Testing to see if the mushroom stalk will grow
tiny mushroom babies.
Growing Indoor
Kitchen Scraps
Why not take composting to a new level? Instead of throwing
out your scraps into the compost bin, how about trying to grow new crops from
the bits you have left over after cooking. There are a lot of vegetables to
try. Anything with a bit of root will do for a start such as carrots or parsnips;
these will set out new shoots from the central crown of the cut top when left
is a saucer of water with some tissue in it. It’s a great way to get children
involved in both seeing how things grow, and getting them active in the
kitchen.
In the growing season it’s also been proved that if you put
the cut tops of cut vegetables like carrots around the actual crop in the
vegetable patch, it distracts the carrot fly away from the carrots you will be
harvesting later in the season. Some sceptics do say that doing this might
attract the pests in the first place, they might have a point.
Here are some suggestions for growing on the windowsill:
Spring onions (Scallions)
Take the left over white roots and place them in a container
with a small amount of water in it. Within no time new sprouts will come us. Change
the water once a week to stop it smelling.
Onions
Use the root bit that’s cut off when prepping. Place in a
saucer or put into pot with some soil in it.
Lemon grass
Lemongrass is great for juicers. They grow the same as grass
so cut them when about 6-12 inches tall with scissors. They should just keep
coming back.
Lettuce, Celery and
Cabbage
Use the crown pieces after cutting. They can also be placed
in water or into moist soil.
Ginger
Interestingly different. The ginger root will sprout easily
when put in contact with soil. Just pull it from the ground, trim a bit off
then place it back into the soil again.
Potatoes
Pick either a small full potato or cut a big one up so that
each piece has an eye (growing point) These will grow very easily in soil. You might see just how desperate potatoes are
to sprout when you leave them in the cupboard for too long, so I don’t think
they will be too demanding to grow. Sweet potatoes will be grown in the same
way.
Garlic
One clove will produce a new bulb eventually but if you just
want a bit of green garlic trimming then cut the new growth off as it appears
to garnish your salads.
Mushrooms
Mushroom make for an interesting growing project. There are spores you can get that just
sprinkle onto the soil surface before leaving in a dark place. You can get
these in most garden centres now. The
way I am experimenting is by cutting off the stalk then pushing it into moist
compost. Apparently (I don’t know this for sure yet as mine has only just gone
in) the stalk will produce little baby mushrooms which can be harvested. I’ll
keep you posted.
Pineapple
Cut the tops from the fruit and trim it of the moist flesh. Place
the top in a bit of soil and eventually it will send up ne shoots from the
crown.
Avocados
The large seed in an avocado can be spiked with three
cocktail sticks and placed on a glass just above the water. It will send roots to look for the moisture.
It’s a great one for kids to take an interest in.
Sprouting seeds
As we are on the subject of growing on windowsills, don’t
forget the sprouting seeds. Edible ones such as alfalfa, lentils, mung beans and
chic peas are very widely used. The list
is pretty long of seeds that we can grow to eat too. I haven’t tried a lot of
these, but I might make an effort to grow some over the following months to see
how they do. Some are more common that
others!
Choose from: adzuki bean, almond, amaranth, annatto seed,
anise seed, arugula, barley, basil, navy bean, pinto bean, lima bean, broccoli,
buckwheat, cabbage, canola seed, caragana, cauliflower, celery, chia seed (mint
family), chickpeas, chives, cilantro (coriander), clover, cress, dill, fennel,
fenugreek, flax seed, garlic, hemp seed, kale, kamut, kat (a type of grass
seed), leek, pearl millet, mizuna (Japanese greens), mustard, oats, onion,
black-eyed peas, green peas, pigeon peas, snow peas, peanut, psyllium (husk
fibre from the plantago plant), (pumpkin seeds), quinoa, radish, rye, sesame, soybean, spelt,
sunflower, tatsoi (spinach mustard), triticale (wheat and rye hybrid),
watercress, and wheat berries.
