Summer Scraps Garden Project?

Save Your Scraps!

By Andy Nguyen

Let's face it. Produce can be expensive, but what if I told you there was a way you can get for more than you paid for at the supermarket? Here's a few tips on how you can not only save money but not let any vegetables go to waste either.

In America, we live in a world where things are plentiful. According to a report from The Guardian, half of U.S produce is thrown away. Why is this? What do you do if you do not like it or want it it anymore? Throw it away. Does it have an imperfection? Throw it away! We can go out the the supermarket and get more anytime. However, this is not an option for everyone. The idea of throwing food out just because you do not like it or because there's a slight blemish is unfathomable for some.

Regrowing your vegetable scraps is one way you can help not waste food. Growing your own means less trips to the supermarket, saving money and your own personal garden. There's a long list of vegetables that you can regrow, but here are a few of my favorites:

Potatoes

All you have to do is simply locate the "eye" of the potato. The "eye" is the part that looks like a little stub or stem. Once you have located that you can place it into soil, make sure the "eye" is facing up. One "eye" can produce multiple potatoes. Make sure to leave ample room between potatoes. 12 inches should be enough.

Lettuce

Regrowing lettuce will not give you a whole new head of lettuce, although, it's still pretty cool. You will want to keep an inch or two of the bottom of your head of lettuce. Next place that piece of lettuce into shallow water. Do not forget to give your lettuce a source of light. Next to a window is perfect. Replace the water every other day, and after a week and a half you will have as much as you can grow. Perfect amount for a sandwich or small salad. 

Green Onion

This might be the easiest item of produce to reproduce. Use up all the green onion you want, but you need to make sure to leave enough of the white bit of the stem. About two inches should be fine. After that place the stems into shallow water. Soon you will see stems appear and the green onion will be sprouting as well. From here you have two options: Continue to let the green onion grow in water, or two place the green onion in soil after 5-7 days. Planting in soil will ensure that the green onion grows better and last longer.

Herbs & Spices

Most herbs and spices can be regrown with just a little bit of water. Just like the green onions above. What you will want to do is to make sure you keep about three to four inches of the stem, and remove any leaves besides the ones at the top. Next up, place them in shallow water for a few days until roots appear. Once you see roots transfer them to soil where they will continue to grow.

Of course, there's plenty of more items you can regrow from scraps. These are just a few of my favorite that I have regrown at home. Regrowing produce that you have already bought from the supermarket is an easy way to have some fun, save some money, and help not waste more food. If you would like to watch or read more about what you can regrow and how, I will provide a few links below.

Resources:
How To Regrow Everything
Regrowing Herbs and Spices
5 Popular Fruits to Regrow from Kitchen
How to Reuse fruit seeds