The Green Chef Have you ever thought of getting rid of going to the market every week, and plant vegetables at home? Believe me, you don’t need a big garden, just moist soil, food leftovers and a glass of water
Growing vegetables is one of the oldest forms of livelihood. They are practical, delicious and very easy to grow, in a totally affordable way. Before you throw your food waste in the bin, find out what you can grow in your home.
1 – Romaine lettuce
Get rid of pesticides and produce your own food. To grow romaine lettuce, simply bury the root removed before washing the food and leave in a sunny, damp place.
2 – Onion
After cutting the onion, let the parts that hold the skin dry for a few days. Then make a space in a pot and put the remains inside and let it grow. Harvest the food before it grows too large on the soil.
3 – Basil
Leave the leaf with a piece of stem and place it in a glass of water. Change the liquid after a few days, until the roots are five centimetres long. Then, you can plant the herb in the soil for it to grow further.
4 – Celery
Place the base of the plant in a container of water for three days. When small leaves emerge in the middle, plant it in the ground with the leaves sticking out of the soil. Then just water it periodically and provide it with sunlight.
5 – Chinese cabbage
Repeat the same method as with celery. However, pay attention, as Chinese cabbage grows quicker and should be transferred to the pot in about a week.
6 – Spring onion
Place the base of the food in a glass of water and let the roots grow for about 10 days. Then transfer them to the ground.
7 – Carrot leaves
Carrot leaves are great for seasoning or to put in a salad. This method doesn’t work for growing the whole vegetable, just the green part. When cutting and peeling the carrot, set aside about two inches near the head, and dip half of it in a bowl of water. Leave it in a sunny place, such as a windowsill, and the leaves will emerge in a week or two.
8 – Garlic sprouts
Many people don’t know, but a kind of thick leaf grows from garlic and can be used to make vegetable stock, for example. To make them grow, you should take a very ripe clove of garlic and place it in a glass with about a finger of water, or even less, since the food should be left with only the tip in contact with the liquid. Leave it in the window for a few days and watch the sprouts growing.
9 – Lemongrass
Place the herb in a glass of water filled halfway up. After a few days, the roots will have grown and you can replant it in the ground.
10 – Ginger
Take some rhizomes (underground stems) that have sprouts and plant them in the soil. It may take a few months, but you will see some little plants coming out of the soil.
11 – Sweet potato
Place a whole potato in a glass jar. Do not let the end of the food touch the bottom of the pot, which should be slightly more than half full of water. When the roots are approximately five centimetres long, plant the vegetable in the ground.
12 – Pineapple
In the same way that you place the sweet potato in a glass jar, you should place the crown of the pineapple. The tip of the crown should be submerged in water for three weeks so that the roots grow and can be transferred to the ground a few months later.
13 – Potato
Planting potatoes on asphalt, as the popular saying goes, may be impossible, but you can do it at home. Once the food is past its prime, cut it into pieces, bury it and let the magic happen with water and sun.
14 – Mushrooms
Take a bread bag and fill it with moist soil. Leave three mushrooms loose on the surface for three months, always making sure that the soil is still a little wet. It may take a while, but you will have a mushroom garden without any effort.
15 – Avocado
Save the large seed in the middle of the fruit and pierce it with several toothpicks. Then place the end of the toothpicks in a full glass of water so that only the tip is in contact with the liquid. When the roots start to grow, put half the seed under the soil and moisten the spot periodically.
