16 Foods That’ll Re-Grow from Kitchen Scraps

[DaniDubois]

By Andy Whiteley

Co- Founder of Wake Up World

Looking for a healthy way to get more from your garden? Like to know your food is free of the pesticides and other nasties that are often sprayed on commercial crops? Re-growing food from your kitchen scraps is a good way to do it!

There’s nothing like eating your own home- grown vegies, and there are heaps of different foods that will re- grow from the scrap pieces that you’d normally throw out or put into your compost bin.

It’s fun. And very simple … if you know how to do it.

Just remember … the quality of the “parent” vegetable scrap will help to determine the quality of the re-growth. So, wherever possible, I recommend buying local organic produce, so you know your re-grown plants are fresh, healthy and free of chemical and genetic meddling.

Leeks, Scallions, Spring Onions and Fennel
You can either use the white root end of a vegetable that you have already cut, or buy a handful of new vegetables to use specifically for growing.

Simply place the white root end in a glass jar with a little water, and leave it in a sunny position. I keep mine in the kitchen window. The green leafy part of the plant will continue to shoot. When it’s time to cook, just snip off what you need from the green growth and leave the white root end in water to keep growing. Freshen up the water each week or so, and you’ll never have to buy them again.

Read more here http://wakeup-world.com/2012/10/15/16-foods-thatll-re-grow-from-kitchen-scraps/

[Arkansas Granny]

1. That's interesting. Thanks for the link.

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. Posted to for later.

[thelordofhell]

8. save post #2

[peacebird]

3. Also, save the seeds from your squash and peppers (sweet and any hot)

Another very frugal idea, keep the scrap ends of celery, carrots, onions, and any other veggie really to make vegetable stock, then strain the veggie bits out and toss them in your compost.

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. I plant the root end of onions

and get bunches of green onions later as the roots grow new onions.
Also get celery seed from celery ends.

[Luciferous]

4. Thanks for sharing!

[Kaleva]

5. Rec'd and bookmarked.

[teewrex]

6. Not quite as easy as it sounds. It won't always work with

the veggies you buy in a store as they are hybrids and treated after picking. Even organic could be hybrid.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. Since you're using something that you'd ordinarily throw away

you don't have much to lose.

[Ligyron]

19. That's right

Seeds won't work dependably because they are usually hybrids - no telling what you'll get with the F1 gen. But any vegetative part that can re-generate will be an exact clone.

Fun to do and leeks are expensive.

[petronius]

9. Damn, I was hoping bacon would be on that list (but then I realized that

there's no such thing as a 'bacon scrap.' )

Very cool article - I'll try some of these...

[DaniDubois]

13. LOL Good one! But it looks like bacon IS being grown

What if it were possible to have meat, without slaughtering an animal, or without excess waste? Why do we need the whole pig if all we want is the bacon? That exactly what has happened, as Dutch scientists grow bacon from stem cells. Dutch scientists have used real pig stem cells to grow just the bacon, rather than go the route of genetically modifying the pigs DNA as other scientists have done.

Read more at http://americanlivewire.com/dutch-scientists-grow-bacon-from-stem-cells/#rQlC70lS45tplvTF.99

[RichGirl]

22. And the pig would become extinct.

Sad to kill any animal...but we all die. Very few people keep pigs as pets and even then they become huge so it would be hard to keep a pet pig for it's full life.

I grew up on a small farm. Our pigs had a good life. Rolled around in the mud pond on a sunny day. Were fed well. Chased each other around.

Every living thing has a purpose...everyone gives and takes. Who is to say that the pig isn't happy to "give back". What a wonderful thing to give...food for those who cared for you that is not only nutricious but delicious.

We humans are so arrogant. We assume that death is so horrific when we have no real evidence that it is. Any evidence claims it's wonderful. All we know is that the living suffer when someone dies. We also assume to know what animals want. We belittle what they have to offer.

Having said that...I think factory farming of animals is horrific and should be criminal.

On a side note...I'm against the death penalty for, among other things, the same reason above...when we put someone to death, how do we know if it's a punishment or reward? We really only punish their families who don't deserve it. Arrogance. If you're a Christain, remember Jesus said to the guy on the cross next to him being executed "today you will be with me in paradise".

[Hell Hath No Fury]

25. "Who is to say that the pig isn't happy to 'give back' ".

Well until that pig can tell you itself, it's awfully presumptive of you to think that. Nature tells us exactly what animals want: to live and procreate as long and as successfully as possible.

[RichGirl]

29. Yup...you're right....

Nature tells us we want to live, yet the cat still kills the mouse.

The fact still remains....if we did not eat pigs then who would care for them? They don't do well running wild. They'd eventually become extinct. I love animals. I especially love farm animals. But I learned as a child that when you feed the pig...be careful not to fall into the pen. Pigs would not think twice about killing a person...without bothering to ask if they wanted to be killed or not.

[petronius]

24. Fascinating, thanks for the link. Looks like another staple of science fiction

is closer in time than I realized...

[FSogol]

10. Knew about onions and potatoes, but not leeks. Thanks for posting. n/t

[proReality]

11. I have a more beautiful and tasty crop of tomatoes

in my compost every year than I do when I plant in pots or the ground, and bugs don't seem to bother them much there.

[peacebird]

16. I have also found volunteer tomato plants in compost! Quite hardy and prolific!

[patrice]

12. Mint too, right? & Fennel's really pretty and sturdy. & It's leaves are cilantro, right?

[peacebird]

15. Cilantro gives us seeds that are corriander. Not from fennel.

Fennel is delightfully licorice tasting!

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. what about carrots?

[grasswire]

28. we used to grow carrot greens just for fun

take a lid from a jar, put water in it, put carrot butts cut side down, put it on the windowsill. A luxurious garden of greens will grow from it. No reason why they can't be snipped for stews -- some upscale chefs are doing things with carrot greens.

[malaise]

18. Nothing grows more easily than spinach

Thanks for the tips

[NMDemDist2]

20. or just throw you watermelon rinds and seeds out

worked every year, threw em by a spigot we used to water the horses, they grew every year

[Warpy]

21. I did that with spaghetti squash innards

Threw them into the compost, didn't think cooked seeds were going to do much.

Surprise! We ate spaghetti squash every third night or so for weeks.

[HiPointDem]

23. I planted a couple of rotten potatoes in a scrap of waste ground in my flower garden and have

gotten potatoes from volunteers every year since. i just leave a few in the ground and they come up every year. I let the vines run, they fill the space & look fairly pretty with little white flowers.

[Hekate]

26. Kitchen scraps-- kicking to read later

[nc4bo]

27. Making chicken and pastry today and had some celery with 2 stalks left so.....

instead of cutting up everything (root ball and all) and tossing it in the pot, I saved the bottom of the stalks and stuck it in a shallow pan of water.

We shall see what happens! If it works, well we may have some celery plants in the garden this spring!

Thanks for posting!

[pansypoo53219]

30. our dying fridge is extra damp.

carrots i got in nov, had so many roots in feb, they still were 'alive' when i FINALLY finished the last carrot in stew.
of course i got a peck? of dried onions, so i am set till spring and the superior taters i got are not worthy.
wonder if i could try a carrot root.

[MuseRider]

31. Just transplanted

some Lemon Grass from a jar of water to a pot yesterday. Looking forward to having lots of it in the future Mmmmmm. Going to try this with leeks, sounds fun and it would surely be nice to have them around, also bok choy, also...........More projects to do and I thought I was done in the sun room.

[Blanks]

32. Even if one doesn't regrow...

Everyone should compost their kitchen waste. If everyone got into the habit of composting and reusing the organic material; we would save a lot of energy transporting, handling and burying somethling that, I feel, should be considered among the most valuable materials in the world.

[Honeycombe8]

34. I've tried, but I don't have enuf for the big composter I got. So I need to buy a small one.

It's also a very complicated process that takes work and time. You have to turn it, add to it, etc. or the waste just sits there like rotting food, attracting rats. "They" say it won't do that...but I speak from experience. It does do that.

So I'm going to get a much smaller one that sits off the ground, with a handle to turn it. I'll see how that goes.

I started recycling years ago, and I was amazed at the amount of stuff I could recycle!

[Honeycombe8]

33. Does anyone really eat leeks, scallions, onions & fennel on a regular basis?

I think not. They are flavorings to add to other things.

[hobbit709]

35. I can't cook without onions, garlic and chile peppers.

[Honeycombe8]

36. But you're a hobbit. So..... :) nt

[nc4bo]

37. Update: I've got a baby celery!! Woohoo!

[IMG][/IMG]

Used all the stalks and instead of tossing the bottom into a stock pot, I put it in an old frozen dinner tray and enough water to cover almost the top of the stump.

Cool. Hopefully I can get it to grow a bit taller and wait for a root system so I can plant it in dirt. If it works really well, I'll try growing more!