Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Grow Leftover Veggies and Food Scraps Again - Right In Your Kitchen

Grow Leftover Veggies and Food Scraps Again - Right In Your Kitchen

The ultimate guide to “grocery store propagation.”

We’re all about eliminating waste—and learning new ways to garden. That’s why we were thrilled to read Amy Pennington‘s new book, Tiny Space Gardening: Growing Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs in Small Outdoor Spaces.

In the excerpt below, Seattle-based urban farmer offers a step-by-step guide for growing your own food scraps. Seriously, did you know your leftover onions, herbs, and celery can grow again? Here are Pennington’s tips salvaging all different types of produce.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, grab a copy of Tiny Space Gardening to discover even more tips and recipes for growing your own food—no matter the size of your space.

Extending the life of any vegetable is the ultimate nod toward living sustainably and with environmental consciousness, so why not continue benefiting from food you purchased or grew? Get the most out of all vegetables before sending them to the compost bin by cultivating a food scrap garden on your windowsill or countertop.

Plants grow. They are living things and will continue to grow roots and sprouts even after harvest. We’ve all seen this when a potato left too long in our pantry sprouts, or the garlic cloves send up green shoots. Most plants will continue to grow even without soil, needing only water, sunlight, and eventually food to continue producing. This works particularly well for anything with a leafy green that we can harvest.


Leaves grow from the center out and will put on growth slowly, so don’t expect to get great harvests from this foray into growing from scraps. It’s a fun project that ensures you’ll always have something fresh at hand, and a great way to involve kids in urban agriculture and nutrition.

The process is pretty straightforward and simple. The basic how-to involves setting the root end of a vegetable in a shallow bowl of water and placing it in a sunny spot—a windowsill that receives direct sun is the perfect setting. You can use a tall water glass, a shallow baking pan, or any receptacle in which the vegetable can stand in a shallow pool of water. Standing water is a hospitable atmosphere for bacteria and encourages decomposition, so be sure to change out the water and clean the dish regularly—once every two to three days, at least.

I suggest starting with a locally grown, organic vegetable because these are typically cultivated as a field crop in healthy soils and spend less time in transport, making them a healthier choice all around.


Celery and Bok Choy


Trim the edible portions from a head of celery or bok choy, cutting 2 inches above the root end. If the cut root end of the plant is soft and browned, slice off a very thin layer. Set the root base in a tall glass and fill with enough water so the bottom ¼ to ½ inch of root is submerged.


Herbs


Many tender herbs will develop root systems from the stem if planted into soil as a cutting or left in a shallow glass of water. (Many flowering plants will do this—zinnia, lilac, and geranium, to name a few.) Try mint and basil. (Note: cilantro and parsley are exceptions; they do not root and grow from cuttings.) To grow, cut just below a set of leaves and then remove the lower leaves. Woody herbs, like rosemary, are a bit trickier—use a fresh cutting from new growth, but they won’t quickly develop new leaf sets for harvesting.


Lettuce


Choose a non-heading lettuce for this project; crispheads like iceberg lettuces do not work well. As with celery, trim the bulk of the leaves from the stem, leaving behind about 2 inches on the root end of the plant. If the root end of the plant is soft and browned, slice off a very thin layer. Set the root base in a tall glass and fill with enough water so the last ¼ to ½ inch of root is submerged, and place in a sunny spot.


Green Onions/Scallions


Trim the edible, green portion from the tall onions, leaving behind about 2 inches of stem on the root end of the plant. Set the root base in a tall glass and fill with enough water so the last ¼ to ½ inch of root is submerged. The green tops will regrow for several weeks (don’t forget to change the water!), and you can continue cutting them and regrowing them until production slows.


Tubers: Potatoes, Ginger, Turmeric


The edible parts of these plants are grown underground as a tuber. A quick note on growing these plants from scraps. Can you do it? Sort of. You just use a piece of the food as a starting point for a new plant. To give this a try, cut pieces from the tuber and float them in a shallow pool of water until they develop root systems; then you can plant them deeply in soil.


Mushrooms


Yes, you can grow your own mushrooms, on a countertop or outdoors. In recent years, mushroom growers have started offering grow-your-own mushroom kits, making it easy to grow delicious fungi at home. Any kit you purchase will have detailed instructions about how to get them started and keep them going through multiple harvests.

Kits are available for common varieties like shiitake and oyster mushrooms and more coveted varieties like lion’s mane and reishi. The kits are shipped with a growing medium and, more often than not, decaying pieces of log that are then inoculated with mushroom spores.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×