1. Do Something With The Sweet Potatoes
Pretty sure that's how my to-do list needs to start.
These need to either be cooked or planted because soon, those shoots are going to be so tall, I won't be able to shut my drawer properly.
Did you know there are other instances where you can plant food that might otherwise go to waste?
You can stick garlic cloves in the ground, and they'll grow into a new head.
If cilantro or another herb has roots, it can be planted.
Green onions almost always come with the roots attached, and I've successfully planted them.
And of course, sweet potato and regular potato chunks can both be buried to grow more potatoes.
I'm sure some of you experienced gardeners can name a few more types of produce that are gardening-friendly...have at it in the comments!
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Today's 365 post: A vole has been here.
Joshua's 365 post: Starbuck (no, not the coffee)
Celery will regenerate if the butt end with some roots is replanted.
Those are some pretty impressive shoots!
As I understand it not all potatoes will sprout these days. Non-organic potatoes are often sprayed to prevent a single purchase from leading to "free potatoes". 😉
Also, yes you can plant plain ole garlic cloves. It takes a reeeeaaaallly long time to grow garlic. Like over winter.
I think the motivation for the tater spraying is that consumers (generally) don't like their taters sprouting. As it happens, I was delighted to realize that my organic Yukon Gold taters were sprouting, as it saved me from buying seed potatoes. But that was a fortuitous accident.
Wow. I don't think I've ever had sweet potatoes sprout on me. That is impressive! Maybe it's because I store mine in the fridge.
Great reminder, I've some sweet pots in the cupboard. Time to knock up a mean spicy sweet potato and lentil slow cooked soup me thinks!
I've had good luck growing new green onions from grocery store green onions that were too wilted to eat. I just cut off the saggy green top, placed in a small container of water (with enough water just to cover the roots), and then put on a sunny windowsill. They grow and grow and you can just snip off what you need! You just have to remember to rinse the roots/change the water in the container every other day.
Are you freaking kidding me? This is amazing!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to try!
I use sweet potatoes that I grew the pervious year, so I don't know if it will work as well with sweet potatoes from the grocery. Just place one end of the potato in a jar of water & lots of sprouts will shoot up from the other end. Last year I used three potatoes & ended up with about 20 new sprouts. Planted them in my garden & ended up with about 35lbs of sweet potatoes in the fall! Fascinating!! And they require very little care. Working on another crop for this year. FREE sweet potatoes 🙂
That's new to me....never thought of regenerating wintered veggies... If u decide to do something with those sweet potatoes... Try something different like coriander and sweet potato mash - really good and low gi...goes great with a nice steak/fillet or with a more spicy stew/curry... Yum!
You can plant a pineapple top. Just cut the top off and put it in dirt. I have one that I planted a year or two ago, and it is huge now! The longest leaves must be two feet long.
I've also tried planting the pit from peaches and plums, but I've never had anything come up from them.
I've planted green onions too, but put mine in dirt instead of water. They are growing great and several of them bloomed. I probably should have cut off the blooms to keep using the leaves, but I wanted to see how they would turn out.
Pineapples take 4 years to produce fruit, so you may still get some!
You must live somewhere warm 🙂
Nope, I live in central Canada, plenty of cold here. I just have my pineapple planted in a pot indoors.
I hope I get a fruit from it. That would be great. Now I'll just have to wait a couple more years.
I've grown grapefruit from the seeds, but since I live in frozen Canada, it's just a nice smelling house plant 🙂
I have celery planted in the garden at the moment, as per Lindsey's comment, some lemon grass growing in a pot that came from a supermarket packet and I'm attempting to grow some sprouted ginger too.
yum I like sweet potato 'fries' in the oven or cut into 'round slices' and browned in canola in a skillet.
Susanna
I haven't tried planting scallion bottoms yet. There's so little white and light green that each time I get some, I'm reluctant to rob my dinner. But it's spring and I have some extra space in the veggie patch so I guess I'll give it a go. Anyone know how much plant I need to leave on the roots?
Melon, pumpkin, and sweet pepper seeds are also good candidates. I've stopped composting gourd and pepper seeds because they always sprout in the pile. I always uproot them so I don't know what kind of plants grow from commerical gourd and pepper plants. Maybe someone else can report?
We end up doing sweet potatoes most years (because we forget!) I really like the leafy ground cover they make and the potatoes in the fall are a nice bonus.
I think it's a good idea to plant some sweet potato slips...we've also planted lettuce - the kind that comes with the root attached...
http://affectioknit.blogspot.com/2011/07/its-alive.html
http://affectioknit.blogspot.com/2011/07/lettuce-update.html
Have a lovely day!
I have two sweet potatoes sprouting also. I live in an apartment. I could try to pot them. What exactly would I need. I do have a sun porch that I share w a neighbor. The only other place would be my kitchen which can be freezing cold from the window a/c unit in the summer.
I would think the best place for them would be the sun porch. They need lots of sun and lots of space and they don't like cold so the a/c might not be good for them. They will need a much bigger pot/more dirt than most other plants because they grow sweet potatoes on their roots.
I grew regular potatoes on my balcony last year, and I used large potting soil bags. You could also try a large barrel. I would think it would need to be at least 3 feet deep, and more would be better.
I enjoyed the tips you are providing on your frugal living can make life easier by providing long term living for doing something one time.Thanks for the the information......
If you just pick off the sprouts and put them in water, you'll end up with a sweet potato vine. You can pot it in dirt after you get some good root growth. It makes a lovely vine to use as a house plant or a hanging plant outdoor. It could also be a learning experience for the children.