How to regrow vegetables from scraps

Did you know that there are lots of vegetables out there you can regrow from scraps and leftovers? And it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a garden; many of these veggies will regrow from your balcony or windowsill too.

Regrowing your veggies is a fun and free way to get your kids excited about healthy food. Why not try turning it into an experiment to see which veggies grow the fastest? Or challenge your kids to making a recipe using their own home-grown produce.

Here’s a selection of veggies that can be regrown at home:

1. Spring onions

Cut them from about an inch from the roots, leave them in a glass of water and watch them re-grow!

2. Celery

Cut off the celery and leave about an inch or two from the base. Place the base in a bowl of water and leave it in a sunny spot. As new leaves begin to sprout from the middle, allow for it to gain thickness for about a week, then transfer into a pot of soil.

3. Potatoes

For this you’ll need potato 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. After a few weeks you’ll see the potato plant begin to grow.

4. Lettuce

Instead of throwing out those leftover leaves, simply place them in a bowl with a small amount 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 three or four days, you will notice roots beginning to appear. Now it’s time to transfer your lettuce into soil.

5. Bean Sprouts

Soak a tablespoon 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. Top tip: try this with mung beans.

6. Avocados

Wash the seed and use toothpicks to suspend it over water in a bowl or jar. The water should come up enough to cover the bottom inch of the seed. Keep the container in a warm place but not in direct sunlight and remember to check the water every day and add more as needed. This one takes a bit more patience – it can take up to six weeks for the stem and roots to appear. When leaves begin to appear, plant the seed in soil, remembering to leave about half of it above ground.

7. Garlic

Pull off one clove from your garlic and plant it with the roots facing down in potting soil. Garlic likes lots of direct sunlight so in warmer weather, keep it outdoors in the sun during the day. Once you notice that new shoots have started to grow, cut the shoots back and your plant will produce a bulb. You can take part of this new bulb and plant again.

8. Tomatoes

Rinse the tomato seeds and allow them to dry. Plant in potting soil until you notice them start to grow. Allow the seeds to get a few inches high before transferring them outdoors. During cold weather you can grow your tomatoes indoors. Just remember to keep them in an area that gets plenty of sunlight and water a few times each week.