Book launch “Regrow your Veggies”

Regrowing leftover vegetables is not only child's play - it's also a lot of fun. You can read more about our book about regrowing here.

Who doesn't know this: You cut up all sorts of vegetables for a salad and the unusable stalks fly into the trash can. The fact that you can give this "waste" new life again does not require much effort and rewards you with home-grown regrow vegetables.

We are very pleased to be able to present our first practical book to you today, which was published by Ulmer Verlag: "Regrow your veggies“ provides you with clear instructions and information on how to regrow a wide variety of plants: from spring onions to basil to avocados.

To delve a little deeper into our book, we asked our Plantura co-founder and lead author of Regrow your Veggies, Melissa, a few exciting questions.

Melissa, many people may not have heard of regrowing. How would you explain it in a few sentences?

Regrowing means nothing more than reusing leftover vegetables to regrow them again and thus give them a new life. For example, the bottom part of spring onions usually ends up in the trash. However, if you put the roots in a glass of water for a few days and then repot them in soil, the spring onions will continue to grow happily. So that's already regrowing.

Is it that easy?

It all depends 😉 There are some plants that are pretty easy and quick to use. Others need a little more time and attention.

What vegetables would you recommend for beginners?

Definitely spring onions, romaine lettuce and leeks - these three should really work for everyone.

What is more for advanced users?

Somewhat difficult candidates are, for example, the galangal or the pineapple. It is of course used to tropical temperatures, which is why it is almost impossible to grow a small fruit in our climatic conditions. But you have a great houseplant and even for free.

What are the advantages of regrowing for you?

In my opinion, of course, there are many (laughs). On the one hand, I think it's nice that regrowing avoids waste. In addition, you can literally watch the plants grow on the window sill. So regrowing is also something for people who may not have their own garden. And I also think it's a great way for children to experience a miracle of nature directly.

So regrowing is for the whole family?

Yes, of course - there is no age limit. Even the little ones can join in with a little help and discover the joy of growing them themselves. I would be happy if parents or grandparents could try out different plants with the little ones and learn more about them together.

What is behind regrowing? Why is it so easy to regrow certain plants?

Regrowing is a completely natural process called vegetative propagation. Many hobby gardeners will probably know this from the propagation of cuttings. In vegetative propagation there is no pollination, which would require a male and a female plant. Vegetative propagation is also known as asexual propagation because a new one is obtained from the same plant. Thus, the subsequent plant is a clone of the previous one, since the two plants have the exact same genetic material. But as I said, this is a process that also occurs in nature.

Finally, what can readers expect from your book?

The book is a mix of detailed regrow instructions for over 20 plants and beautiful pictures and drawings to illustrate all the important steps. Of course, there is also exciting background information and expert tips so that everything works. My ultimate goal is for the book to make the readers happy and bring regrowing closer to them.