GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES FROM SCRAPS
✅ Save money ✅ Reduce Waste ✅ Get creative
by regrowing your own vegetables using leftover kitchen scraps.
With many of us spending more time at home, it's the perfect opportunity to slip on your gardening gloves and put your food waste to good use — and at no extra cost.
Emilie Vanpoperinghe, co-founder of Oddbox, has shared her genius tips for growing vegetables from kitchen leftovers. "All you need to start is some vegetable ends and scraps, a little sunshine and water, and a good dosage of TLC," she says.
"Before you know it, you'll have a much more sustainable way of eating that provides you with delicious vegetables, all from something that you might've otherwise have thrown away."
Enjoy watching these scraps continue to sprout again and again. Take a look at the step by step instructions below...
1. Lettuce
Did you know you can easily grow your own lettuce? Instead of throwing your scraps onto the compost heap, why not replant the stem instead. To grow your own lettuce, it will take you around two-three weeks.
1. First, place the stem in water ensuring it covers no more than two thirds. Leave it in a sunny spot with plenty of light. A kitchen windowsill, for example, is a great place for this.
2. Keep an eye on the water and ensure to change it regularly if it's looking a bit cloudy.
3. If you have space in your garden or on your balcony, transfer the little shrub to soil to allow for better growth. If you aren't able to do so, keeping it on your windowsill will also work well.
4. Once it has grown, ensure you cut from the outer leaves and leave a small inner core instead of picking the whole lettuce head. This will ensure it continues to regrow again and again.
2. Spring onions
Growing spring onions from scraps is incredibly easy. All you need is a glass of water and a lovely sunny spot in the home. To grow your own, it will take around one-two weeks.
1. The next time you cook with spring onions, cut about an inch from the roots (the part that usually goes in the bin).
2. Then, pop the bottom in a shallow glass of water. Make sure the tops aren't completely submerged.
3. Change your water every few days to keep the spring onion fresh.
4. As the green shoots continue to grow, cut off what you need and enjoy!
3. Spring onion ends
Alternatively, you can also grow spring onions by leaving the roots of the onion attached and placing it directly into a pot of soil. This method will take around two-four weeks to grow.
1. Cut around a half-inch up from the roots of the onion attached.
2. Then, place it directly in a small pot of soil and cover it with a layer of soil, keeping it in a sunny spot.
3. Water it everyday to keep the soil moist, and you'll begin to see the spring onion shoots come up in a few weeks.
4. Coriander, basil and other herbs
Growing annual and biennial herbs, such as coriander, basil, parsley and dill, are best sewn during the spring and summer months. To grow your own from leftover scraps, simply follow these steps...
1. Make sure there is around two-three inches left off the stem of your herbs and place them upright into a tall glass of water.
2. You'll be able to spot new roots shooting within the first week or so, so transfer them into a small pot of soil. Place on your kitchen windowsill so that you can easily access them when cooking.
3. Ensure you never pick more than a third of the flourishing plant to keep it alive for longer.
5. Celery
Give life to your celery scraps by replanting them at home. These will take around one-three weeks to grow, so you'll be blessed with fresh produce in no time. Not sure how to begin? Take a look at the simple steps below...
1. Once you've cooked with your celery, cut around one-two inches from the base of the celery and place down in a small bowl or glass of water. Ensure you find a sunny spot for it to live.
2. After a few days you'll begin to spot some new leaves growing from the middle as roots shoot up.
3. Once it has grown a little further, transfer the celery shrub to a small pot of soil and water it generously. Wait for the stalks to grow to full length and then cook up something delicious.
6. Leeks
Leeks are incredibly easy to grow, but will need looking after. The popular winter vegetable is delicious in heartwarming soups, pies and stews. While they are traditionally sewn into a garden seedbed, you can also cut off the root and place into water. Follow the steps below to grow your own...
1. Once you've finished with your leek, cut off around one-two inches of the leek's root end and leave them to soak in a shallow glass of lukewarm water.
2. Place on a sun-soaked windowsill and ensure you change the water frequently.
7. Garlic shoots
To grow your own garlic from leftovers, you'll need to get your hands on a plant pot filled with soil (or a cup of water). Whether you have a small garden space or a tiny terrace, this is brilliant for everyone to have a go at.
1. Firstly, plant your garlic cloves with their roots facing down in your small pot filled with soil. For best results, ensure you place it in a sunny spot.
2. After a few days you will find that the garlic has sprouted slightly from the pot. Continue to water and enjoy!
3. Alternatively, if you don't have access to a pot of soil, pop the garlic that has sprouted slightly into a shot glass of water. These tops will continue growing and can be eaten just like spring onions.
by Lisa Walden of countryliving.com
