Regrowing: Allow vegetable scraps to grow back

It's a trend that is getting more and more people excited. Gaining new life from vegetable waste is easier than you might think.

Behind the English term "regrowing" is a principle that most hobby gardeners use Propagation of cuttings or also under the term vegetative reproduction know. In itself, the basic principle of regrowing is about not throwing leftover vegetables in the trash, but rather giving them new life by letting them grow back. In the meantime, however, the term is also used when cuttings are taken or fruit kernels are used for propagation.

Regrowing: the principle

The process is pretty simple with many regrow plants. Instead of throwing the stalk away (for example with the romaine lettuce), it is placed in a glass with water for a few days. The water should be changed regularly so that it does not rot. After a few days you will be able to see new life sprouting from its midst with the romaine lettuce. Then it is time to put the stalk of the water in a pot of earth. Potting soil is particularly suitable for this. Of course, each plant has slightly different requirements when it comes to location. In general, however, it should be light and warm around the regrow plants.

Instructions for 21 plants that can be grown at home can be found in Book Regrow your Veggieswritten by our Plantura founders Melissa and Felix.

A Interview with Melissa about the Regrow your Veggies book can be found here.

Regrowing: which plants are good?

The nice thing about regrowing is that it is pretty easy to do with many plants, making it ideal for gardening with children. The following plants offer a very good chance of success that new life will soon grow out of the stalk:

• Spring onions
• leek
• Romaine lettuce
• Celeriac

Regrowing of pineapples

There are also plants for which regrowth is not so easy. The supreme discipline is, for example pineapple. That's right - you can also grow a new plant from the stalk of a pineapple. To do this, the stalk of the pineapple must be gently twisted out of the fruit and put into the water first to pull the first roots. Then the pineapple stalk comes in a pot with soil and now wants a very light and warm location. A bright winter garden, for example, is ideal because it is where the exotic is most likely to feel reminiscent of her tropical home.

With a lot of love and a little luck, after about 3 years it can be that a small mini pineapple will grow from the middle of the plant. But even if that does not happen, because it was perhaps a bit too cold for the plant, you have grown such a beautiful houseplant from what was supposed to be kitchen waste.

For more guides and videos on regrowing, see the following articles:

• Let vegetables grow back
• Let herbs grow back