How I Grow My Edible Garden Right inside Our Kitchen: The Grocery Game Challenge 2016 #1 Nov 7-13 (2024)

Why buy when you can plant an edible garden right inside your kitchen? Why toss your vegetable scraps into the trash bin when you can regrow them instead? This post is not about starting your own garden per se, but more about how to recycle and regrow your vegetable from discards.

Reaping what we sow from our edible garden

Before we started our edible garden, my family of four usually spent around $600-700 a month on groceries. Fruits, veggies (including those that are canned and frozen), rice and other perishable goods rarely come cheap so we usually spend around $70-90 for these items per every grocery trip. Now as our edible garden grows, we are saving around $20 per week on veggies based on their costs off the shelf. It might not be much now but having an accessible food supply 24/7 is so much worth it!

Aside from saving a lot of money because I could dramatically reduce my trip to the veggie aisle, this practice is also something that had improved my family’s health. Growing veggies in the kitchen (and later transferring them to pots outdoors) has been a fun family project. My kids are just fascinated with our plant’s daily growth, likewise, they are also curious on how they taste!

All organic goodness

Now before I start, let me tell you that all veggies I used are either given by my amateur gardener friends, bought at the local weekend farmer’s market or at the nearest’ supermarket organic counter. I would rather not cook and consume plants and meat that are grown at the big farms. Conventionally grown greens off the shelf are chock-full of fertilizers, irradiated to the core and bathed continuously with pesticides.

You’ll be surprised that the people who handled your greens are dressed like there is an epidemic outbreak, just to handle these pesky chemicals. That is notwithstanding your probability to pick a Frankenstein GMO fruit or veggie off the shelf, which is also likely since they look fresh for longer amounts of time.

These are the fruits and veggies that I would rather handle with a ten-foot pole. I cannot stress this enough, just imagine all that chemicals and GMO in your mouth and gut. No good but just yuck! So the best thing to do for your health and budget is to plant a garden!

Related: Planting Tips For Your Vegetable Garden To Protect Your Investment

Common veggies that you can soak and regrow

1. Cabbage, bok-choy, and lettuce

All it takes to regrow these crunchy greens is to cut its thick base and then to soak them in a glass or jar of water. Replace the water daily and put the plant in a window with ample sunlight. In a week or two, new leaves and stalks will slowly emerge. Transfer them to a pot when they are at least five inches tall.

When fully grown, just cut out some leaves and stalks for your salad and it will regrow again. This technique might not work on winter’s freezing temperature and less sunlight. You can still experiment at all seasons but as per my experience, their scraps can grow easier during summer and spring, and in some cases in autumn too.

2. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other root crops

These common root crops are the most likely to accumulate a large amount of pesticide. After hearing this fact, I decided to grow them on my own. When left at room temperature (do not refrigerate these roots) they tend to form some shoots or sprouts called “eyes”.

Just cut the potato in third or half, with each sprout equally distributed on each cut. They will later form the plant’s stem and leaves. Plant each of these cut potato in a pot rich with compost. You can also do the same with your ginger and turmeric.

Related: How to grow pot potatoes at home

3. Leeks, celery, and lemongrass

When I buy them organic, they usually have some of their root intact. As long as there are at least two inches of that thick fleshy base, you can regrow them easily. Soak in a glass of water the thick base and root. Replace this water every day.

In a few days, you will see additional roots and greenish stem. When this happens, you can now transfer this to a pot and place it in a well-lit window. Once these plants form their flower and later some seeds, you can use them to replant and expand your edible garden.

4. Onion and garlic

These two are always in my recipes and they didn’t come cheap. These bulbs are also loaded with harmful chemicals to make them last long at the store. Those are the reasons why planting them is a wise decision. To start, separate from the bulb each clove and immerse in a glass of water. Observe daily.

In just a few days, you will see some shoots forming. When this happens, it’s about time to transfer it to a pot of soil. They can survive even with less water so just spray some sparingly. Once they start to form shoots, you can cut some of this green stem to top your stews and salads.

5. Basil

This fragrant herb is the easiest to grow indoors. All it takes is to put the stem with leaves intact in a glass of water. The water line must reach just half of the stem, do not soak the leaves. Put them in a well-lit area at the window. Just replace the water daily and watch the roots grow. Once there are at least three inches of roots that have formed, you may now transfer them to some small pots or at a hanging vegetable bag.

Related: Too Much Fresh Basil? Make Basil Cubes for the freezer

6. Fruits

It is also possible to grow your head of pineapple just by being selective in terms of cutting. Just leave out the thick core and crown and let it immerse in water. Even avocado can be grown by soaking half level of its seed into a bowl of water. As for tomatoes, instead of throwing the seeds to the trash, dry them instead. Plant the dried seeds on a fertile soil. Under the right conditions and some tender loving care, they will grow.

Herbs that you can grow even without soil, just water!

You can always buy a bottle of dried herbs, although they rarely come cheap; yet nothing beats the taste of fresh herbs off your plate. Now, this experiment of mine has already been going for a few months now. After learning from my apartment-dweller friend how he managed to grow some herbs even without soil, also tried it out. I called it my edible vase garden. It’s just as simple as soaking some them in a jar of water.

*Take note not to soak the leaves.

As usual, just replace the water regularly and let them capture some sunshine. The ones that had grown thick roots and had survived for months now on simply water are basil, oregano, spearmint, sage and lemon balm. I have yet to try out some tarragon, thyme and peppermint stem; yet based on these plants composition, the all-water habitat might also work for them.

Other tips on how to save money on your veggies

• Give and take with your friends

There are lots of perks with having friends who also grow their own food. If your friends, family, and neighbors are not yet into edible gardening, encourage them to try it for themselves. Giving out and exchanging our excess fresh harvest is one of the best ways to help our communities be sustainable.

• Be patient and tend to your garden

Pruning, weeding, dividing and composting for your plants takes time; yet this is the best way to expand your vegetable garden faster. If you have limited land space to plant, you can also try to make a vertical garden. Possibilities abound! All it takes is for you to research, replant and ask around.

So excuse me for now, as I’ve got to water my edible garden.

Thank you and hope I was able to help.

Sarah Morgan

Discussion Question:

What indoor edible garden vegetables, fruits or herbs have you grown?

Post Contribution : Sarah Morgan. A sister, a daughter, a wife, but most especially a mother. Being a mother makes me realize that life is a great adventure. No day is always the same, which makes every day so much more exciting.

November Grocery Game Challenge

Join in the 2016 Grocery Game Challenge (GGC) fun and post your grocery shop in the comment section of each GGC blog post. Here are the rules to get you started and where you’ll also find a link for the updated 2016 GGC schedule. Please feel free to download, save and even print the schedule so it’s handy.

New monthly prize: $10 President’s Choice Gift Card for Canadian residents only BUT If you want to play from outside of Canada and have PayPal and you win I will pay you $10 Canadian. I use a random online generator to pick the winning ballot every month.

Congratulations goes to our October GGC Winner Ballot #17 Dee!!

If you missed any grocery game posts for the month I will post the line-up each week below for you so you don’t have to go looking for past GGC posts for the month. Alternatively, just click on the “Grocery Game Challenge” tab on the blog side-bar to see past posts.

November Grocery Game Posts

• 4 Costly Kitchen Distractions To Avoid While Cooking

Food Basics

• 1 x Sealtest Milk 2% $4.27
• 2 x 5pk avocado bags Sale 2/$5
• 2 x Cauliflower Sale 2/$5
• Bagged Spinach Sale $1.88
• Radishes $1.99 1lb
• 6 x Lactancia Cream Cheese Sale $1.99 each
• 4 x 500ml Whipping Cream Lactancia Sale $2.49 each
• Ranch Salad Dressing $1.99
• Schneiders Half Ham $5.97
• Romaine Lettuce $1.97
• Bananas $1.85

Total Out-of-Pocket $51.73

Metro

• Cavendish Potatoes Sale $1.50 5lbs
• 1lb Mushrooms Sale $2.99
• 2lbs tomatoes Sale $2.99

Total Out-Of-Pocket $7.48

Costco

• Salerno Mozzarella $20.00
• Calabrese Hot Salami $15.99

Total Out-Of-Pocket $36.00