6 Fruits and Vegetables You can Regrow from Scraps

So you just sliced up a bell pepper and you're wondering if you can regrow the seeds. Yes, you can! A bell pepper can hold up to 200 seeds. Even after removing any discolored or damaged ones, you'll still have plenty left, promising a bounty of future bell pepper plants.

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Growing new fruits and vegetables from the ones you buy makes you less reliant on store-bought food and can be a cool way to save some money. Here are some other fruits and vegetables you can regrow from scraps:

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Potatoes and sweet potatoes

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When potatoes are left unused, they often sprout. These sprouted sections can be replanted to cultivate new potato plants. Sweet potatoes can also be regrown from sections.If you have a leftover sweet potato, suspend it over a container of water. After a while, it will start sprouting. Separate these sprouts and immerse them in water. Once roots appear, these can be transferred to soil, giving life to new sweet potato plants.

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Root crops like carrots, turnips, radishes and beets

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To regrow root crops, retain the part where the leaves and stems are connected to the roots. Place these tops in containers of water till you see new green tops in a couple of days. At this stage, you can either use the greens (yes, their leaves can be eaten) or continue growing until the plant is ready to be put back into the container.

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Onion family

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You can re-grow store-bought scallions, onions, garlic, leeks, and shallots from the rooting base of the bulb or stem. Take a small portion of their bulb or stem with the roots still attached and place it in shallow water. You will see new green sprouts coming out soon. You can either harvest them or plant them in your garden or pots. Make sure the pots are placed by a sunny windowsill.

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Leafy greens

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You can keep regrowing leafy greens like lettuce and bok choy by retaining their head section and placing it in water. Soon enough, you’ll see new leaves emerging from the head. These leafy vegetables can also be regrown from their leaves. Place the leaves in a bowl with a little water and put the bowl in a sunny spot. Ensure that you mist the leaves with water every few days. Within a week, you’ll see new roots with new leaves. You can put them into the soil.

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Herbs

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Herbs like basil, mint, and cilantro can be re-grown from their scraps. Take a stem of around 10 cm and place it in water, such that the stem is submerged, but the leaves are well above the water level. Soon enough, roots will begin to grow in this setup. Then, you can take these cuttings and transplant them into your garden.

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Fruits

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In tropical areas, you can grow pineapples. Start with a fresh one, remove the top, and suspend it in daily-changed water and sunlight. Roots will appear in a week or two before transplanting.

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Avocados can be grown at home with patience. Wash the seed, suspend it over water covering an inch of the seed, and keep it warm away from direct sunlight. After 6 weeks, when roots appear and the stem is 6 inches tall, plant it.

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Citrus fruits, apples, and pears can be grown from seeds. Apples and pears need outdoor growth, but lemons can grow indoors. After sowing, cover them with plastic for a greenhouse effect. They’ll fruit in a few years and make beautiful houseplants until then.

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We understand that it takes effort to regrow from scraps. So if you are unable to do that, the next best thing to do is composting, which is a great way to return the nutrients to the soil.