Growing from Scraps! ...Garlic

If you have ever left your garlic in the bag for any length of time, then you know how very easy it is to get it started growing!  What you probably don't know is that you can re-grow a full bulb of garlic from each clove that is on the bulb!  It's so easy and fun to watch too!

Here's my original post on how I ended up with an "Unplanned Garlic Garden":

About a week or so ago I bought a package of Organic Garlic to use for cooking.  I had planned on planting for re-growing in an attempt to save a little more on the grocery bill.  I opened the package, used a couple of the cloves to make some yummy sauce, then mindlessly stuck the package into a zipper bag and stuck it on a shelf in front of my kitchen window.  It never occurred to me that it was in full sun for half of the day and inside of an airtight container that would hold in moisture.

Today, I pulled out my bag to teach my daughter about re-growing things in the kitchen.  Yes, we homeschool! ;)  This is what I found...

Well, of course I was excited!  It saved a little bit of time.  Therefore what we did next was the natural thing to do... PLANT IT!  Here are the pictures from our "Unplanned Garlic Garden".  I will keep you updated as we see them grow!

The first thing I did was peel them apart very carefully and peeled away the "shuck".

Then, I gathered things I had around the house to plant them in:  12 peat pots, a Christmas baking pan to "catch" the water, and Miracle Grow Organic Choice potting mix.

Next, I just put each clove into a pot, pointed side up and covered with dirt.  Now, they are back in my kitchen window to grow!  Each pot will produce an entire head of garlic, so I should never run out!  Once they grow a little more, I will cut the green tops off so the plant can focus on making a nice, large head of garlic before I harvest them in a few months.

Please be sure to let me know if you have any experiences with "re-growing" fruits and veggies from kitchen scraps!  I would love to hear all about it!  ~God Bless, Melanie

Growing from Scraps! ...Celery

One thing that I really love about growing food from scraps is that most of them grow really fast!  It may take a bit to see an actual harvest, but daily (sometimes hourly!) you can see changes that let you know your food is growing!  Here is one thing that you will love to watch grow... CELERY:

It's so easy anyone can do it!  Help your kids cut off the bottom portion of the celery bunch, then allow them to grow their own celery!  Who knows?  They may even eat it if they've grown it themselves! :)

1.  Cut the bottom of your celery bunch as shown.

2.  Place in a container of water with about half of the cutting in the water to root. Sit it near a sunny window.

3.  After about 3 days you will see a cute little stalk beginning to form.

4.  After about another week your celery is growing nicely and you will see roots on the bottom of your cutting.

At this time, you can transplant your cutting into a container filled with potting soil up to the leaves.  Leave the leaves outside of the soil.  Water generously and put back in your sunny window and BE AMAZED at what you will see every day!  Your children will love watching you GROWING FROM SCRAPS!

~God Bless, Melanie

Growing from Scraps!

Did you know there are many ways to grow your own food from the scraps that you throw away every day?  For me, personally, it is exciting and fun watching plants grow!  And, many of them grow really quickly!  All you have to do is know how to take care of them.

I will be doing several posts that will teach you how to "Grow from Scraps!" in your home!  I hope you have as much fun as I do and learn a little something too!  This makes for wonderful projects with your children too... teach them how to grow and to save money by not wasting scraps.

Here is a little sneak peek of my avocado trees that I have been growing since about April.  The avocado tree is a very slow-growing tree and will take years to yield fruit (not really my kinda thing!! lol) but I can't wait to see it when it does!

<<<This picture was taken on July 6, 2013 of my first little tree about 3 months after I first began to root the avocado seed.

This picture was taken today, January 13, 2014. >>>  As you can probably tell, I rooted a second avocado seed and planted them together in the pot.  This is just a little experiment of my own... I guess we will see how it turns out in a few years! lol



I will post in more detail about my avocado tree later!  Stay tuned for the next post on Growing from Scraps!  ~God Bless, Melanie