Top 6 Vegetables You Can Regrow From Scraps

Do you know that you can regrow many vegetables and herbs from the leftovers and scraps in your kitchen?

This is a great way to get started with growing your own veggies and reducing your carbon footprint. All you would need is water, a container, sunshine, and some knowledge to get started.

So, here are the top 5 vegetables that you can regrow from scraps.

Vegetables You Can Regrow From Scraps

#1. Mint

Growing mint is one of the easiest and perfect ways to get started with gardening. You would only need the stems of the mint without leaves to get started. Simply put, the stems in the water and watch the roots and leaves growing out of the stems. Just take out the leaves and enjoy the constant supply of mint all year round. It is one of the easiest vegetables you can regrow from scraps that are just its stems.

Put the stems of mint in a glass of water and place it in the indirect sunlight and wait for the magic to happen. First, the roots of the mint will grow, and then slowly leaves will start growing. At this point, you can harvest the leaves. For a regular supply of mint, you can grow these in the soil or continue with growing mint in the glass. Frequently add more water for the mint to keep growing year-round.

#2. Garlic

The garlic pieces that get dried are usually thrown away, as they are not good for eating. It would amaze you to know that you can grow that dried garlic into a new garlic bulb. Separate the garlic bulbs without removing the skin and choose the bigger garlic bulbs for planting. The bigger the garlic bulb for planting, the bigger would be the garlic bulb. Garlic is best planted between the months of November and April.

You can place the garlic cloves pointing side upwards in the bowl or jar with only the bottom of the clove merged into the water. You should place it in a sunny position and replace the water regularly. And once the shoots grow, you can harvest them for your use.

If you wish to grow the full garlic bulbs, you would need to plant these sprouted cloves into the soil. You can plant in a pot that is at least 1 ft wide and plant only one clove per pot. If you are planting it in the ground, make sure that each clove is at least 1 ft away from the other. The full bulb takes about 9 months to mature and they are ready for harvest when half of the leaves turn yellow.

#3. Lettuce

Lettuce can easily regrow if you preserve the root section of the lettuce. You would only need to place the stump in a bowl with half an inch of water and lettuce will start growing. The lettuce will be fully grown in about 3 to 4 weeks.

Whenever you cut the lettuce, make sure to preserve the 3-5 cm of the root section. Then place the root in a bowl with the root section submerged in the water. Place the bowl in the place with sunlight and do remember to change the water at regular intervals.

After two weeks, you will notice the new leaves and roots emerging from the lettuce. You can also plant this lettuce soil for an unlimited supply of lettuce. You can harvest the lettuce in 3 to 4 weeks’ time or when the leaves are about 10 cm long.

#4. Potato

Potatoes are quite easy to grow from the existing harvest. You can use a scrap of the potatoes to grow more of it. The scrap you are going to use to grow potatoes must have the ‘eyes’ growing on it. You can chop the potatoes with many eyes into 2-inch square pieces.

Just make sure that each piece has 1-2 eyes on it. After cutting the potatoes, leave them out at room temperature for a couple of days. Doing so will allow the cut surface area of the square pieces to dry out and become hard. This makes sure that the pieces don’t decompose when you plant them in the ground.

Then plant the square-cut pieces into the ground and let them grow. For harvesting the potatoes, you should wait for the tops of the vines to die. When the vines are dead it is a sign that potatoes have grown fully and are ready for harvesting.

#5. Sweet Potato

Growing a sweet potato is quite a complex job compared to growing a normal potato. If you directly plant a sweet potato into the ground it will grow into the plant but will not produce any sweet potatoes.  

To grow sweet potatoes, you would need to grow slips which are sections of stems and roots that grow from the nodes on the potato. Ideally, you can start this process indoors in-between the months of February and April and plant it out in soil later.

To get started, you need to pierce toothpicks into the middle of the sweet potatoes and place it in the jar full of water with the pointy side facing upwards. Place the jar in place with enough sunlight and frequently change the water to avoid mold formation.

In a few weeks, the stems with leaves and roots will begin to grow from the nodes and they would be ready for planting in the soil at least ten inches deep to get many more sweet potatoes.

You can harvest the sweet potatoes when the leaves of the plants start to turn yellow. This confirms that sweet potatoes are ready for the harvest.

Watch this video to know more about growing sweet potatoes.

#6. Ginger

You can easily regrow ginger by planting the ginger root in the soil. It will then take a few months to sprout and will be ready for harvest in 8 to 10 months.

To grow ginger, you need a piece of ginger that is at least the size of your thumb. When securing a ginger piece ensure that it has at least one of those eyes that ginger has. From these eyes, new shoots will grow.

Prepare a wide and shallow pot with enough space for ginger to grow. Plant the ginger piece flat in the soil, give it a good watering and place it out in the sun. Water regularly once the ginger sprouts.

The ginger would be ready to harvest in 8-10 months. You can harvest the ginger when its leaves begin to turn yellow. 

Conclusion

Getting started with growing your own veggies needs lots of dedication. You might fail at your first few attempts.

But regrowing the vegetable from scrap is quite easy compared to growing vegetables from the seeds. So, if you want to get started with growing your own vegetable regrowing from the vegetable is your place to start from.

You can also check out the ever-evolving list of eco-friendly products here.

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