Regrowing Your Food Scraps

Malaysians love food. We love to buy food, cook food and most of all, eat food. What about growing food? Especially those which you could buy once and regrow again and again in your own home. With a little love (and a bit of patience) you can turn your otherwise discarded vegetable scraps into a whole new plant ready for you to enjoy a second time around. Here are some examples you can check out:

To grow potatoes from scraps, simply slice them into two pieces, and let them sit at room temperature overnight until they are completely dry. Once they are dry to the touch, fill a large bucket or container with soil and plant them in eight inches of soil. Make sure each potato piece is at least one foot apart and you should see results within a few weeks.

Although it takes a lot of patience to grow ginger, a new plant can result in a ton of roots for you. Start by soaking a piece of ginger overnight in a glass of water, then plant it in a wide, shallow pot about two inches into the soil. Water it well and set it in a place where it can get indirect sunlight. After a few weeks, you’ll see the plant begin to sprout, and in three to four months, you can harvest them.

To regrow celery, simply remove roughly two inches from the base of a bunch of celery and place in a shallow bowl with water, spraying the top daily to keep it moist. Replace with fresh water every couple of days until a new root system emerges, then transplant into the ground. The bowl should be kept in a sunny and relatively warm place.

Cut off the base of the bok choy and place it in a bowl. Add a small amount of water making sure there isn’t more than a quarter of an inch of water above the base of the bok choy. It is important to replace the water every few days and you should see regrowth within a week in the center of the base. Once the regrowth appears, transfer the plant to a pot and cover everything except the regrowth of soil, expect results in around five months.

Take one long stem and strip the leaves from the bottom, leaving some at the top. Place the stem in a glass of water and set in a sunny spot, changing the water every few days until roots start to grow. Plant them in a pot with soil, and watch as it grows into a bush of pesto-worthy basil in no time. You can keep the plant indoors as long as it remains in a place with direct sunlight.

Like basil, you can easily regrow cilantro too. Place the cilantro stems in a cup of water. Make sure the dish is in a sunny area and change the water every couple of days. When you begin to see plenty of roots you can then transfer the plant into a pot. Within only a couple of weeks, there will be new shoots and it’ll become a fully grown plant in a couple of months.

Start by cutting off the tops of your lemongrass and then place the stalks in water. Change the water every couple of days and wait for it to develop new roots, usually around three weeks. When you begin to see plenty of roots you can then transfer the plant into a pot and place it where it gets a lot of sunlight. Once the lemongrass reaches a foot in height it is ready to harvest. 

Now go put that green thumb to use and start giving your produce a second life! With all that’s going on now in the world, eating healthy and living sustainably is essential for a happy and fulfilling life.

References

https://www.foodnetwork.ca/kitchen-basics/photos/vegetables-regrow-in-kitchen/

http://www.eatingwell.com/article/290729/how-to-grow-fruits-vegetables-from-food-scraps/

https://www.forkly.com/food-hacks/18-foods-you-can-regrow-again-and-again/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jesseszewczyk/16-food-scraps-that-you-can-regrow

The above articles are intended for informational purposes only. AIA accepts no responsibility for loss, which may arise from reliance on information contained in the articles.