Quick Tip
...things to grow from what you usually throw away!

Really, really inexpensive way to grow veggies...FROM LEFTOVERS!
I apologize for the poor quality of this picture. It is from my cell phone. I am still learning how to
post things on my blog. But, I think you'll get the idea.
Here's what you're looking at. The last of a head of romaine lettuce stem growing new lettuce.
I saw this idea on Pinterest using celery. I had no celery but I did have some just-used-up romaine.
I stuck the stem end down in a shallowly-filled, small cup of water and this is what it looks like (about 2" high) after just a few days----not even a week.
I had no idea this could be done. After I buy more celery I will try that too but meanwhile curiosity has gotten the best of me and I have turned what little amount of counter space I have in my tiny kitchen into a sort of greenhouse with various jars, cups, sitting on the counter in the sunshine. All the lettuce is doing great and sprouting. The broccoli stems (hoping for broccoli rabe---those dark green leaves that most people throw away) but that isn't looking too promising.
I do, however, have a green onion that is putting out a shoot.
The Pinterest pin said to plant them. Not wanting to go dig up soil outside in the cold
I opted to at least start them in water.
I'm excited about this! That may seem strange. But I have done stuff like this
ever since I was a little girl putting weed seeds in soil in cardboard jewelry boxes to see what would grow.
I also save seeds and have a cookie sheet full of pumpkin seeds air-drying in the kitchen and more jars with other winter squash seeds that I air-dried. I have done this for years. I plant them in our garden if we have one each year or just around the property in areas or planters where I want something that grows quickly and covers a lot of area to hide soil or weeds. They are beautiful all summer long and produce edible and decorative fruits for us to enjoy and give away. I come up with some odd varieties because the seeds that grew the original plant were probably a mix of different plant DNA to start with. What we don't care for our chickens trade with us for eggs!
This also works for flowers. The rock pathway to our front porch was once planted with mini-marigolds---the very tiny ones not the dwarf marigolds. After buying more the second year I noticed as I planted the plants that the beds had re-seeded themselves. So, now, I shake the dried plants in the fall wherever I want mini-marigolds and they always come up. I also save large and dwarf marigold seeds when I dead-head my planter flowers. I often just bury them in the planter but usually, not wanting to have them come up before next year I dry them and put them in envelopes to plant later.
I also have glossy house plants I have grown from citrus seed and the tall leafy avocado "trees".
Since we probably won't have a garden this year I will plan on potting sprouted used-up lettuce, celery and whatever else I can get to grow.
For FREE!
How good is that!

Have fun with this.
Kids would probably love this experiment.

Kathi~