Believe it or not , some of your kitchen scraps have use beyondthe compost heap ! There are some fruit and vegetables that can be regrown — not to what they were before , but enough to get another role or two out of new sprout . Scrap gardening is a with child direction to bring your kids into the world of nature , divvy up your love of horticulture , and teach them the wages of growing industrial plant .
What is scrap gardening?
flake gardening is mildly self - explanatory . It involves taking the scraps from your kitchen ( usually the inedible portion of the food for thought that typically get thrown away ) and implant them to grow something new . This is often done indoors but can be done outside in affectionate month and in hardiness zones with warm climates . When doing it out of doors , you could either trash garden in containers or make a diminished designate garden box .
For parent who are looking to introduce their kids to horticulture , or get them involve in a fun outdoor summer activity , this method is a go - to ! Not only will they watch you repurpose the bottom piece of lettuce that ’s commonly bewilder out , they ’ll also get to develop and care for something alongside someone they love ( hint : that ’s you ! ) .
Getting the kids involved
One of the sound feelings for a parent who garden is puzzle to portion out their passion of nature and plants with their kid . So , let ’s do some scrap gardening kids can take part in ! Almost any child will enjoy the responsibility and independency that comes with taking caution of their own plant , and fleck horticulture is low-spirited - risk . Because you ’re taking something that would otherwise get thrown away , you wo n’t have to worry about all the new plant life you buy at the nursery going without care . If your minor blank out to irrigate the scraps for a day , it becomes a lesson in how authoritative it is to provide proper charge .
Scrap horticulture gives you the opportunity to bond with your kid while teaching them about how nature forge . They ’ll get to see first hand how thing can develop and flourish if we care for them as best we can ( and in this digital age , it ’s a great path to get them off the couch and out in the sun ) . Because you ’ll most likely be fight gardening out of doors in the summertime , it ’s also a neat way to keep their head active while they have time off from school .
If you prefer for the small outdoor garden box seat , your kid will love having their own garden to take care of . They can even make a little sign with their name ( for example , Abi ’s Garden or Cailey ’s Cuttings ) to individualize it . Having a task where your child experience like it ’s their own not only serve encourage their learning , but it lets them have playfulness , too !
Best foods for scrap gardening
Not every food will be well for chip gardening . Some of the good products to use are Irish potatoes , celery , pineapple , orchard apple tree , sweet Irish potato , citrus fruits ( like orange and hydrated lime ) , scallions / onions , bread , garlic , and more . We ’ll go over a couplet you ’re more potential to have around the sign , but be indisputable to look into the specific grow need for whichever flake you ’re taste to regrow . Some may need to be spring up in water alternatively of soil and some may call for to be started indoors before being transplanted to a garden bottom .
Lettuce from scraps
Growing cabbage from scrapsis actually passably wanton ! The next clock time you witness yourself with a promontory of lettuce in your fridge , you ’ll want to harbor onto the philia ( the bottom part that all the leaves connect to ) . Lettuce can either be regrown in shallow water or planted forthwith into a garden bed , make it a perfect option depending on the space you have .
Either direction , you ’ll have to start up the center in about a half - in of water . Once Modern leave begin to sprout , you could have your kiddo helper transplant the heart into their scrap garden . You do n’t want to plant it so deep in the ground that you fully bury the new leaf , so make certain the old centre is only thinly covered with enough soil . Water as needed , and you should be capable to regrow enough lettuce for at least a small side salad ! ( And who knows , maybe your child will love vegetables a piece more after learning how to spring up them . )
Onions from scraps
onion are middling easy to turn from scrap , too , and there ’s a adept chance you ’ll have an special one in the pantry . Because of the knife ask in chip gardening , tyke should mostly be in charge of stab the holes and planting the scraps , and then you may irrigate them together . The onion is no exception .
To start , you ’ll need to cut off the onion plant bottom with the roots intact . You should aim to keep an in and a half to two inches of the onion with the base . Once cut , set it aside in a low - lit , well - ventilated country for up to two days so it can callous over . You ’ll know the onion plant is quick for set when the cut side is dry and a minute shriveled .
Onions benefit from being start indoors , but instead of piddle , you ’ll desire to have your kid plant them in a starter pot that ’s two - third gear filled with shit . you’re able to help by filling the pot for them , or countenance them do it themselves ! Place the onion plant in a small indent in the middle of the dirt ( ascendant side down ) , then cover with one to two in of potting mix .
Once a few leaves have grown , you could take the onion plant out of the starter pot , move out the remaining portion of the old onion plant from the unexampled root , and then replant them in the scrap garden seam . You ’ll want to cut back the new leaves to about one - third of the size of it so that the bulb has way to develop . With supervising , this is something you could easy teach your kid . Kids love to feel “ turn up , ” and knowing safety around gardening tools is evenly as important as the gardening itself .
Once planted and trimmed , you’re able to either harvest the result as unripe onions or fully - developed onion bulbs .
Can you scrap garden year-round?
Yes ! Because scrap gardening can be done both indoors and outdoors , it ’s an activity you’re able to do with your kids year - round . It ’s a very flexible action that lends itself to indoor container ontogenesis , which is perfect for cold calendar month or for homes that do n’t have a luck of out-of-door space . You may not be capable to grow as much in a container as you could in a small garden seam , but if the goal here is to share a sexual love of plants with your child and teach them about nature , that can easily be accomplish .
