Amidst the chaos that our world is going through, spring is the season to plant hope that can yield the fruits of happiness. You should do something that helps you feel alive and motivated, like gardening. It’s a great therapy and adds so much beauty in and around your home.
You can grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs in your garden, to prepare healthy meals every day. You don’t even need a huge space for this, even small pots can work. Besides, spring is an ideal season to plant an assortment of vegetable and fruit-bearing plants. Wondering where to start? If yes then why don’t you check your kitchen scraps? We all throw away parts of supermarket produce while cooking, not realizing that it can be used to regrow vegetables and fruits.
Organic eating is a sustainable living Investment
The demand for organic food has rolled in recent times, with the surge in personal wellbeing. However, with organic products labeled "expensive" regrowing themwill actually turn your buying decision to select quality products that would be the parent scrap for the new born produce into an healthy sustainable living investment.
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” – Alfred Austin
Following are a few of the best spring vegetables, fruits, and herb plants that you can grow from scraps, without spending a cent.
Lettuce/Cabbage/Spinach/Bok Choy
Consider planting nutritious leafy vegetables on raised beds, they are a lot better than containers. Lettuce, cabbage, bok choy, and many other leafy vegetables tend to spread more, the bigger the space, the bigger will be your produce. All you have to do is place the leftover in a bowl, partially immersed in water for a few days under the sun. Once roots and new leaves appear you can transfer the plant to soil.
Green Onions
A fresh sprinkle of chopped green onions can add a zing of flavor to plain mashed potatoes and omelets. You can easily regrow these from kitchen scraps. Just cut the scraps an inch above the roots and let them sit in a jar of water, immersing only the roots. Once, the shoots grow around 5 inches, you can transfer the plant to the ground or soil placed inside a pot. Make sure that the plants receive adequate sunlight.
Carrots
Keep your vitamin levels up with fresh carrots available within an arm’s reach. Chop the tip along with a small part of the carrot and also cut it side down. Add some water to a bowl and place the top upright, covering it halfway. You can place this bowl on the windowsill or any other place, where it can receive adequate sunlight. When shoots sprout, you can plant the carrot top in soil, making sure that the shoots stay above the ground.
Celery
Make refreshing soups with fresh celery, right from your kitchen garden. Place the base of celery scraps with shoots upright in a bowl of water, where the growing plant can receive ample sunlight. Change the water every other day and leave it for about a week. Gently use a spray to mist the top of the growing celery. You will see the yellow leaves in the center will turn thicker and greener. After seven days, you can transfer the plant to soil.
Ginger
Build your immunity with the flavorsome buds of ginger. Chop off a big piece of ginger from the Rhizome and place it in the soil. Make sure that the smallest bud is covered with soil. Place the plant under indirect sunlight and make sure that the soil doesn’t dry out. It needs a lot of moisture in its growing stage.
Pepper
How about making some hot paprika from your garden produce? Pepper plants can be easily grown at home. All you need to do is plant hot pepper seeds directly into the soil. Make sure that the growing plants receive an adequate amount of sunlight. These plants tend to grow faster in comparison to others. So you can reap the spice of your garden produce sooner than you expect.
Potatoes and its sweet Cousin
A dietary staple in many parts of the world, potatoes, can be easily grown in your kitchen garden. Cut potatoes into two pieces from the middle, ensure that both the halves have at least 2 to 3 sprouting eyes. Place the pieces at room temperature overnight, till they feel dry to touch. Plant the pieces about a foot apart with the bulging portion downwards. Make sure that the soil depth is at least 8 inches.
Pineapple
This one is a sweet fruit of long-term commitment and is surely worth the wait. It can take up to two years for a pineapple top to bear fruit but it’s so delicious that waiting doesn’t seem like a bad idea. To plant a pineapple, firstly make sure that the top of the one you will cut off is green and leafy. From the chopped-off part remove the leaves from the bottom to expose the bottom layers and also get rid of extra fruit. Use toothpicks to suspend it on a jar or bowl, the bottom should be immersed in water partially. Keep changing water in 3 to 4 days. Leave it in a sunny place for a few days until the roots grow, post that plant it in soil. With plenty of water and daylight, your plant will reward you with fruits in a few months.
Basils and Mint
Herbs are an essential addition for your body and mind. Make a healthy start by regrowing them! Cut 2 to 3 inches of the stem and place them in a glass of water in the upright direction. Once they sprout, transplant them in soil.
These are just a few of the plants and herbs that you can regrow at your own home from scraps. Regrowing vegetables is not only about saving money and easy accessibility, it’s a great way to cut your carbon footprint, reduce the use of toxin-filled vegetables in your cooking, can also be a fun-filled experiment for your entire family. In any case, watching them grow will give you a warm feeling of earthy accomplishment.
Enjoy the satisfaction of planting a portable, balcony garden in your apartment, and experience the fulfilling essence of going back to nature.
Share your delightful experiences with us, or message us your concerns, so that we can ‘grow’ and ‘regrow’ together.
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