There are many magical things in life that are easy to take for granted, like a brilliant blue sky or the changing of the seasons. All you have to do is spend a moment contemplating these things and you are likely to feel a sense of awe and wonder.
Like something from a science fiction novel, plants have an extraordinary ability to reproduce themselves without fertilisation. Even your everyday kitchen scraps carry in their cells all the messaging they need to generate countless new versions of themselves. In its simplest form, a small living section of a scrap can be watered and nurtured into a fully revitalised version of its former self. We call this propagation, and it’s mind-bending.
This book will show you how to turn your kitchen waste into edible or ornamental new vegetables, fruits, herbs and plants. We will explain, with simple step-by-step instructions, how to breathe fresh life into your cuttings or germinate dormant fruit seeds which were bound for your waste bin.
There are so many reasons to try regrowing your own scraps. Here are just a few.
| It’s energising and rewarding | Some cuttings visibly show new growth within hours. From that point onwards, you’ll see daily changes to your cuttings. Roots emerge, small green shoots come to life from nowhere and revived crops begin to take on new shapes. There are few things more rewarding than knowing you’ve played a part in something so awe-inspiring. |
| It’s cost-effective | Regrowing scraps and cuttings can reward you with fresh homegrown food which can help reduce your grocery bill. If your shopping habits are anything like ours, you can be caught out when popping down to a local store to grab just a couple of key ingredients, only to return home with far more than you budgeted for. Having a supply of fresh produce growing on your windowsills might mean you won’t have to make the trip in the first place – you won’t even need to put your shoes on to harvest the greens for a fresh summer salad. |
| They look great | The trend for houseplants has seen their monetary value increase in recent years, particularly in urban settings. Many of us have come to appreciate living amongst greenery, not just for the health benefits (including an increased oxygen supply and better sleeping habits), but also for the peaceful and tranquil aesthetic that a room full of plants creates. Growing vegetables in glass containers or in pots of your choice gives you an opportunity to fill your home with new life and positive energy. The winding new roots of an avocado seed in a glass of water have an eye-catching graphic quality when caught in a shaft of light on your windowsill, while the green shoots of root ginger resemble a miniature indoor bamboo plant. |
| It’s good for the environment (and for you) | When you regrow from kitchen scraps, you’re essentially recycling waste. By drawing extra life from your cuttings, you’re helping to reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the need for producers somewhere else in the world to grow your lunch, package it and transport it to your supermarket. You could think of your journey into regrowing as a nod to self-sufficiency. But it’s worth noting that you probably won’t be able to give up the supermarket quite yet, unless you have acres of windowsills in your home. |
| It’s a great way to learn | If you’re new to gardening or growing your own, the task ahead can feel like a minefield of dos and don’ts. A visit to a garden centre or plant nursery can be costly, and not everybody has the space to haphazardly learn by experience, as we have, in allotments (community gardens) or large gardens. So, regrowing your kitchen scraps is a wonderful way to learn and find inspiration in nature without a huge investment (both in time and money). As you progress, you’ll become more and more familiar with what different types of plants need and how to make adjustments to their environments to enhance growth and vitality. Once you’ve mastered regrowing at home, the sky’s the limit. |
