Grow Your Own Food from Scraps: A Beginner's Guide

Many kitchen scraps can be regrown into fresh, delicious produce right in your own home. With just a bit of water, soil, and sunlight, you can transform kitchen scraps into thriving plants that will provide a renewable source of edible delights. Let's explore some of the easiest foods to regrow from scraps and how to do it.

Save the bottoms

Onions, Garlic, Leeks, and Shallots

Alliums are remarkably easy to regrow from scraps. Simply save the root end (the part with the roots attached) when you use them in cooking. Plant them in soil, leaving the top exposed, and keep the soil moist. Soon, you'll see new shoots emerge, and you'll have a fresh supply of flavorful onions, garlic, leeks, or shallots. You can also plant individual garlic cloves in soil to produce new garlic plants!

Celery

Next time you use celery, save the base where the stalks meet. Place it in a shallow dish of water, ensuring the base is submerged halfway. Change the water every few days and watch as new leaves grow from the center. Once the new growth is established, transplant it into soil for continued growth.

Cabbages and Lettuce

For cabbages and lettuce, save the base where the leaves meet and place it in a shallow dish of water (similar to how you regrow celery). Keep the water level just below the cut edge. After a few days, you'll notice new leaves sprouting from the center. Once the roots have grown a bit, transplant the base into soil, ensuring the top is exposed.

Lemongrass

Save the root end of lemongrass stalks and place them in a glass of water, ensuring the root end is submerged. Change the water every few days and watch as new growth emerges from the top. Once the roots are well established, transplant the lemongrass into soil.

Green onions

Use the same method as you use with lemongrass: Save the root end of a green onion and place it in a glass of water with the roots submerged. Change the water every few days and watch as new greens shoot up from the top. You can snip new leaves directly off the water-grown plant, or once the roots are well established, transplant the green onion into soil.

Save the tops

Beets and Carrots

Save the tops (greens) of beets and carrots and place them in a shallow dish of water. Keep the water level just below the tops. New leaves will start to grow, and you can harvest them as microgreens. For beets, you can also save the entire beetroot itself, plant it in soil, and watch new beet greens emerge.

Grow from Cuttings

Basil, Mint, Cilantro, and Other Herbs

Many herbs can be regrown from cuttings. Simply snip a few inches from the top of the plant, just below a leaf node--the small bumps where new leaves emerge. Cut at an angle to increase the surface area for your cutting to absorb water. Remove any lower leaves, and place the cutting in a glass of water. Change the water every few days and watch as roots begin to form. Once the roots are well established, transplant the cutting into soil.

Potatoes

Potatoes are one of the easiest foods to regrow from scraps. Save a potato with "eyes" (the small indentations from which sprouts grow) and cut it into pieces, ensuring each piece has at least one eye. Plant the pieces in soil, eye-side up, and keep them well watered. Soon, you'll have a thriving potato plant.

Regrowing food from scraps is not only economical but also incredibly satisfying. Not to mention, it's a great way to reduce waste and enjoy fresh produce right from your own garden. So, next time you're about to toss out those kitchen scraps, think again—there's a garden waiting to be grown!