I initially wanted to have my succulents in uniform pots, but then I saw that having them in random containers looks super cute.

While browsing throught online shops, I found out there were actually a lot of people selling various teacups and bowls specifically for succulents. They're just normal bowls and cups but with a hole drilled in the bottom to drain the water.

Since they're just PHP 35/each, I decided to go for 10 teacups/bowls with random designs.

Where I bought: https://shopee.ph/shop/22466887/

THIRD, I ORDERED MY SUCCULENTS.

I actually meant to buy these first, but since I couldn't decide right away which ones to get, I ended up spending more time for this part.

I finally decided to go for 10 different succulents to match the number of succulent containers that I bought. They're also just PHP 35/each, which was cheaper than I thought.

To be honest, I figured since this is my first time with succulents, not all of them might survive under my care, so having 10 of them would be a good start. 😅

Where I bought: https://shopee.ph/shop/137675065/

FOURTH, REALITY CHECK - I ACTUALLY NEEDED TO PLANT THEM ASAP 😭😭

Reality came to bite me in the ass when I actually got the succulents I ordered. LOL. Maybe I was just super clueless, but I thought they would come potted in disposable little germination bags, so I would have time to admire them and read up.

Instead, I got actual uprooted plants wrapped in newspapers and my first thought was - OMG they're gonna die if I don't plant them right away!! 😅😅

So what I imagined to be a chill Saturday morning when I would have everything prepped already and I would be all stoked and ready to plant my new babies, turned out to be a Thursday where I honestly just winged the fuck out of planting them and hope for the best. LOL.

They actually ended up looking real cute, and I'm proud to stay they're still alive and look okay today, which is already two days later. See pic below for proof haha:

So that's my not-so-disastrous start to indoor gardening with succulents. While it still remains to be seen if they'll survive, I hope this helps anyone who's reading this to give you an idea what to expect when you do take the plunge. LOL.