Grow Your Own Food for Free from Vegetable and Fruit Scraps for a Healthier You

Uncover the shocking truth about the age and quality of supermarket produce and why growing your own can be healthier and enjoyable.

Have you ever grown bell peppers from food scraps? Why toss out the perfectly fine seeds when you could be growing from them instead of buying them from a garden shop or Home Depot? Growing your own food from scrapes doesn't have to be hard or expensive. Garden not required!

Benefits when growing from scrapes:

• Unless you can source your vegetables and fruits from a local farmers market, chances are that the produce you are buying from the supermarket are already a few days, weeks or even months(!) old. Apples, for example, can be harvested a year back, treated with chemicals, and then stored in the refrigerator before they are displayed in your local supermarket.

• Buying seeds in the store can be expensive if you'd like to have some variety. You'll pay a couple of bucks for certain plants just to get 10 or 20 seeds in a pack. And chances are that out of 10 seeds, 1 or 2 might be bad and won't even germinate.

• Gardening is a good way of exercising without making it feel like it was. Carrying soil, squatting, and lifting pots contribute to muscle maintenance and burn calories. One of the most essential aspects of healthy aging.

• It can also be a lot of fun and an excellent way to keep busy. Consider involving grandkids and show them where the food on the plate is coming from.

Even though we might not have the greenest thumb, we successfully regrow the below fruits and vegetables from scrapes. Give it a try next time you have them in the house; it won't cost you a dime.

Pineapple

Pick a ripe pineapple from the supermarket with healthy foliage. Cut off the top and remove the fleshy part, including the first row of the foliage, until you see the dotted part, exposing about a half inch of the stalk. The dotted part is the primordial root, which the shrub later will grow from. Leave it to dry for a couple of days to avoid rot. Plant in well-draining soil and water it relatively sparsely. As this is a tropical plant that likes heat, you need to make sure it's not exposed to frost. The ideal growing condition is between 68°F and 86°F (20-30°C). After the flowering phase, a ripe fruit will take 6 months or even longer to develop. In total, expect about 2-3 years before it will bear fruit.

Leek

The fresher the leek, the better your chances for success. In the store, pick the one with the longest and most fresh-looking roots. Cut off about an inch from the white bottom flesh of the leek. Put it in a shallow dish where it has just enough water to cover the roots. Place it in a sunny spot and refill or replace the water every 2-3 days. The top will have grown back slightly in about 10-14 days, and the roots should have grown denser and longer. Plant in well-draining soil and water regularly. Note that the leek won't grow back to its original gauge. However, it can still produce a considerable amount and even flower if you don't harvest. From the flowers, you can get the seeds if you want to try to grow leeks from scratch.

Potato

If you have one of those potatoes that have been lying around for a while where you already see some sprouting going on, pick one of them. They are the perfect candidate. Leave them somewhere in a sunny spot so they can turn green. At this point, they're not safe for consumption anymore as the glycoalkoloid compound level, called solanine, has increased considerably. It is a natural plant defence that is toxic to fungi and pests. It can be found in all plant parts, including the leaves, fruits, and tubers. However, only green potatoes carry an amount detrimental to health. Potatoes are best planted in early spring, shortly before the last frost. Unfortunately, the example in the picture above was the only leftover we had from the potato we planted last year.

Garlic

The beauty of garlic is that one bulb can be grown into several garlic bulbs depending on how many cloves it has. First, carefully separate the cloves from the bulb. You can leave the skin on of the individual clove. Plant the cloves in well-draining soil in a sunny position with the pointy tip up into holes about 2 inches (5 cm) and 6-7.5 inches (15-20cm) spaced apart. Some garlic cultivars will produce a flower head and edible stem. Once the stem begins to curl over, you can cut it off. The stem can be prepared like asparagus and added to any dish that requires garlic.

All these plants can be grown in pots or planter boxes. Just make sure that whatever you are using has proper draining to avoid waterlogging and is of appropriate size. We managed to grow all of the above plants, plus many more, on a small balcony. Hence, not having a garden is not an excuse.

Have you ever tried to grow something from vegetable or fruit scrapes? If yes, let us know what it was and how it went. Also, comment below on vegetables and fruits you want us to try to regrow!