Winter Gardening

Too Cold To Garden Outside? Start Inside!

I wear many hats, one of them being President of the local Gorham Garden Club. Recently, I gave a presentation to the club on Winter Gardening, specifically Growing Food from Produce Scraps. Kitchen scrap gardening is the ultimate in recycling and is the perfect activity for keeping busy when snow is on the ground. Additionally, it also offers an environmentally friendly way to save on your grocery bills and is a fun way to get kids interested in gardening. Who doesn’t love a hands-on science lesson? Please note, that not everything will sprout. If you don’t see sprouting results after a week, then compost the scraps and try again. Tip: You get better results if you start with high quality organic produce as some non-organic produce is treated to prevent sprouting.

Here are a few suggestions for the best scraps to grow.

Green Onions (2 plant options)

Cut off the white part of a green onion with little roots.
1. Plant in quality potting soil with root end down. Place in a sunny window and keep watered.
2. Or insert toothpick into green onion piece and suspend in glass, roots down, filled with water.
The green part of the onion will grow back quickly. In less than 2 weeks it will be tall enough to snip off the top to eat. Snip, replant, regrow, repeat.

Celery

Cut stalks 2 inches from the bottom of the celery bunch and place white base in a shallow bowl of water.
Do not submerge the entire piece of celery in the water.
After several days, roots will begin growing from base and leaves will grow from top.
After a week, you can plant in soil with the leaves above the surface.
Plant will continue to grow until a new head of celery to harvest.
Note: Celery is a cool weather crop so plant outside in early spring and not in hot summer months.

Romaine Lettuce

Growing romaine lettuce from scraps is similar to growing green onions and celery.
Cut off the base of the lettuce leaf. Place this romaine heart in water.
New leaves will grow from the center.
Remove outer leaves as they die.
Plant romaine in soil when the time is right.

Garlic

A garlic bulb is made up of individual cloves.
In fall, plant a singular clove, root side down, tapered end pointing up outside in the garden.
In Spring/Summer, harvest when tops begin to yellow and fall over above ground.
You can also plant in soil indoors near a sunny window.

Basil, Cilantro, and other Herbs

Cut the stem about 4 inches long and place it into a glass of water. Do not submerge leaves.
Place in a bright area but out of direct sunlight.
In a few days, roots will be forming.
Once roots are an inch long, transplant into soil.

Egg Shell Planter

Use either cooked or uncooked egg shells.
Remove egg from shell.
Either spoon soil into an empty shell or add a cotton ball.
Place alfalfa seeds or grass seed in the shell, water gently and place in a sunny location.
Keep planting medium damp.
Fun idea: You can draw a face on the shell and cut the “hair” as it grows.

Avocado

After removing the pit from the edible flesh, peel the thin skin off the pit.
Insert toothpick/skewers & suspend the flat end of the pit over the jar with the base of the pit touching the water.
When the sprout from the pit is 6” tall, plant in soil.

Root Vegetable Tops Grown in Sand or Potting Soil

Cut the top of the root vegetable removing all tall foliage.
Plant the vegetable top with the rounded side and foliage up in a container of gravel, pebbles or sand.
Keep watered.
Tip 1: Make a tent out of a plastic bag over sprouting tops to keep humidity level high for the first few days.
Tip 2: Do not use beach sand as it has too much salt in it.

Hanging Root Vegetables

Cut the vegetables leaving 2-3 inches of root below the top.
Remove all but the shortest bits of foliage, the large leaves will wilt and shrivel.
Hollow out the cut end with a vegetable peeler or melon baller to create a reservoir.
Stick in toothpicks or skewers. Tie on Strings and hang in a sunny place.
Keep water reservoir filled
Tip: Placing a plastic bag around the entire root and foliage for a few days will help ensure success.

Citrus, Apple and Pear Seeds

Soak seeds in warm water overnight.
In a pot with moistened soil, stick your finger into soil up to the first knuckle.
Put seed into the hole.
Gently push the soil into the hole to cover the seeds and gently water.
Keep the soil moist but not soaking wet.
Wait patiently! : )

Pineapple

Twist off top of the crown.
Remove little leaves at base, (3 or 4 sets) exposing roots.
Place in a small pot, 4 inches across. Making a little hole. Just the roots. No soil on the crown.
Needs to dry out between watering.
Growth will come from the center.
Needs warm temps of at least 60 degrees.
Note: Plant needs 8-9 hours of sunlight to produce fruit. 4 hours only of sunlight to produce foliage.

Yams, Sweet Potatoes and Potatoes (2 options to plant)

Insert toothpicks or skewers into your choice of potato to suspend it in water.

Position potato ½ in and ½ out of water in a jar or glass, with some eyes above and below water level.

In one week you will see growth. In 6 weeks the vine should be about one foot long.

Small regular potatoes can be planted whole.

Larger potatoes can be cut up, making sure several eyes on each piece.

Allow pieces to dry for a couple of days to prevent rotting.

Plant the pieces in garden or container filled with well drained potting mix and wait for them to sprout.

In a few months, you will have a batch to dig up.

Note: Sweet potatoes should be started in a warm bright location. “Regular” potatoes are best in cool, dark place. Sweet potatoes do not have eyes and can be planted whole. To get more than one plant from a single sweet potato, the sweet potato can be cut up and suspended in water as above instructions.

Sprouting Seeds

Please Note: Some seeds can be sprouted to eat such as Alfalfa, Mung Beans, Broccoli, Wheat Berries and Radish. These seeds should be obtained from a Health Food store and designated as “Seeds for Sprouting”. Do not sprout seeds for eating that have been treated and are intended for use in the garden. Any garden seed can be sprouted in a jar wedged between the glass and a stiff piece of paper or on a piece of paper towel between two panes of glass (which have tape around edges for safety) and resting in a shallow pan of water. Watch the roots go down and the sprouts go up... no matter which way they are planted.
Wash the jar and put in about a tablespoon of seeds.
Add water to cover seeds.
Secure cheesecloth or a lid with a screen or a perforated lid to the top of the jar.
Let soak overnight.
In the morning, drain the water leaving cloth or screen in place.
After a few hours add more water and drain. Rinse 2 times a day to keep moist but not wet.
When the sprouts are 1 inch long, put them into the bright light.

Don’t just stop with vegetable scraps. There is more recycling you can do with your “compostable” scraps. Rinse off the slimy, seedy insides of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, pumpkins, winter squash and allow them to dry thoroughly. Plant them in a container inside. When seeds have sprouted a few inches they will be ready to be transplanted outside in the garden.

Just remember, you don’t need to be a professional gardener or be the president of a garden club to be able to turn your compositing scraps into new and edible food treasure. Give it a try. I would love to hear “How Your Garden Grows.”