Growing Vegetables from Kitchen Scraps
During the pandemic, when it wasn’t easy to get to the supermarket, we did what most people did: we started a vegetable garden. This way we could have fresh produce all the time.
Growing Vegetables from Kitchen Scraps
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Then about midway through 2020, we decided to try to grow new vegetables from old kitchen scraps. For some reason, I thought back to my childhood, when my mom would take an avocado pit, pierce it with sticks and half submerge it in a glass of water. Quite quickly she would be growing an avocado plant.
So, we tried it with vegetable roots from our kitchen. And guess what? It worked. We were successful in regrowing celery and lettuce. Since that time, we’ve been experimenting with growing veggies from scraps and I’m thrilled to share our tips and results with you.
Also, in addition to my own success in going this, I’ve share some ideas from my writer friend Carol who writes the Ditch the Wheat blog. She’s successfully regrown nearly two dozen different kinds of vegetables from pieces she might have tossed in her compost bin or the trash.
Water’s Role in Regrowing Vegetables
When Bill first talked about doing this experiment, we realized that in order to propagate new roots or shoots, we would have to do things the way my mom did — using water to get things going. It was like we had our own hydroponic farm once we got going.
In fact, in most instances, water is the crucial ingredient for growing new veggies. Overall, says Better Homes and Gardens, putting food scraps in water is vital for growing new roots. Here are a couple of reasons why.
- Consistent Hydration: Water ensures that the plant cuttings or scraps are consistently hydrated, which is crucial for root development. Soil can sometimes dry out quickly, especially if not monitored closely, but water provides a constant supply of moisture.
- Oxygen Availability: Water propagation allows for adequate oxygenation around the root zone. Roots need oxygen to grow, and water can provide a balanced environment where oxygen is accessible, especially if the water is changed regularly.
- Nutrient Uptake: While water itself doesn’t provide nutrients, it facilitates the initial uptake of water necessary for the plant to start developing roots. Once roots are established, the plant can be transferred to nutrient-rich soil.
- Ease of Monitoring: Water propagation allows for easy monitoring of root growth. You can see when roots begin to form and assess their health without disturbing the plant. This visibility helps in ensuring that the roots are developing properly before transplanting them into soil.
- Reduced Disease Risk: Water propagation can reduce the risk of soil-borne diseases and pests that might affect the vulnerable new roots. By starting in water, you can ensure a cleaner environment for initial root development.
- Encourages Root Growth: The presence of water stimulates the growth hormones in the plant cuttings, encouraging the development of new roots. This is particularly important for plants that require a high moisture environment to initiate root growth.
Grow from Your Compost Bin
Another way we learned to grow new food from scraps was really by accident. Bill built some raised garden beds, and I filled it with compost from our bin. However, not all of the food scraps in the compost had broken down into legit soil yet. In fact, there were quite a few pieces of potato still in the compost.
Fast forward a few months, and suddenly we had potato plants sprout among the tomatoes and cucumbers we’d planted in that raised bed. So now we knew that if your potatoes had started to sprout, you could put them in the ground like you would a seed to get a new potato shoot.
Carol explained it to me: “As long as you have one eye, you can do it,” she said. “Allow the cut pieces to dry for a day or two before planting them in the soil. As the potato plants grow, they will produce new potatoes that can be harvested.” So simple!
I haven’t figured out yet how to grow your own beets from root tops or scraps. But I’m working on it and will keep you posted if I succeed.
Final thoughts
One of the important tips that Carol shared with me was changing the water. You want it to remain clear and clean. If it starts to get cloudy, that’s when you know it is time for a change. Because if you don’t change it regularly, rot can set in and then your kitchen experiment is sure to fail.