You don’t have to be a green thumb to learn how to regrow vegetables from scraps. Growing food from scraps requires less time than you think. Our fast-paced lifestyle encourages ease and convenience over learning to grow our own veggies, but this may be doing us more harm than good. Why do you ask?
How many of us really know what chemicals go into the food from our local supermarket? Food may look perfect on the outside but what is really happening to our produce skin deep? These are answers we will never really know. That’s why Growing food from scraps can be beneficial.
Unless you shop directly from your local organic farmer or grow your own vegetables, we continue to support these habits.
Therefore, here are some simple things to push you to grow your own veggies from scraps. Next time you go to throw out your leftover vegetable off-cuts you should check to see if you can easily re-grow them in your own veggie patch or pot.
Take it from someone who has already experimented with these foods and researched a list of vegetables that you can regrow from scraps.
Recently, I too have planted and regrown radish, fennel, bok choy, and leek quite successfully. And believe me, I am no expert, but I find the experience very relaxing and enjoyable. Everyday I check in on my little babies and watch them reach for the sky a little more.
You should give it a try and watch it grow right before your eyes, it is also a great idea to teach children how to grow. You’ll save money on fresh food, not to mention appreciate the time it takes to grow your vegetables. And best of all you will love having the convenience of your own food available on hand.
Planting kitchen scraps can be a fun and experimental way to learn how to grow your own food. You’ll learn the season things grow as well as how amazingly natural the whole regeneration process is.
Foods you can grow from scraps
Onions
Celery
Bok choy
Leeks
Sweet potato
Garlic
Beetroot
Radish
Types of lettuce and spinach
How to grow each item varies and the best times of the year to plant vegetables depends on your location.
Obviously, there are plenty more foods that can grow from the seeds we throw out every day. If you are looking for a long term project then some fun ones to experiment with are avocado and lemon. These entail much more time to grow, in some cases several years for the tree to produce fruit. So think of it as an investment into something you can nurture and take care of as your family grows. My parents had a lemon tree that they planted when I was a teenager and now that tree bears enough lemons to feed the neighborhood.
Fresh herbs are also a great way to add loads of flavour to your cooking. Growing your own herbs from cuttings takes little time and is very simple. Without the need for a herb kit, you can easily start your own herb garden from these herb cuttings.
What herbs can you regrow from cuttings?
Here are some herbs that you can easily regrow from cuttings, click the link above to learn how to grow each one. Just check that you plant them in the preferred conditions eg. with sunlight or plenty of space if they tend to take over.
Chives
Mint
Rosemary
Basil
Thyme
Parsley
Oregano
There is an endless list of herbs and plants you can regrow from cuttings with each one bearing a small gift of love. It’s really something so simple in nature that we take for granted. You will be so excited to see your own sprouts shoot and take pleasure in the food you have grown yourself.
Follow us at @planet.intuition for more tips. Happy planting!