Seeds, Scraps and The Birth of a Garden

Whether you’re trying to save money or the environment, turning your scraps and seeds from used produce, into a garden is an easy and fun hobby. I took it up in an effort to spend less time going to the grocery store! Some fruits, vegetables and herbs work amazingly well, like onions, garlic, bok choy or mint. Some will grow, but you might not get the results you’re hoping for -like with carrots or beets.

Unfortunately, some store bought produce have either been treated or they’re clones and hybrids and scraps from these will not reproduce or propagate. These will just piss you off. I have tried some of these projects using organic produce, but in many cases, it’s just been whatever is hanging around. Or about to rot. So there;s been some pretty average produce from the supermarket representing itself. These are my personal observations.

Bok Choy is Best

Best first try that I recommend for anyone who needs encouragement is bok choy. Hands down the quickest grower and it really couldn’t be easier (vegetables in the cabbage family tend to do well). Start by cutting the leaves about an inch up from the base leaving a stump, but you can certainly leave more, just don’t cut it too small. Next, I slightly trimmed the bottom to expose fresh stem. I then let it sit in just enough water to cover half way up to where the leaves branch off. I used a tall, narrow jar. You can put tooth pics in to balance it on the mouth of the jar, just remember to keep the waterline consistent and not too far up the stump. Don’t forget to change the water every other day. You will see brand new leaves start to show within 2 days and roots will also begin forming. Before you know it, it’s ready to go in the garden!

I personally do not use anything to assist root growth, but my friends have and their results were faster and larger than my little effort. I used filtered water only with my PUR filter and I swear by it, but tap water is perfectly fine.

Let’s Move It Outside…

It’s a hard call to decide when to move the plant from house to garden. I waited for the roots to be roughly an inch long and was worried if I was planting too soon. It took to the soil quickly and is thriving. When planting, space about 6” or more apart to give it room to grow. I have yet to cut it a little above the soil level to see if it will grow back again but if I decide to do it, I’ll let you know what happens!.I am really happy with the results and as of this writing the bok choy is starting to bolt and produce pretty little yellow flowers. With the flowers came these long seed like pod/leaves and I harvested the seeds to see if I can start fresh.

If you’re looking to eat your bok choy, make sure to harvest the leaves way before the bolting stage while the leaves are nice and tender or they will be inedible.

More Garlic, Please

At the same time I started the bok choy I also experimented with garlic cloves. While technically I didn’t use scraps, I did use a couple of the tiny cloves from the center of the garlic that most people don’t use. Just for experimental purposes I used some bigger cloves as well as well. Oddly enough, the smaller cloves produced larger garlic. It was pretty simple.I put the peeled cloves into filtered water. Within 2 days roots started to grow. Changing the water once after 2 days, I planted 2 days later (4 days in total), roots down. The garlic was already sprouting a little by then.

If your garlic is already sprouting because you didn’t use it in time, place the entire garlic on a damp paper towel overnight to moisten the roots and plant the whole clove. The roots are extensive, so give it space. After about 4 weeks I dug up one of the garlics and it had 5 little sections which were tender with a strong spicy garlic flavor and aroma.

Sprouting Onions

Along with the garlic I also planted onions. I did this two ways. My Godson had left a large red onion on the counter that had begun to sprout. Not an unusual occurence, to say the least. It looked pretty bad so I figured what the hell, let’s give it a try. I took the entire onion and placed the root side down on a damp paper towel for about 2 days and then put it in garden soil half way up the bulb. The sprouts at the top took off and about 3 weeks later I cut them all back. Within 2 more weeks they sprouted again, this time thicker. When I finally dug it up it had produced 3 shallot like onions which I carmelized. They would, have been great raw too, though!

I then used the discarded bottom half of miniature onions that I had cooked with. I soaked those overnight before putting them in a small container full of soil. Within a couple of days they started to sprout and after about 2 weeks I replanted them in the larger container with the garlic and bok choy. They sprouted beautifully.

I would wait at least 4-6 weeks and you can dig them up, or cut them back to use the shoots like scallions. If you do cut them, they will continue to sprout. The onions here are about to flower, the blooms are a pretty pinkish-purple that eventually turn white. They look so lovely in the garden! I eventually harvested the seeds and I’m waiting for cooler weather to see what happens.

Lettuce… Not

I tried lettuce but I put it outside in the bed too soon. I thought a late snow killed it, but I was wrong and it came up beautifully if not really, really slow. In a way the lettuce really was purely expirimental because, honestly, you could probably grow it faster from seed!

And, Speaking of Seeds…

Another experiment that had nothing to do with cuttings and everything to do with seeds, was the result of a jalapeño and a Thai chili that had been forgotten in the bottom of the vegetable bin. Sometimes I feel like a dumpster diver in my own home! It was one of the first plantings I attempted and I didn’t know that you’re supposed to dry the seeds first. Oh well. 

It took a long time to germinate and sprout (because I didn’t dry them first), but after about 8 weeks there is life in the containers. To plant, I opened up the peppers (please be careful when handling hot peppers) and scraped out the seeds. I pushed them into the soil about an 1/8” into small planters. There is a distinct possibility that they won’t fruit.

Next time I will try it with produce from the farmer’s market to see if that makes a difference.

I am trying a different set except that this time I am germinating them in damp paper towels in baggies. Take a paper towel, wet it with filtered water and ring out lightly. Place seeds apart from each other and fold the paper towel. Place in a baggie for 2-3 days to see if they germinate. If not, give it a couple of days longer. I have thrown many an un-germinated seed back into the soil only to have it pop up out of nowhere. Make sure you give them space on the paper towel because you may have to plant the entire paper towel with it as the seeds tend to embed themselves in the fibers (this doesn’t not affect the plant at all).

From Lemonade to Lemon Tree

Staying with the seed theme, I planted 4 little lemon seeds after making a big batch of lemonade. Gently peel the outer harder layer of the seed without damaging the inner seed. Stick your finger in the soil up to your second knuckle and drop the seed in and cover with the dirt. As of this writing I have 4 little lemon sprouts.

I just sprouted a mango seed – two, actually. Long story, but my Goddaughter removed the husk from the seed for a project and from there came this crazy notion. A mango tree!

Peel any brown away from the inner seed, don’t worry if you nick it a little, but don’t mutilate it. You can always try to peel it after it’s been soaking overnight, it will come off easier. I took the seed and soaked it for a 2 days and it began to sprout, I planted it in soil about 5 days later and within 3 days it has broken the soil. It’s pretty cool, but more than likely it won’t fruit, if it does, it won’t fruit for years but I will have a really nice plant (it will always need to stay in a pot where I live).

Much Ado About Cucumbers…

Cucumbers, oh cucumbers. I like the big seedy variety called Straight 8’s, or the common cucumber. They go bad quickly in the refrigerator and out of all the items that you could easily discard, this one is a keeper. Here we go…say they’re just a little funky and shriveled at the ends. Cut through the center and give it a taste. If it is still sweet and semi-firm, eat it or slice it in water with some lemon. Maybe it’s bitter but not rotten (the ends are good even if they’re shriveled)? Scoop out the center and dry the seeds to germinate later (like I did with the peppers above).

More Than Just A Meal…

Save the pulp and peel to puree for a little beauty break after all that sprouting and planting! The pulp puree is perfect for a face or body mask – add a little apricot kernel oil (it’s light and penetrates the skin nicely) and let it infuse for 5-10 mins in the refrigerator. Slather your face with the cool pulp and lay down for some alone time. You won’t want anyone seeing you like this anyway. Leave on your face for at least 15 mins and rinse with cool water.

Lastly – and again, having nothing to do with planting – cucumber peels are great for naturally repelling cockroaches. I have been using them this way for decades and while it is never as good as a commercial bug repellent, it’s great if you have animals in your house. Obviously, don’t let them rot on the sill, but in my experience it does work when fresh.

Root Vegetables Without the Root?

I’m going to touch a little on Beets, Carrots, Radishes, Turnips, etc. None can grow the actual vegetable from cuttings since the vegetable is the root of the plant. However, they will grow their greens. If you love the green tops of these vegetables, then by all means plant them. They are delicious cooked or raw and you can use them while juicing or in any recipe from a salad to pasta to a stir fry. I didn’t do them as cuttings as I planted those vegetables from seed and I will already have them in abundance.

Sprouting Rhizomes 

Potatoes, ginger and turmeric are rhizomes. If you keep them in a dark place they generally start to sprout. You can stick them directly in soil if they are already sprouting, or you can halve them and stick them in a jar with water. The bigger the eyes or nubs the better the chance of sprouting. Most supermarkets treat their potatoes so that they don’t create eyes and without eyes there’s no hope of these potatoes sprouting. My turmeric came up super quick in soil and it has one gorgeous giant leaf. What is happening beneath the soil, I can only imagine. But when that leaf starts to look like its shrivelling, that’s when I’m supposed to harvest what’s down under.

If you plant a ginger root, you better watch out: it sounds like they could spread all the way to the neighbors if you give them the room!

Herbs From Cuttings

Technically not scraps, but you can grow herbs from small cuttings. Mint, lavender and basil were the fastest growing with strong root systems that propagated quickly. Some of the sages did better than others (surprisingly the Pineapple Sage did really well), but most of the hybrids, as expected, didn’t fare as well. Even so, you don’t need that many plants to take off if you’re merely looking for a window box garden, but be careful planting anything in the mint family outside, once planted you will wish you kept them in pots, they tend to take over. Clip the stem on an angle (as you would with flower cuttings) and place it in filtered water. Leaves have to stay above the water line, so if there are any leaves low on the stem, remove them gently. Within a few days to a week you will see roots start to form.

Change the water every other day. Once the roots are long enough, plant them into soil. I was able to keep mint and basil in a jar with filtered water for a pretty long time. I only planted them because they were outgrowing the largest jars I had.

Where To Put It All…

My initial set up is indoors because the weather here is unpredictable and we have cute critters that think my garden is a buffet. Germinated seeds went into large plastic cups with ample drainage holes (I used Solo Cups) and composted soil. I transplanted when needed. The exception is root vegetables which should go in a size appropriate pots or be planted outdoors after germination since uprooting is very traumatic for the plant and it might not recover.

That’s it for now, put your pics in the comments of your cutting experiments, we would love to see them. Can’t wait to taste my delicious bounty!