How to Grow a Garden from Kitchen Scraps

Learn how to grow a garden from kitchen scraps. It’s a great gardening activity for kids and also a great way to reduce your food waste.

There are many different fruits and vegetables that can be grown from scraps and it is a great way to teach children the benefits of growing your own fruits and vegetables.

Using your leftover scraps of fruits and veggies to create more is an easy process that the kids can help with.  The process is simple and usually only involves replanting the seeds or letting them sit in a few inches of water to help the roots grow before planting them.

How to Grow a Garden from Kitchen Scraps

Here are some of the best fruits and vegetables that the kids can help you grow from your leftover kitchen scraps.

How to Grow Green Onions

Fresh green onions can be used in different recipes or as toppings for your favorite dishes. Before you throw out the scraps, keep the white part of the green onion (the bulb) and place it in a dish with a small amount of water. Keep it in a sunny place (like a windowsill) and let the roots continue to grow. You will want to change out the water regularly so that it has fresh water and then once you get a good root system showing you can plant the onions in your garden or in a container.  

How to Grow Tomatoes

Enjoying a fresh tomato straight from the garden is one of the best things during the summer. To regrow your own tomatoes, simply take the seeds from tomatoes and plant them in a small pot that can be kept in the sun. Make sure it is well-watered and you will soon see the new tomato plants start to grow. When the plants are a few inches tall, you can then transplant them outside or into a larger container like a 5-gallon bucket.

How to Grow Celery

To regrow your own celery, simply cut a few inches from the base of the celery bunch and place it in a shallow bowl of water. Every couple of days replace the water with fresh water and you will slowly see the roots from the celery plant begin to grow. Once the roots have grown you can then plant your celery in your garden or into a raised garden bed.

How to Grow Romaine Lettuce

Lettuce is another vegetable that can be grown by leftover food scraps. Save the base of the lettuce and trim down the leaves so that you can place it in a bowl of water. Replace the water every couple of days and you will start to see new lettuce leaves forming at the top.

How to Grow Garlic

If you are looking for easy food to grow on your own, garlic is one of the easiest to grow from kitchen scraps. Garlic requires little work to get started and to take care of. From your kitchen scraps, just take a few cloves and place them in the ground. You will want to plant them with the pointy side up and give them plenty of room to grow so space them about 3-4 inches away from each other.

How to Grow Ginger

Even if your child is not a fan of ginger, it is still a fun item that can easily be regrown from scraps. To grow, simply take your leftovers and soak the roots in warm water overnight. Then, find a sunny spot in the garden or place a container in the sun with the ginger planted sideways and covered with enough soil. As it grows, be sure to lightly water it daily or every other day so that the soil stays consistently moist.

How to Grow Potatoes

Both potatoes and sweet potatoes can be grown at home using your scraps. You have probably noticed that as the potatoes age, they start to grow sprouts. To make your own, simply let some potatoes sit a bit until you start to see the new sprouts start to form. After those have formed, you can cut the potato into 2-inch pieces, let them dry out for a few days, and then simply plant them in soil. Sweet potatoes work the same way so you can grow them just as easily.

How to Grow Avocados

Avocados are both delicious and healthy and if you are tired of buying them from the store, you can simply grow your own. Simply take the seed inside of the avocado and suspend it in enough water to cover the bottom of the seed. Keep it in a warm area, away from direct sunlight, and check the water daily adding more if needed. Once you start to see roots appear on the bottom, you can plant the seed in the soil leaving about half of the seed above the ground.

How to Grow Pineapple

While many fruits are grown from seeds, pineapples are different because they are grown from other pineapples. Pineapples also take a long process to grow, so you won’t have any to enjoy for a few years. To grow your own from a leftover pineapple, just cut off the top of the pineapple you have, let it dry out, and then you can plant it.

Now that you know how you can grow fruit and vegetables from scraps it’s time to save those scraps and get planting. Don’t forget to compost the scraps you can’t use to grow more food. 

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