Green tip of the day - house plants

It's a great idea for everyone to have house plants. They naturally help filter toxins released by products like carpeting, paint and other modern materials from the air.

Check around for local growers, grab a packet of seed and a recycled container, or grow some from kitchen scraps. I have a very nice mango sapling growing that's about 2 feet tall now, grown from the pit of an especially good mango. I also have several pineapple tops and sweet potatoes. If you've never tried growing a sweet potato, do! They make lush green draping foilage, with large leaves that resemble maple. They're easy to grow, once you find one that sprouts. Just suspend it in water to get sprouts, then once they have leaves snap off the stem they're growing on where it attaches to the potato and plant them. They're called slips, and each one can produce another potato plant. You're not likely to get sweet potatoes in a small indoor container, but if you have a barrel half or other large container on the patio you may!

I also sometimes grow avocado pits or the seeds of other fruits I have around, or a bean. Fun projects, even if they don't turn into a lush, lasting plant.