Growing Indoor Plants from Food Scraps
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Growing indoor plants from food scraps is very easy. Many fruits and vegetables like onions, celery, and lettuce can regrow from a piece of the original plant, making it very convenient for vegetable lovers who like to grow their own indoor gardens.
How to Begin Growing Indoor Plants from Food Scraps
It is incredible to watch real food grow from a piece of plant that you would ordinarily throw out or toss in the compost bin. Many different plants can be produced from parts of the original one, but not all plants can be regrown.
Plants must have roots or be able to develop roots to grow a new plant. Some of them, such as red or white onions, pineapple, avocado, will do this, but vining plants like grapes would not suffice.
Rooting in Water Takes Only Minutes
Growing indoor plants from food scraps in water is very simple. The only supplies you need are jars, toothpicks, and distilled water, or tap water that has been sitting for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate.
Cut off a portion of the fruit or vegetable according to which plant you want to root. Place the cut-off amount in shallow water. Always keep the leaves and parts of the vegetable above water.
Regrowing Indoor Plants from Food Scraps: Green Onions
One of the easiest vegetables to regrow is the green onion or scallions. Since they are perennials, they keep growing time and time again.
Follow these easy steps to try growing plants from scraps:
Step 1 – Cut the roots and 1 to 2 inches off from the bottoms of the onions. Be sure to use onions with lots of healthy-looking roots.
Step 2 – Place the cuttings, roots down, into a jar filled with around 2 inches of water. Make sure that the upper part is above the water.
Step 3 – Add water every few days to ensure complete coverage of roots.
Step 4 –Place the jar in a sunny place, but not in direct sunlight, such as on a windowsill that receives indirect sunlight.
Step 5 – Change the water if it begins to look cloudy. You probably will not need to do this.
Step 6 – Trim the newly grown green tops and use them in cooking, if desired.
Step 7– In about 7 or 8 days, your green onions may be fully grown.
Step 8 – Repot them in soil for a continual vegetable supply.
How to Repot Onions in Soil
Follow Steps 1 and 2 above by cutting off the roots plus about an inch or two of the onion. Place in potting soil with the roots down. It is best to fertilize the plants to help the onions grow. In warm weather above 50 degrees, you can place the pot outdoors for around 12 hours. Be sure to water the onions when the soil becomes dry and take them inside when it gets cooler.
More Vegetables to Grow Indoor Plants from Food Scraps
Many other vegetables can be grown from the original parts of a plant. Some of these are potatoes, developed from their “eyes,” Romaine lettuce, sweet potatoes, and celery.
Follow these easy steps to grow Romaine lettuce or celery from scraps:
Step 1 – Cut off the bottom or base of the plant to be around 2 inches tall.
Step 2 – Place it in a shallow saucer with the cut side facing up.
Step 3 – Add approximately ½ inch of water. Add more water as your original liquid evaporates to keep it at the ½ inch depth.
Step 4 – Place in the sun on a windowsill.
Step 5 – When the lettuce or celery begins to grow roots, you can repot it in the soil. Be sure that the greenery or leaves remain above the soil.
Step 6 – Lettuce or celery can remain in the water and be kept indoors to continue growing.
How to Grow Indoor Plants from Food Scraps: Ginger Root
Ginger root is best grown in potting soil indoors. You can have fresh ginger for years with this method. To begin, plant your ginger root about 1 inch deep in potting soil. Next, place the plant near a window or on a windowsill. The roots will quickly grow, then when you need some ginger for ginger tea or for cooking, pull up the root and cut a piece off. Don’t disregard the new scrap; simply replant and start the process over again.
How to Grow Indoor Plants from Food Scraps: Beets and Carrots
Growing indoor plants from food scraps is also possible with carrots or beets. Cut the top off, about 1 inch down from the leaves. Place tops in shallow water on a tray or saucer. These vegetables will grow roots and beet tops that can be cut off and eaten in salads. They contain vitamins and are very healthy. You can plant the tops with about one inch attached in soil, and they will regrow.
How to Grow Indoor Plants from Food Scraps: Sweet Potatoes
You can regrow sweet potatoes by placing potato scraps in jars with water, suspending the potato parts by inserting toothpicks to hold the top two-thirds up out of the water.
Sprouts and will quickly grow. Twist each one off and place it in water, with the leaves above, out of the water. The shoots will grow roots, which should be planted in your indoor garden.
Growing Fruits from Scraps
Growing fruits is very similar to growing vegetables. Avocados are a fruit because it has large seeds giving you the ability to start an avocado tree in only a few minutes.
You will need a jar with a narrow top. Find the top of the avocado seed. The avocado seed is narrow and pointed on the top and round on the bottom. Clean all the avocado fruit off, plus the brown coating.
The seeds will need to be wrapped with a paper towel and placed in a plastic bag. This process helps the seed begin to crack, root, and germinate.
How to Grow an Avocado Tree
Once roots grow from the avocado seed, you can plant the seed in the soil.
Follow these steps to turn your seeds into trees:
Step 1 – Cut the tops off saved plastic water bottles. Use a knife to do this. Cut about 3 inches off the top of the bottle.
Step 2 – Insert the bottle top upside down into the growing bottle with a narrow opening.
Step 3 – Put the avocado seed into the bottle part, with the roots down in the water.
Step 4 – Replenish water once a week.
Step 5 – Fertilize once a month with diluted fertilizer.
Step 6 – Place the seed and growing plant in indirect sunlight.
Step 7 – Plant the growing tree in a pot and place it in a sunny spot.
If you follow all the above steps correctly, a thin stalk will grow, and leaves will erupt.
Growing Indoor Plants from Food Scraps – The Wrap-up
Growing indoor plants from food scraps can produce new plants for delicious consumption or just to admire their beauty. Following the steps above can save money on groceries and bypass some items in the produce department. Your food will be as fresh as possible, unlike some supermarket’s produce that sits in warehouses, trucks, and stores for weeks. Even if you are not a green thumb guru, you should try growing your own indoor foods; you will be shocked at how easy and convenient.
FAQ
Rooting vegetables are usually done in water. The gardener chooses whether to pot the plants in potting soil, an outdoor garden or to leave them in water. Green onions, for instance, grow bigger and are hardier when grown in the soil after rooting in water. It will all depend on the individual plants’ needs and your preferences as a gardener.
Clear jars of multiple sizes are good to use so you can see the roots grow. Mason jars are just perfect for rooting sweet potatoes, pineapples, and bigger plants. You will need shallow dishes or saucers for ½ inch rooting projects. Finally, jars with narrow tops work well when you want to grow avocados and some other types of fruits and vegetables.
Growing plants from scraps are easy with citrus fruits like lemons and limes. Save the seeds and clean them well, wrapping them in a wet paper towel. You can plant them in pots filled with soil, about ½ inch deep. Citrus seeds and growing plants can be wrapped in plastic for a greenhouse effect. Not only will they eventually produce delicious fruits, but citruses will also give off lovely aromas.
Yes, just cut off the base from the head of the cauliflower on the bottom of the vegetable. Be sure to leave some of the vegetables attached to the base. Place the bottom in shallow water but leave the cauliflower scraps above the water. The cuttings will need direct sunlight for 2-5 hours per day. Once roots have developed, you can put them in plant containers. A cauliflower will produce only one head of the vegetable.
Is it better to replant sprouted scraps in pots inside or in a garden? Plants do not know where they are planted, so it does not make much difference if they are in pots or the garden. If you replicate the plant’s natural environment with good soil, fertilizer, sunshine, and water, they can thrive.
Published at Fri, 01 Apr 2022 07:51:14 -0700