5 Reasons To Grow Your Own Food From Food Scraps

Picture this…it’s a chilly night and you’ve decided to make a warming dinner of a hearty vegetable soup. You pull out your knife and cutting board and get to work. You chop a few potatoes and carrots, dice some celery and garlic, and slice a couple green onions. To finish it off, you pull out some parsley and basil for extra pizazz. Once everything is in the pot and the soup is simmering, you start to clean up and prepare to eat. You wash the knife, put the cutting board in the dishwasher, and pull out a bowl. Finally, you scoop all the vegetable scraps into a pile and throw them in the garbage – STOP! Stop right there. Those scraps are not trash! They’re full of life and potential! All of them. Even the carrot tops, Even the green onion roots.  And even the extra sprig of basil. They all can be used to grow new plants. Often, the parts of fruits or vegetables that are thrown away are just what is needed to  start a thriving garden.  Here are my top five reasons to grow your own food from table scraps: IT’S A PERFECT ACTIVITY FOR KIDS I first learned about utilizing food scraps for gardening when I was serving in FoodCorps, an organization with the mission of connecting kids to healthy foods. This was a perfect activity to do with kids because it not only taught them about the importance of eating fresh produce, but it was also something they could easily do at home that provides a sense of empowerment. RELATED: 5 Ways to Cook With Food You’d Normally Toss YOU CAN DO IT IN ANY HOME You don’t need a back yard or even any soil. All that is needed is a piece of produce that was otherwise destined for the trash can.  IT REDUCES WASTE The vision of FoodCorps is “to create a future in which all our nation’s children––regardless of race, place, or class––know what healthy food is, care where it comes from, and eat it every day.” This dream encapsulates many of the benefits of growing plants with kitchen scraps. It reduces waste and saves money, not to mention that it’s just downright fun. RELATED: 4 Simple Ways to Green Your Beauty Routine IT’S AN EASY AND AFFORDABLE ENTRY INTO GARDENING Now, let’s all admit it. Gardening is intimidating. Even after serving a year in FoodCorps and teaching kids how to garden, I’m still sometimes daunted by the prospect of growing my own plants. There are a variety of factors to consider when growing your own food: the type of soil to use, the kind of seed to buy, the amount of sunlight and water the plant will need, how much space the plant will take up, the temperature where it will grow best, and more. The beauty of kitchen scrap gardening is that it takes away many of these worrisome factors. There are no seeds to purchase, there’s little to no extra cost, and many vegetables can be started inside without any soil.  IT ONLY TAKES FIVE STEPS Let’s look at the green onions that were used in preparing the soup. To regrow a green onion, all that needs to be done is to cut off the bottom couple inches of the onion above its roots, place the root piece in a small jar, and fill the jar with warm water so that the bottom half of the onion piece is covered. Then, the next steps are to place the jar in a sunny spot, replace the water every couple of days, and transfer the onion to a bigger jar when it outgrows the one that it’s in. The onion can be planted in soil after it has started growing, or it can be kept in water. Other vegetable scraps such as carrot tops or the base of a celery stalk can be used to start plants following the same steps. Now, you may be saying that it is all well and good to know how to regrow some vegetables, but what about other produce like tomatoes? There’s nothing to fear here either You can even grow plants from fruit scraps, too! When it comes to fruit, it’s all about the seeds. (Yes, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and many other “vegetables” are “technically” fruit.) The trick is to rinse the seeds, dry them completely, and save for planting. The seeds can be planted in a pot or outside in a garden. Easy, peasy. The next time you make soup or any other meal, don’t mindlessly throw away the parts of plants you don’t intend to use. When it comes to repurposing the odds and ends leftover from cooking, the limit is only what you can fit into the grocery cart. When it comes down to it, most produce items can be regrown. All it takes is a simple online search to find out how. And, the little bit of effort it takes is well worth it. There’s nothing more satisfying than eating food grown at home, especially when you’re reducing waste, improving your nutrition, and having fun at the same time.  (photo credit: Shutterstock)

Easy Guide To Growing Herbs Indoors

I have a dream of becoming a plant whisperer. But, the only green on my thumb is from the guacamole I had for a snack.  My family likes to bring up the time that I killed a cactus—a plant that is famous for requiring minimal maintenance and water (oops!). However bad I may be with keeping greenery alive, I am not giving up. So, I reached out to some experts to find the best route to get started with my gardening ambitions. The answer? Start with an indoor herb garden.  Not only is this new hobby good for my mental health, but herbs are great for our bodies too. They add more flavor to food (so you’re using less salt) and they also contain protective polyphenols, which have antioxidant, cholesterol and anti-inflammatory benefits.  “Growing your own food is very rewarding, especially in uncertain times like these,” says Tony Lapiana, founder of Life on the Grow. “Having high quality food will enrich your health and over all well being—and your friends and family will certainly appreciate it when you share with them.”   Sound good? Here’s your guide to starting your own indoor herb garden. You’ll be creating amazing meals in no time. SET UP YOUR INDOOR GARDEN SPACE There are two ways to insure your plants grow—optimal natural light or under grow lights. NATURAL LIGHT: Find a place in your house or apartment that has the brightest light and most hours of sun. You’ll want to have at least six-hours of direct sun for sustainability. GROW LAMPS: There are a number of grow lights that are great for growing herbs. Put the plants at least a foot below the bulbs and use them for 12 to 18 hours a day. “Herbs are incredibly easy to grow in hydroponics,” says Hank Adams, CEO and Founder of Rise Gardens.  BEST HERBS TO GROW INSIDE “If you want something fast and easy, but still exciting, I recommend trying to grow sage,” says Adams. “It has a high germination rate and is relatively fast growing.”  If you don’t have light, try herbs like mint, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. They tend to grow slow, but are resilient to low light environments.  Looking for other herbs to try? Here’s the top eight: Sage Chives Mint Oregano Parsley Rosemary Thyme Basil THE EQUIPMENT The good news is that you don’t need a lot of equipment to grow. Here’s a basic list of supplies:  Soil: Lapiana recommends Promix Organic MP, but says most potting soils will work fine. Good quality seeds Trays: Lapiana uses standard 10×20 trays seed trays, but you can use anything that holds soil. Indoor lighting such as a Barrina LED light fixture or you can even use whatever extra light fixtures you might have laying around the house. Good sharp knife for harvesting KEEPING THEM ALIVE Adams recommends the “Finger Moisture Test.” This is only for soil (in hydroponics you don’t need to worry about moisture). “When you go to water your plant, most people make the mistake of only watering the first inch of their soil because it ‘looks’ wet. To make sure the herbs are getting enough water, put your finger into the soil, you can tell if it’s wet by the roots and go from there,” he explains.  It’s also good to do a little research. “The biggest secret to success (like for most things) is just to put in the time to learn a little before beginning so you avoid the mistakes,” says Lapiana. “Also, I would say that it just takes a little consistent effort and attention to your plants in order to have success.  They will let you know when they are not doing well, but if you ignore them you won’t see the signs until it’s too late.” HOW LONG DO HERBS TAKE TO GROW? Most herbs take 40 days to grow to maturity. Once they are 40 days old, you can continue to harvest them for another 40 to 50 days, or until they grow flowers. “Once they bloom, they send out chemicals that taste bitter or soapy, so it’s best to use them before you see flowers,” explains Adams. THE TECH OPTION Now, kicking it old school may not be your thing. If you want to grow herbs, but not into the soil, planting, slow growing way. You can speed it up a bit using an indoor hydroponic garden.  Essentially, it’s the techy way to grow plants inside. Here are a few options depending on your space and needs. RISE GARDENS The ultimate tech garden is from Rise Gardens. They have a variety of different sizes depending on your space. Their personal garden only takes up 18 inches of space and you can grow you up to 8 plants out of the box. Set up is 10-minutes and the coolest function is that you control it all from your phone. Perfect for apartments!  Personal Rise Garden, $279 CLICK & GROW The easiest by far, Click & Grow give you pods with the soil and seeds within, you put in the box, water and turn on the light. That’s it! The Smart Garden, starting at $70 AEROGARDEN The most basic, but also really easy to use. Aerogarden uses herb pods that you pop in. They use at minimum 60 LED bulbs (for the small Sprout) which will help you grow herbs five times faster than soil. It has an automated timer to make sure the lights go on and off at exactly the right time. A great starter. Aerogarden, starting at $60 HELPFUL GUIDES If you’re ready to try, these two videos really helped. First is a basic beginner guide from Little House on the Garden and common mistakes to avoid from Garden Answer.