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Garden Hacks · Jun 08, 2022 edition

Six Vegetables You Can Regrow From Kitchen Scraps

From the Genius House Hacks archive.

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Before you toss those vegetable scraps in the compost, consider giving them a second life. Several common kitchen vegetables will regrow from the parts you'd normally throw away.

Green Onions

Place the white root ends in a glass with an inch of water, set on a sunny windowsill, and change the water every couple of days. New green shoots appear within a week.

Celery

Stand the base of a celery bunch in a shallow dish of water. New leaves sprout from the center within days, and after a couple of weeks you can transplant it into soil.

Romaine Lettuce

Set the stump end in about an inch of water, keep it in indirect sunlight, and change the water regularly. New leaves grow from the center in about a week.

Garlic

A clove that's started to sprout can be planted directly in soil, root-end down, to grow a new garlic bulb over several months.

Potatoes

Cut a potato into chunks, each with at least one eye, let the cut sides dry for a day, then plant a few inches deep in soil to grow new potatoes.

Ginger

A piece of ginger root with a visible bud can be planted shallowly in potting soil and kept in indirect light to grow a new ginger plant over a few months.

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