Don’t chuck those kitchen scraps into the trash bin! Give your herbs and vegetables a second chance at life by planting them right in your own kitchen. Besides giving you more bang for your buck, regrowing scraps helps reduce waste. You can rest easy knowing nothing toxic is going into your food, too!

Check out some of the best herbs and vegetables to regrow from kitchen scraps:

1. Green onions

Green onions are one of the easiest vegetables to regrow. You may never even need to buy green onions again because they’ll just keep growing back each time you pluck what you need.

When slicing a bunch, save the last two inches of the green onions. Make sure to include the root. Then, place them in a jar or glass filled with water. Set it in a warm, sunny spot.

All you have to do now is watch your green onions regrow! To harvest, just snip off what you need for cooking. Your green onions will regrow almost overnight.

2. Onions

Here’s another simple one. Just place an onion bottom in the ground and it will regrow roots. You can use an old water bottle as well for indoor planting.

First, cut off the neck of the bottle. Then, punch holes around it. Make sure the holes are large enough for the onion bulbs. Fill the bottle with enough soil and onion sprouts. Place the bottle by a sunny window and water regularly.

3. Ginger

Fresh ginger is an indispensable kitchen ingredient. It also doubles as a natural remedy in a pinch. To regrow ginger, take a rhizome with a few buds on it. Soak it in warm water overnight. Fill a pot with well-drained soil and place the rhizome in the soil with the buds pointing upwards. Cover with one to two inches of soil.

Place ginger in a warm spot that gets indirect sunlight and keep the soil moist but not soggy. You should have new ginger rhizomes in about three to four months.

4. Garlic

You can regrow a whole garlic bulb from just a single clove. Fill a pot with light, well-drained soil. Using your finger, make a deep hole that’s about twice the length of a clove.

Choose a clove from a large bulb with no signs of disease. Place it in the hole. Press down firmly as you fill up the hole with soil again. Water well. You can harvest garlic sprouts as the bulb grows.

5. Mint

Mint is a versatile herb that adds freshness and a crisp flavor to dishes. To regrow mint, remove all the leaves on a cutting but leave a couple of new leaves at the top.

Place the cutting in a shallow bowl with water, making sure the water covers the leaf nodes. Once it roots, the cutting can take between a few weeks to over a month to produce new leaves.

6. Basil

Regrowing basil, another kitchen staple, is fairly easy. Save a long cutting with at least six leaves on it. Cut off the top leaves or the flowers. Place the stem in a jar filled with water and leave it in a warm, sunny spot It will grow roots in about a week and produce new leaves not long after.

7. Leeks

Regrowing leeks is a lot like regrowing green onions. Just save the last few inches of the leeks, roots included, in a shallow bowl filled with water. Place it on a sunny windowsill and change the water occasionally.

To harvest, just snip off what you need. Your leeks should regrow again in no time.

8. Celery

Here’s a clever method for regrowing celery using its base. Just rinse the base and put it in a bowl with warm water. Make sure that the root side of the base is facing down while the side with the cut stalks is pointing up.

Change the water every few days and use a spray bottle to water the base as new leaves grow. Once the leaves begin to thicken and turn a dark green color, transfer the celery base to a pot with potting soil and dirt.

Cover the base with soil, taking care not to cover the new leaves. Water it regularly and you should have fresh celery stalks in no time.

9. Carrots

Carrot greens are great for soups and salads, so it pays to have your own steady supply at home. Take note: it isn’t possible to regrow new carrots from carrot tops. This method is solely for growing carrot greens.

To grow carrot greens, grab a carrot top that’s about an inch long. Stick a toothpick into either side of the top, then balance it on top of a glass. Fill it with water, allowing it to just graze the bottom of the carrot top. Leave the glass in an area that gets sunlight. Pour in more water if the carrot top is no longer touching the water.

You should start to see green sprouts within a week. Small, white roots will also appear from the bottom. Cut off what you need for cooking and watch the sprouts regrow in about a week.

10. Avocado

Save those giant avocado pits and grow your own avocado tree! It might take a ridiculously long time, but it’s going to pay off once you start harvesting avocados year in and year out.

Clean the pit and push four evenly-spaced toothpicks into it. Balance it over a glass jar filled with water, then place it in direct sunlight. Change the water every two days.

The pit will split open within a few weeks and stems will start to take root. Leaves will grow after a few weeks. Then, after about three months, the tree should be about seven to eight inches tall. You should then cut away the top leaves to encourage growth.

Transfer it to a large pot with good drainage and rich soil. Place it in a sunny area and water it regularly.

11. Bok choy

Forget about trying to find bok choy at the supermarket. Grow some at home by chopping off the base. Leave the base stalk-side up in a bowl with warm water on a sunny windowsill. It grows pretty fast, even faster than celery. When harvesting, always start with the outer leaves first.

12. Lemongrass

Regrowing lemongrass is a lot like regrowing green onions. Just save the last two inches of the stalks and put them in a glass jar with about an inch of water. The roots should grow after about two days.

Keep changing the water. The root ends should have grown at least two inches of new roots after three weeks. You can then put the stalks in a pot with soil.

13. Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are arguably a healthier option than the plain white spuds. To regrow sweet potatoes, start by placing your sweet potato in a jar filled with water. Allow only a few inches of the potato to be above water.

Place the jar in an area that gets sunlight and change the water occasionally to prevent molding. You may see sprouts in just a few weeks. When the sprouts are four to five inches long, remove them.

Place the sprouts in another jar with water. Once the sprouts root, plant them in a mound of warm soil about 10 inches high. Water the sprouts regularly. Take note that they can take several months to form tubers.

Take your commitment to clean food and gardening to the next level by regrowing scraps you would have just thrown away. By growing your own food from kitchen scraps, you reduce waste, save money and eat healthily.

Sources:

NaturalLivingIdeas.com

EverydayHealth.com