Would you believe me if I told you that with these methods, you will never have to buy a lettuce, sweet potato, or avocado plant again? No? Prepare to put you wallet away and be amazed: here are 12 plants you should NEVER buy.
You can regrow garlic again and again! Place a garlic clove into a couple of inches of water and wait for it to sprout. Place it in a southern-facing window and watch it thrive!
Romaine lettuce is another vegetable that you should avoid purchasing at all costs. Simply because it is so easy to regrow using old lettuce scraps! Simply place the “root end” of your lettuce head into the soil, and watch it propagate new life. Click the link in the header for a full tutorial if you wanted to learn how to grow a crop for yourself!
Using a stem of basil (one that is at least four inches high) you can completely propagate your own basil plant–from scraps! Place your basil stem in a couple inches of water to get started. Be sure to keep the existing basil leaves above the water! Keep the glass in an area of bright sunlight. After roots have developed on the clippings, you can transplant this to a pot.
Ginger
Place an old cutting of a ginger root into a medium sized pot full of soil. After a week or so, you should begin to notice the root developing new “shoots.” Tropical Permaculture can help you out if you needed further instruction!
Cut an old sweet potato in half and watch it completely re-grow itself! Use toothpicks to “suspend” the sweet potato above water to help it re-grow it’s roots. Use this tutorial from Den Garden for further instruction and advice!
Pineapple
Never buy pineapple again with this grow-tutorial from 17 Apart. Use the “head” of an old pineapple plant to regrow a new one! The process is kind of long, but worth it when you taste the results!
Onions
Regrowing onions is super easy with this article from Natural Remedies Daily. Leaving one half of the onion root, cut the root down and place it into a pot. Cover with potting soil. Keep in an extremely sunny area and water it every couple of days!
When Halloween rolls around, be sure to save the seeds from your hand-carved Jack-O-Lanterns! These seeds can be used to grow a field of pumpkins! Plant these seeds directly into your garden soil next spring, and you’ll never have to buy pumpkins for Halloween again!
Next time you make tamales, keep the seeds from your peppers! Plant the leftover seeds in potting soil and place them in an area of direct sunlight, Water directly after planting and when the first two inches of soil feel dry!
Instead of throwing away your tomato seeds, rinse them and plant them again! Plant them in a small pot full of potting soil. After the plants are a few inches tall, transplant them outdoors! Works especially well for heirloom varieties such as brandywine!
Place scraps of Cilantro in a shallow glass of water and leave in an area of bright light. After a few weeks, you will notice roots beginning to develop.Transplant them into a larger pot!
Grow a brand-new cherry tree from the pit of a store bought cherry! Seriously! Place the pit in your freezer for a few weeks to promote seed germination. After, place the pit in potting soil and watch it sprout! Click the link in the header for more information on propagating cherries!
Now, here’s one plant you SHOULD buy: String of Turtles, an amazing vining plant with delicate patterned leaves.
About the author: Jenny Wallentine is a master gardener, home remodeling enthusiast, and DIY-er. She is also the co-founder of Origins Genealogy, a company specializing in helping adult adoptees find their birth parents, people to find adopted siblings, and folks to get in touch with their genetic origins. When not remodeling a house or snowmobiling in the mountains, Jenny can be found enjoying her grandchildren.
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