Aaron Wilcoxson began scrap gardening this spring and has already had success regrowing red and green leaf lettuce, onions and potatoes. Owner and manager of 1000 Park Baking Co. in Winona Lake, Wilcoxson says regrowing vegetables from scraps is really very easy.

Most avid gardeners throw potato peels, onion ends, carrot tops and lettuce roots directly into the compost pile to be broken down into rich soil for plants. While certainly a good thing, it’s not the only way for these kitchen scraps to be used.

Scrap gardening takes as much, or even less, effort and time as throwing scraps into the trash, but instead includes the benefit of re-growing the food to enjoy again and again.

Aaron Wilcoxson began scrap gardening this spring and has already had success regrowing red and green leaf lettuce, onions and potatoes. Owner and manager of 1000 Park Baking Co. in Winona Lake, Wilcoxson read an article about scrap gardening and was intrigued enough to try it out.

The bakery/restaurant already composts food waste, paper products as well as grass clipping from The Village at Winona’s lawns. This compost became the base of their new scrap garden.

“None of us have green thumbs, but it was easy and sounded like a cool idea. It goes with the whole ethos of the local food movement,” said Wilcoxson. “It really does work, too.”

Wilcoxson explained scrap gardening is as easy as taking the root end of a used head of romaine and sticking it into dirt. A couple weeks later, a new head of lettuce appears.

“We use a lot of produce, much of which we have grown right here on the island in a greenhouse. Our small scrap garden doesn’t supply all that we need,” said Wilcoxson, “but it’s a neat thing to have right outside the window.”

Many of the kitchen scraps normally discarded after making dinner can be regrown through scrap gardening. Here is a list of the easiest vegetables to get started.

Onions

Save and plant the root end of a onion. Cover the root plus half inch of onion with soil in a spot full of sun. Keep the soil moist.

Scallions And Lemongrass

To regrow scallions, leeks, lemongrass or fennel, stick the white root end into just enough water to cover the roots and place on a sunny windowsill. Change the water every few days. Within 3-5 days, there will be new growth. Remove the produce as needed, but leave the roots in water to continually harvest.

For lemongrass only, plant into soil after about a week of growth on the windowsill.

Scrap gardening takes as much, or even less, effort and time as throwing vegetables scraps into the trash, but instead includes the benefit of re-growing food to enjoy again and again. In addition to the lettuce pictured above, onions, potatoes, ginger, celery and more can easily be regrown from scraps.

Celery And Lettuce

Just like scallions, take about 2 inches of the root end from celery, lettuce, bok choy or cabbage and place into water. Make sure the roots are in water, but don’t submerge the entire plant. Place on a sunny windowsill and spritz with water every few days to keep the top moist. Within several days, the roots and leaves will sprout. When that happens, plant into soil with only the leaves above the soil. In several weeks, there will be a new plant ready to harvest.

Ginger

Before the last knob of ginger shrivels up in the fridge, put it in a pot of soil. Soon enough, there will be new growth sprouting from the soil. Place the plant in filtered light. When ready to use, pull the entire plant out of the soil and harvest the root. Save a small piece to regrow and begin the cycle again.

Potatoes

When a potato begins “growing eyes,” cut it into two inch pieces, leaving one to two eyes per piece. Leave the pieces out at room temperature for a few days to allow to dry and become callous. Plant each piece eight inches deep in soil and they will regrow.

Garlic

Just place a clove of garlic with the root down into soil in a warm spot with direct sunlight. After the garlic becomes established, cut back the shoots and the plant will put all its energy into growing a garlic bulb.