Have you ever tried to regrow a fruit or vegetable food scrap? It\’s very easy to regrow a food scrap all year round using everyday items from your kitchen. All you need is a container of your choice, such as a few jars, lids or bowls to pop them in, sunshine and water. Here\’s how to get creative by regrowing your own vegetables using leftover kitchen scraps.
How to regrow a food scrap
Lots of vegetables will regenerate after their initial use. For example, you can stick the white part and roots of green onions into an old jam jar with about an inch of water. Watch it for the next few days, and it will begin to grow. Let’s look at a few tips and tricks:
- Head-form, leafy vegetables like romaine lettuce can be regrown in water. Cut the lettuce down as you normally would, leaving at least an inch of the base. Stick that base, cut side up, in a cup or jar with about 1 inch of water. Be sure to replace the water often and put it in a sunny windowsill. You can even plant it in soil when you see roots beginning to form.
- Bulb vegetables, like the green onion I described, can use this same water method. This applies to things like leeks, fennel, and lemongrass.
- Citrus fruits are easy to regrow from seeds. Clean the seeds well and keep them moist. Then, plant them in about ½ inch deep soil in the container of your choice. Cover the top of the container with a sheet of glass or repurpose clear plastic to create a mini-greenhouse. Though it might take a couple of years to grow fruit, you will get a flowering and fragrant houseplant until then.
- Avocados can be regrown in water. Clean the pit before sticking three or four toothpicks into it. The toothpicks need to be evenly spaced about a third of the way down from the pointed end of the pit. Use the toothpicks to balance the pit over a glass or jar of water. Fill the container so that the water covers half of the pit. When the pit has a sprout and roots, it’s time to transplant it to the soil.
- Ginger root is another easy to regrow scrap. If your ginger still has a fresh cut, let it dry so that it is no longer wet. This may be an overnight effort. Next, plant the scrap in soil, about one inch deep. This will produce a plant that has unusual blooms. Whenever you want ginger, pull up a root and leave the rest to continue to grow.
With all of these tips, it’s important to refresh the water and keep the scraps in a sunny area. As a general rool, when you see roots begin to form you can plant the scrap in soil and watch it grow.
Have you successfully regrown food scraps? Leave a message below with your best advice. If you’re searching for more food related sustainability content, check out my blog on farmers markets! If you’ve found this blog helpful, you can support me and the site by buying me a cup of tea or sharing the site with a friend. Your support means the world to me!
