In a time when trips out are restricted and supplies in supermarkets are limited, being able to make use of what you’ve already got is more important than ever.

When you’re buying in produce, you should think resourcefully. What foods have a long best before date? What meals can you batch cook and freeze? And what foods can you regrow?

Wait, what? Regrow food? Yep, that’s right – you didn’t read it wrong. It’s actually possible to replant and regrow a number of fruits and vegetables yourself. For some, you don’t even need a garden, they can be regrown indoors, in water.

How do I regrow food scraps?

It may seem like a really novel idea, but in fact, gardeners regularly grow crops from pieces of plants. Garlic, for example, is grown from single cloves, and tomatoes and peppers can be started from saved seeds. Even new potatoes are grown from their sprouting “eyes”.

Many vegetables can be regrown simply by cutting off the bottom of the stalk or root of that vegetable and then placing it upright in a shallow bowl of water.

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What vegetables can be regrown?

Below are just a handful of some of the vegetables you can regrow in water:

• Cabbage
• Lettuce
• Bok Choy
• Celery
• Leeks
• Carrot
• Green Onion
• Avocado
• Potato

When trying to regrow foods such as avocado (and potato), you’ll need to stick three or four toothpicks into the seed, evenly spaced about one-third of the way down. You then need to sit the seed on a glass so that the toothpicks support it on the rim. Add enough water to cover the seed’s bottom half and refresh the water regularly. Once the seed has roots and a sprout, you’ll need to transport to a container with soil.

Some vegetables, such as onion and ginger can easily be regrown too, but you’ll need to place the bottom in soil not water.

Watch the video below for a quick demo on how to regrow some of the vegetables mentioned above.

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Time to get growing

We’ve decided to put these theories to the test. We’ve started by trying to regrow our own avocado and also some red cabbage too. OK, so we didn’t have toothpicks, but we think these colourful cocktail umbrellas make it more fun anyway! If there’s any progress, we’ll be sure to share with you!

  

Why don’t you give it a go too? The next time you’re about to throw away your kitchen scraps, think again as you might be able to regrow them. Not only is it a bit of fun and really easy to do, but if it actually works, you’ll save money if you can consume what you grow. By reducing your food waste, you’ll also be helping to lower your carbon footprint.

We’d love to see how you get on, so please share your own attempts at regrowing food with us via our social media channels; you’ll find us at @hoststudentsuk. Remember to use the hashtag #AtHomeWithHost.