I'm talking Trash! (And it's delicious!)

Help yourself to a big ol' plate of trash.  Seriously!  This may look like trash to you, and it often ends up in the waste can of most kitchens, but everything on this plate can be re-grown in your home garden - and you can harvest it to eat later.

You can re-grow romaine lettuce from the bottom of the stalks where the roots are. When you cut your lettuce, leave about 1" of the root end of it for replanting.  It's recommended this be started in a bowl of water (1/2" full) and to change the water every other day.  When you see roots, transfer to your garden bed.  I'm not that motivated so I take my "stump" and stick it straight in the garden, then promptly forget all about it.  So far, it's worked well for me, check it out:

Lettuce from kitchen scraps

Celery grown from the "stump"

Celery  can be started the same way, and is super easy to get going.  You won't get those nice thick stalks that you do when it's grown from seed, but the tops are great for soups and stews, garnish, or adding to a salad.  Here's the celery stump I stuck right into the garden (no bowl or water needed). This is two weeks after I planted it, and it's growing nicely.

Potatoes from skins

Most people know you can grow potatoes from whole potatoes, by cutting sections with "eyes" or buds on them, and planting. Did you know you can grow potatoes from the peelings?  I'm here to tell you, you can!
Make sure the peels have eyes on them and are about 2" in length.  Allow the peels to dry overnight and then plant them about 4" deep and 2' apart.  Be sure the eyes are facing up, since that's the direction they'll grow.  In a few weeks, you should see them begin to sprout.



Garlic is really easy to grow! When you buy garlic, you get several cloves so  pull one off and plant it with the roots facing down in the soil. Garlic likes plenty of direct sunlight so choose a spot in the garden where it will get plenty. Once you notice new shoots have established, cut the shoots back and your plant will produce a bulb. When the bulbs are big enough to harvest, set a couple aside so you can replant, time and again.  Who doesn't like free garlic?

While you can grow carrot tops, you will not get a new carrot. Rather, the top will end up going to seed  and you can gather these to plant later. The green leaves are edible and make a pretty garnish in salads.  I use the leafy greens in roasts as well, to give it a nice punch of carrot flavor.

                    

I've grown oyster mushrooms from kits and they grew quite successfully.  I have not, however, tried to grow mushrooms from cuttings, though it is possible.  The instructions state that you need a warm area with high humidity and a soil that is rich in nutrients.  I have those things.  While it's suggested that you start the mushrooms in pots, I'm rather willy-nilly in following instructions, so straight into the garden bed they'll go.  It's a toss up whether or not they'll succeed doing it my way, but if they grow, you can bet I'll be posting pictures. 

To start your mushrooms in a container - which is suggested so you can control the "climate" better, cut away the head of the mushroom and plant the stem in the soil.  Leave the very top of the stem poking out of the dirt and the base should grow a  new head.  If you try this and it works, please drop me a comment! 


Basil and Rosemary are relatively easy to regrow. You need a stem about four inches high. Remove the lower leaves and place the stem  in a glass of water keeping the leaves  above the water line. Place the glass  in a bright area but not in direct sunlight. In a few days, roots should begin to form. When the roots are a couple inches long, transplant them into soil.  Basil and rosemary make very attractive container plants, and I have mine placed around my covered porch in brightly colored pots.  

So that's my trash talk for today! I hope you've enjoyed it, and I look forward to hearing of your trash planting successes.