Regrowing: allowing leftover vegetables to regrow

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

Behind the English term "Regrowing" hides a principle that most hobby gardeners under the propagation by cuttings or also under the term vegetative propagation know. In itself, the basic principle of regrowing is not to throw leftover vegetables in the trash, but to give them new life by letting them grow back. In the meantime, however, the term is also used when cuttings are taken or fruit stones are used for propagation.

Regrowing: the principle

The process is fairly simple for many regrow weeds. Instead of throwing away the stalk (e.g. with romaine lettuce), it is placed in a glass of water for a few days. The water should be changed regularly to prevent rot. After a few days you will be able to see new life sprouting from the middle of the romaine lettuce. Then it's time to remove the stalk from the water and place it in a pot of soil. Cultivating soil is particularly suitable for this. Of course, every plant has slightly different requirements when it comes to location. In general, however, it should be light and warm around the regrow plants.

The instructions for a total of 21 plants to regrow at home can be found in the Book Regrow your Veggies, which was written 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 beauty of regrowing is that for many plants it is fairly easy to do, making it ideal for gardening with children. The following plants offer a very good chance of success that new life will soon grow from the stalk:

• spring onions
• leek
• Romaine lettuce
• celery stalk

Regrowing of pineapple

There are also plants that are not so easy to regrow. The supreme discipline is, for example, the 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 placed in water to pull out the first roots. Then the pineapple trunk comes into a pot with soil and now wants a very bright and warm location. A bright conservatory, for example, is ideal, since this is where the exotic lady feels most reminiscent of her tropical homeland.

With a lot of love and a little luck, after about 3 years, a small mini pineapple can grow out of the middle of the plant. But even if that doesn't happen because the plant was perhaps a little too cold, you have grown a beautiful houseplant from what you think is kitchen waste.

For more regrowing guides and videos, check out the following articles:

• regrow vegetables
• regrow herbs