Winter is a long barren slog for gardeners. However, resprouting your kitchen scraps offers a winter gardening diversion to fill the gap between harvesting the last beet and starting your spring seedlings. For parents, sprouting your kitchen scraps is a great vehicle to spark your child's interest in science and gardening!
"Life finds a way."
Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park
Celery
Propagation:
Cut the celery stalk to around two inches.
Place the celery stalk in a shallow dish of water on a sunny windowsill
Change the water every two days
Rinse the celery stalk and remove any outer leaves that are mushy or water-logged before returning the stalk to the container.
When roots surround the base of the stalk, transplant the celery to a container with potting soil
Signs of life:
Small leaves will begin sprouting in the middle of the stalk within 2 to 3 days.
Uses
Stalks are edible but not as fleshy as the original plant
Leaves (dried or fresh) to flavor soups.
Ornamental- Celery is an attractive house plant!
Put it outside -Celery is a host plant for Swallowtail caterpillars!
Green Onions
Once your green onions have regrown their stalks, they are the "gift that keeps on giving"! After cutting the foliage from the regenerated plant, the bulb will send up new shoots.
Propagation:
Cut the stalk to around two inches (leaving the white bulb and roots)
Place the bulbs directly in the soil/flowerpot on a sunny windowsill
Water two to three times per week
Signs of life
Stalks begin sprouting in two to three days
Uses
Culinary- Salads, stir fry, soups, etc.
Lettuce
Cut the base of the lettuce to two inches.
Place the lettuce stalk in a shallow dish of water on a sunny windowsill
Change the water every two days
Rinse the lettuce stalk and remove any outer leaves that are mushy or water-logged before returning the lettuce to the container.
When roots surround the base of the stalk, transplant the lettuce to a container with soil
Signs of life
Small leaves begin sprouting in the middle of the stem within 2 to 3 days.
Uses
Culinary- Use sprouted lettuce as you would any salad green
-Resprouted lettuce will "bolt" (grow tall and gangly). Cut the leaves at the base to harvest, and the plant will regrow accordingly.
Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes
Note: To sprout potatoes for your garden, use organic produce that has not been treated with an herbicide to prevent sprouting.
To promote sprouting, suspend the lower third of the potato in water with toothpicks.
For sprouted potatoes, cut the potato into wedges around each sprout.
Plant sprouts in small containers
Plant in the garden once the danger of frost has passed.
Signs of life
Foliage will appear on the potato within four weeks (be patient!)
Uses:
Culinary and ornamental
To harvest sweet potatoes and potatoes sprouted in the kitchen, the plants must be planted as a vegetable crop in the garden or in large outdoor containers.
Sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family. Their vines feature colorful flowers and attractive foliage, making them ornamental plants.
Bok Choy (Asian Salad Green)
Cut the stalk to around two inches.
Place the Bok Choy stalk in a shallow dish of water on a sunny windowsill
Change the water every two days
Rinse the stalk and remove any outer leaves that are mushy or water-logged before returning the Bok Choy stalk to the container.
When roots surround the base of the stalk, transplant the Bok Choy plant to a container with soil
Signs of life
Small leaves will begin sprouting in the middle of the stalk within 2 to 3 days.
Uses
Culinary- Use in soups, salads, and stir fry.
Carrots
Root crops such as carrots or onions will regenerate foliage but will not regrow the onion or carrot. However, the feathery foliage from a carrot top makes an attractive houseplant.
Cut the thick end of a carrot to around one inch.
Place the carrot in a shallow dish of water on a sunny windowsill
Change the water every two days
When roots surround the base of the base, transplant the carrot to a container with soil
Put it outside -Carrots are a host plant for Swallowtail caterpillars!
Signs of life
Foliage will appear on the carrot top within two to three days.
Lemons
Remember that lemon trees grown from seeds may not be identical to the parent tree. Homegrown lemon trees often do not bear fruit. However, these trees make beautiful houseplants. If you get lemons- consider it a bonus!
Remove the seeds from the lemon.
Soak seeds in a glass of water overnight to rinse off the gel coating the lemon seeds
Plant directly in potting soil
Water and cover the top of the pot with plastic
Keep moist- add water if the soil seems dry
When sprouts appear, remove the plastic, and keep the seedlings on a warm sunny windowsill.
Transplant seedlings into separate containers when secondary leaves appear.
Signs of life
Seedlings will appear in seven to ten days
Care
Move your lemon trees outside in a sunny location when overnight temperatures are consistently above fifty degrees.
Avocados
Homegrown avocado trees may take up to 10 years to bear fruit. In the meantime, enjoy the avocado tree as an attractive house plant (resembling a rubber tree).
Place toothpicks around the center of the avocado pit
Set the pit atop a full glass of water, keep the lower third of half of the pit submerged in water
Place the water glass set up on a sunny windowsill.
Add and change the water as needed to maintain the water level covering the lower third of the avocado pit.
Signs of life
The pit will begin sprouting in three to six weeks.
Care
Move your avocado tree outside in a sunny location when overnight temperatures are consistently above fifty degrees.
Note: My avocado trees sprout in the compost pile!
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