Growing food for free- The price is right.
In a world were for most of us money is tight, and the waste around us seems to be unnecessarily excessive to say the least, any way we can reuse things we would normally throw away is a bonus. But I’m here to tell you a lot of the food you have been throwing away (or hopefully at least composting ) you can actually grow more food from. Yes, that’s right, growing food from your scraps, and its surprisingly easy to do!
Strictly Organics here please.
When growing food from your ‘scraps’ its important to choose organic for many additional reasons, other than the numerous obvious benefits of choosing the organic food route. In this case, conventional food is often sprayed with enzyme inhibitors that extend the shelf life, but also restrict the growth when trying to re-sprout them. It’s also important to choose organic for seed saving as in many cases conventional vegetables sold are hybridised into non-open pollinating plants, which means they may not produce viable seeds.
So, what can we grow from scraps? I hear you ask…. Well here is a list of 50 things you can grow for free. Your welcome.
- Lettuce
- Bok choy
- Celery
- Carrots
- Beetroot
- Parsnip
- Swede
- Turnip
- English spinach
- Brussel sprouts
- Spring onion
- Leek
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Tumeric
- Coriander
- Lemongrass
- Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Fig
- Avocado
- Loquat
- Pumpkin
- Zucchini
- Squash
- Gem Squash
- Capsicum
- Chilli’s
- Tomatoes
- Eggplant
- Corn
- Beans/Peas
- Board Beans
- Fennel
- Mint
- Thyme
- Basil
- Sage
- Laksa Mint/ Coriander mint
- Dill
- Coriander
- Cucumin
- Chia
- Mustard
- Flax/Linseed
- Alfalfa Sprouts
- Snow pea Sprouts
Careful Selection Is a Must
When shopping for your weekly fruit and veg at the little big store think about the items on this list and choose accordingly, ie; Picking potatoes with a little bit of growth, selecting the ginger with the biggest growth knobs, selecting the vegetables with roots. Below are prime examples of vegetables that can be re-grown.
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Spice rack seed raid
Seeds in the pantry can be utilised for growing in the garden. Coriander seeds from my pantry have always been so much more successful than any purchased seed & far cheaper! This is beneficial as you can whip up a curry and just throw a teaspoon or so of the seeds into the garden anywhere. This cheap and effective way of planting is great for taking up bare areas of the garden that would otherwise foster weeds, also being pungent plants they are all top companion plants great for deterring pests- Winning!!
Fruit Trees from Seed
Grafting is the safest way of growing fruit trees as there is always a chance your seed may not produce a fruit bearing tree, I find tropical fruit trees have a much higher rate of producing fruit bearing offspring, compared to stone fruit or citrus. Also, grafting an ensure pure genetic origin and no chances of cross pollination of varieties of the same fruit can occur.
Hungry for more?
If you would like to learn more about growing food at minimal cost then why don’t you attend one of our great Organic Gardening Workshops!
Follow the link for more info- https://www.gaiasorganicgardens.com.au/events-and-workshops/
For the full FREE downloadable GROWING FOOD FOR FREE guide visit our downloads page:
https://www.gaiasorganicgardens.com.au/product-category/downloads/
