Manabu Farms: 20 foods you can regrow from kitchen scraps

Regrow food from stuff you buy

Whether you are farming for profit, or just trying to feed your family with a home garden, buying seeds can end up being a big part of your budget. I am always on the lookout for ways to lower this cost. In my last post I talked about a way to have endless fruit trees. If you have not seen it, click this link (tree farmer). Now this week, we are going to show you another way to have endless starts, We at Manabu Farms (Facebook link) call this method “Up- planting”, and it can provide you with an almost endless supply of many plants. Below is a list of plants we have done on the farm,

List of plants you can Up-plant (Upcycle plants)

Strawberry

Raspberry

Tomato

Pineapple

Lettuce

Bok Choy

Cabbage

Celery

Lemongrass

Bean Sprouts

Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Turnips

Cilantro

Basil

Onion

Mushrooms

Green onion

INSTRUCTIONS

Strawberries and Raspberries

Are a bit tricky start by, removing the seeds from strawberry with a toothpick or by mashing a raspberry through a strainer. Then Rinse the seeds off, so no fruit is left on them, then let them dry off completely. Fill a container almost all the way with soil and flick the seeds into it. Cover seeds with ¼ inch of soil. Spray water on seeds, repeat every other day. Leave seeds in sunlight. Watch for seeds to sprout. Transfer to your garden or a larger pot once sprouts grow their third leaves.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are great here is two ways to up-plant them

Way 1:

Slice tomato into thirds horizontally. Take any of the thirds and place them in a cup or jar filled ¾ of the way with all-purpose soil. Cover the last fourth with soil to cover the tomato. Moisten soil considerably and leave in direct sunlight Spray water on seeds, repeat every other day. Watch for seeds to sprout!

Way 2:

Tomato suckers, or side shoots, are the growth that appears in the crotch between the stem and a branch of a tomato plant. You can tell it is a sucker and not a normal branch when flowering starts if it does not have flowers on it is a sucker and will do you no good to leave it on your plant instead follow the steps below to turn it into a new tomato plant.

Select a healthy, 4- to 6-inch-long sucker to remove from the mature tomato plant. To find a sucker, look for a thin shoot growing between two main branches. Pinch the base of the sucker between your thumb and forefinger, and bend it from side to side until it snaps off. Alternatively, use gardening clippers or scissors to cut the sucker off at the base. Pick the lower leaves off the bottom of the sucker. Fill a 4-inch pot with potting soil and plant the sucker in the soil with the cut end pointing down. Check the sucker for root growth daily, indicated by new growth at the tip of the cutting. Roots begin to grow in about four days, and the plant is ready for transplanting to a larger container in seven to 10 days. Fill a 3- to 5-gallon container with potting soil after seven to 10 days have passed. Plant the rooted sucker in the soil, taking care not to disturb the roots. Water thoroughly. Place the container in a shady spot. Each day, put the container in a sunny area for a few hours. Gradually increase the amount of sun the plant gets every day. Plant the tomato seedling in your garden after 10-14 days, if desired, or plant it in a larger container.

Pineapple

So I almost did not add this one to the list, it is not hard to grow but take forever before you get fruit and unless you live in the right area its never going to make you a profit.

Slice the crown of a pineapple off so that there is as little fruit attached as possible. Pluck the leaves off so that about 5 inches of the crown is bare. Leave crown in a sunny spot to dry for 2-7 days Place seed in a glass of water, relying on the toothpicks to hold it up so that only the bottom quarter of the seed is in the water (pointed end should be facing up out of the water). Change water once a week Roots should form in about 2-3 weeks. Transfer to Soil once roots reach about 2-3 inches

Lettuce , Bok Choy and cabbage are relatively easy to grow from scraps. Instead of throwing out those leftover leaves, simply place them in a bowl with just a bit of water in the bottom. Keep the bowl somewhere that gets good sunlight and mist the leaves with water a couple of times each week. After 3 or 4 days, you will notice roots beginning to appear along with new leaves. When this happens you can transplant your lettuce or cabbage in soil.

Now here is a video on a way to make any cabbage plant give your family a endless supply of cabbage.

Celery

Celery is one of the easiest foods to grow from leftover scraps. Just cut off the bottom or base of your celery and lay it in a bowl with just a bit of warm water in the bottom. Keep the bowl in direct sunlight as long as possible each day and after about a week, you will begin to see the leaves thickening and growing along the base. When this happens, you can transplant your celery in soil and wait for it to grow to full length.

Lemongrass

If you love using lemongrass but have a difficult time finding it, simply regrow your own. Lemongrass will grow just like regular grass. You just place the root that is leftover in a glass bowl or jar with enough water to cover it and leave it in the sunlight. After about a week, you will notice new growth and when this happens you can transplant your lemongrass in a pot or in your herb garden.

Bean Sprouts

You love cooking with bean sprouts you can grow them yourself as well. You just need to soak a tablespoon or so of the beans that you want to grow in a jar with shallow water. Leave this overnight and in the morning, drain the water off and put the beans back in the container. Cover the container with a towel overnight and rinse them the next morning. Keep doing this until you notice the sprouts begin to appear and then until they reach the size that you want. This works well with mung beans and wheat berries.

Potatoes

Virtually everyone knows that potatoes can be grown from potato peelings. You need peelings that have eyes on them. Cut those peelings into two inch pieces, ensuring that there are at least two or three eyes on each piece. Allow them to dry out overnight and then simply plant them about four inches deep in your soil. Make sure that the eyes are facing up when planting. It will take a few weeks before you see the potato plant begin to grow.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes can be grown much like regular potatoes. You just have to suspend it using toothpicks above a container of shallow water. Roots will begin to appear in just a few days and sprouts will be seen on top of the potato around that same time. Once those sprouts reach about four inches or so in length, just twist them off and place them in a container of water. When the roots from this container reach about an inch in length, you can plant them in soil. now here is a funny video I did a few years ago that take you through the steps of growing sweet potatoes

Ginger

Ginger root is very easy to grow and once you get started, you can keep your supply of ginger full. You just need to plant a spare piece of your ginger root in potting soil, making sure that the buds are facing up. You will notice new shoots and new roots in about a week or so and once this happens you can pull it up and use it again. Remember to save a piece of the rhizome so that you can replant it and grow more for the next time you need it.

Turnips, Carrot, Beets, and Parsnips

Root plants, turnips grow well from clippings or leftover scraps. You just need to salvage the tops of the turnip and place in a container of water. You should notice new green tops growing in just a few days after you begin. Just allow the root to continue growing until it’s ready to be transplanted in the ground. This works with many root vegetables such as beets, turnips and even parsnips

Cilantro, Basil, and many more herbs

many herbs can be grown from scraps as well. Just place the bottom of the stem in a glass of water and leave in a bright area, near a windowsill perhaps. When the roots grow a couple of inches long, you can transplant the cilantro into a pot and you will notice new sprigs in just a few weeks.

Onions and leeks

Onions are very easy to grow indoors or out. You just have to cut the root of the onion off and make sure that you leave about a half an inch of onion when you do. Cover lightly with potting soil and keep in a sunny area. For green onions, simply put the white base with the roots intact in a container of water and place in direct sunlight. Change the water out every few days and the green will continue to grow. Just snip what you need and allow it to grow as long as you like.

Mushrooms

You can grow mushrooms from cuttings, although they are a bit more difficult than many other vegetables. You will need a warm area with a lot of humidity and soil that is rich in nutrients. It is much better to grow your mushrooms in a pot as opposed to in the ground because you have a better shot at controlling the temperature and the humidity. You just have to cut away the head of the mushroom and plant the stalk or stem in the soil. Leave the very top exposed and this base will begin to grow a new head.

Green onions

This one is easy just use them like you normally would then drop the ends in a glass of water. Roots will grow up in a few days. Then wait a few days more before replanting .