Fresh produce can be expensive and often runs up a significant portion of our grocery shopping costs.
In this post, we’ll talk about using food scraps to grow food, this will have a positive impact on our food budget but also tackle the important issue of food waste.
What is kitchen scrap gardening?
Kitchen scrap gardening is when you grow plants from items you’d normally throw in your compost bin. Luckily, you can use some of your vegetables and fruit scraps to regrow plants.
You’ll probably have better results if you start from high-quality organic produce since some non-organic items are treated to prevent sprouting.
It is environmentally friendly, can save on grocery shopping bills, and it is also fun and a great experiment to try with your children. You don’t need to be an expert gardener to try this.
These are some of the food items that work well:
- Cabbages
- Garlic, Onions, Leeks, Green Onions and Shallots
- Lettuce, Bok Choi, and other Leafy greens
- Carrots, Turnips, Parsnips, Radishes, Beets, and other Root Crops
- Avocado
- Ginger
- Pumpkin
- Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Celery
- Lemons and Limes
- Oranges
- Basil, Mint, Cilantro, and other Herbs
How do I regrow plants from food scraps?
Regrowing plants from food scraps is as easy as putting the tops or ends (depending on the food item) in a shallow dish of water and placing them in a sunny place (eg. next to your kitchen window).
Change the water daily and watch them start sprouting new leaves. You can then transfer them to your garden or pots to give them the best chance to regrow healthily.
In addition to learning how to re-grow vegetables from scraps, it is also important to remember that you can also save your own seeds and sow these the following year to propagate your crops. Some seeds are edible, for example, pumpkin and squash seeds are deliciously roasted.
In conclusion, do not let those kitchen scraps end up in landfill, use them for your compost bin or, better still, regrow your fruit and vegetable plants from them.
