Did you know that you can actually grow the whole plant from the normal-looking food scrap? If you don’t then this article is for you. I was doing cleaning in the kitchen, recently I got an idea to reuse the kitchen waste. Which gave me the idea of writing this blog post. In this, 14 Store-bought Vegetables and Herbs that you can Regrow in Your Kitchen Garden.
Instead of tossing the remains of the vegetables like stems, seeds, and butts, you can actually give them a new life by regrowing them in your garden with little effort. The Veggie stems, seeds, and butts from common fruits, vegetables, and herbs can be turned into beautiful living plants with just water, soil, sunlight, and a little-known how of gardening basics.
This blog post is going to be helpful for those, who do not have much space or a backyard for gardening. You can just simply use this website to grow a beautiful indoor garden in your home through the process of container gardening.
Store-Bought Vegetable and Herbs that can be Regrown
Ginger
If you’re like most of us who have extra ginger left in the kitchen after following some specific recipe, then you can give it a new life by regrowing it. It will produce even more ginger in return after some time. Take the 2-inch piece of ginger and soak the root overnight In the tap water. Plant these soaked ginger pieces 1 inch deep in the soil, cover them with soil and place it near a window to get sun. Keep the soil moist and within months you will have a new ginger crop ready for harvest.
Garlic
If you ask me, what is the easiest plant that can be grown in the kitchen? I would say – Garlic. It is one of the easiest foods that can be grown and harvested easily. Take a big garlic bulb. Separate it into cloves and then place them pointy-side up in the soil. Bury the cloves at least 4-inches apart from each other. Garlic cloves like to grow in loose soil. Water the soil continuously and each garlic clove will return a bulb of garlic within weeks.
Green Onion
If you have bought green onions from the store, then you can easily regrow them in a container or pot will little care. Cut the bottom of the green onion having roots about 1/2-inch. Now you can grow them either directly by planting the cutting in the soil or by placing the roots In water and then in the soil. Refresh the water regularly and plant them in the soil when they start to grow for extended use. Learn How to Grow Green Onion at Home.
Celery
Cut and remove about 1 inch from the bottom of a bunch of celery and place in a bowl of water. The bowl or the vessel should be shallow so that the cuttings can be placed vertically. Keep the top moist by spraying water regularly. Also, change the water in the bowl every couple of days. Once the roots systems start to develop out of the cuttings, transplant it into a new container having a drainage hole at the bottom and potting soil as a growing media. Keep watering the celery cutting and it will grow into a beautiful kitchen crop.
Lettuce
Growing lettuce from scraps and leftovers is not that difficult. In fact, it is easy to grow as they would regrow. Cut the base of the lettuce, place it in a container, cover it with soil, and put it in a sunny location. Water the soil and keep the lettuce moist. After about 2 weeks the lettuce will start growing from the cuttings. Note that not all of them will survive, the outcome would be 50%.
Peppers
The next time, save seeds from the hot peppers or bell peppers. Now plant them directly in the soil in a seedling tray. Keep the soil moist by spraying water on the surface. Once the seed germinates and the seedling emerges, transplant it to a pot or container having drainage holes at the bottom. Place the pot under direct sunlight, where the pepper will thrives best.
Potatoes
Sometimes potatoes start to grow themselves while left in the kitchen for too long. New green buds start to develop on them as they get favorable conditions to grow out. But this does not happen often. Now take a more intentional approach to do the same. You can easily regrow potatoes that are bought from stores a couple of days ago. Cut the potato into 2-inch pieces and bury them keeping the eye or bud upwards in the soil. A good potting-mix soil would be better to regrow them. Keep watering the soil whenever feel dry and you will end up growing a lot of potatoes.
Carrots
Cut the top of the carrot about 2-inch in length. Now plant the cutting in the container having drainage holes in the bottom. Cover the cutting with the potting soil. While planting keeps the stem upwards. And do not bury the whole cutting. The stem part should be above the surface. Water regularly. After about a week or so the cutting will start to produce leaves. And after one month the leaves will get bigger. Harvest the carrots once they grew fully.
Leaks
The plant of leaks will regrow the same as the lettuce. Cut the bottom part about 1-inch from the bottom and cover the cutting with soil, place the pot in a sunny location, keep the soil moist, and within 2 weeks leaks will start to regrow. Harvest them when grown enough.
Basil
Remove the leaves from the base of the basil bought from the store. Place the cutting in the water and refresh the water regularly. After some days, the roots will start to develop plant the cutting with developed root system in the container with potting soil. Keep the soil moist by spraying water whenever feels dry.
Oregano
Oregano is another herb that is easy to grow in the kitchen garden from scraps. The growing method of oregano is the same as that of the basil. Remove the leaves from the base, and place the cutting in water. After the roots get develop. Transplant It into a container or pot.
Rosemary
To regrow rosemary, take care of the choosing stem. The Stem should be Green. Rest the process is the same as that of Basil and Oregano.
Mint
Growing mint is also easy. Take the stem having roots at the bottom and place them either in the water or directly in the soil. Keep in mind that it grows like a weed. It will take all the surface space of the container in which it is growing. So, choose the container accordingly.
Thyme
evergreen thyme stem to regrow thyme in the container. Cut the stem slant or by making 45 degrees. Place the stem in the water. Once the roots are established, transplant them into a container with potting soil as a growing soil. Place the container in a sunny location for the perfect growth.