Are you trying to live healthier but finding that constantly restocking your vegetable drawer is taking a toll on your bank balance? It’s true, buying fresh, healthy vegetables can get expensive, especially if you’re committed to an organic, chemical-free diet. The good news is, that with a little bit of effort and some patience, you can easily start your own home garden to provide you with clean, delicious daily vegetables, and the best part is that they can be grown from the scraps you would normally just be throwing out.
A sustainable lifestyle is very necessary these days and many people are turning to a reducitarian way of living in order to save costs and the planet. So in the spirit of ‘waste not, want not’ here are some veggies that can be grown from scraps to start your journey into creating a thriving home garden.
Potatoes
The most low-maintanence vegetable to regrow, all you need is some peelings or old potatoes that have sprouted ‘eyes’ to begin planting. Cut around the eyes, about 2 inches on either side and ensure that there are at least two or three eyes on each piece. Allow them to dry out overnight and then simply plant them about 16cm deep in soil with the eyes facing up. In a few weeks the sprouts will shoot up and when the plant is about 1 foot tall you can start checking beneath the soil for new potato growth.
Ginger
As a root, ginger is another easy-to-grow plant. Just grab a spare piece of ginger and plant it in the soil with the buds facing upwards. Within a week or so, shoots and new roots will start growing and you can begin harvesting. Grasp the rhizome at its base where it emerges from the soil and lift it, be sure to snap off a chunk of the rhizome and replant it to ensure your ginger supply is always available.
Garlic
What is ginger without some garlic to go with it? Have the perfect pairing ready with a few easy steps. Grab a clove and with the skin still on, plant it in soil with the roots pointing down. Garlic likes a lot of sun, so make sure it’s placed outdoors in a warm spot and wait for shoots to start growing. Once the green shoots are visible, cut them back to encourage the plant to produce new bulbs that can in turn be replanted for more supply.
Onions
Hardy and strong, onions plants are easy to grow in most weather conditions, indoors or outdoors. Just cut the root off an onion, leaving just half an inch attached. Plant this cutting and cover it lightly with soil. Green onions are even easier and can be grown on your kitchen counter, just place the white base with the roots upside down in a container of water and place it in a sunny spot. And voila, endless onions.
Capsicum
A favourite in any Indian kitchen, green capsicum is a quick grower and very fuss free. Just remove the central white part of a capsicum with all the seeds and plant it in soil. Like all chillies, they like a lot of sunlight so try to plant them when the weather is good and in a spot they get direct sunlight through most of the day. Leave them alone to work their magic and soon enough you should be able to collect your first harvest.
Lettuce
Spruce up your salads with some homegrown lettuce. Take those leftover leaves and place them in a bowl with a couple of centimetres of water. Keep them in a sunny spot and mist them with a spray bottle 2-3 times a week. Within a week you’ll see new roots growing along with new leaves. This is when you can transplant them into the soil for better growth.
