Growing Plants from Garden Scraps

Kid-friendly Experiments that Turn Your Garbage into an Indoor Garden

You may not have realized it, but there is a literal garden waiting to be grown in your very own kitchen. You've certainly noticed seeds in your citrus and apples, but did you know you could also grow an avocado plant from a pit and sprout a fun carrot plant from the carrot top, or a pineapple plant from the pineapple top?

Kids will love experimenting with kitchen scraps to see what they can grow. While many of these scraps will not produce actual fruit, they will grow into plants that will brighten up a kitchen window sill. Kids will be amazed that they were able to grow a real plant from something that otherwise would have been garbage.

In the spirit of recycling, try using washed out yogurt, sour cream or cottage cheese containers for potting where applicable. Just make sure you make a hole for drainage in each container.

Carrot top

Carrot tops will sprout and grow into bushy plants, but will not grow another carrot. You can start your carrot top either in a pot of soil or on a newspaper lined plate. Cut off the top about 2 inches from the crown. If there is any green on your carrot, cut it off.

If growing your carrot top in dirt, place the carrot just below the soil line in a pot. Keep the soil damp and in a few weeks, new leaves should begin to emerge.

To grow your carrot on a plate, line it with newspaper and add enough water to make it nice and damp. Place carrot tops directly on the newspaper and add water to the newspaper often enough to keep it damp. Leaves should sprout in a few days.

One more carrot sprouting method is to fill a shallow bowl with small pebbles or marbles. Push the carrot tops into the pebbles or marbles and fill the bowl with lukewarm water. Place the bowl near a sunny window and in a few days you will see the pretty fern-like sprouts of the carrot.

Your carrot plant will last until it out grows it's container. It also makes a fun table decoration.

Pineapple Top