SAVE your peelings and scraps, for they can be used to easily grow more fruit and vegetables.
The plant and garden experts from GardeningExpress.co.uk have revealed five fruit and vegetables which can all be grown from scraps:
1. Carrots: The top part of a carrot which you would normally cut off and throw away can be used to grow more carrots. Simply place the top in a small bowl of water, the cut side facing down, then place into sunlight. Ensure that it gets plenty of water each day. Once a shoot is starting to grow you can transfer the carrot top into soil and water as if you were growing a normal carrot.
2. Spring Onions: The green part of spring onions can be saved to grow more of the flavoursome white section. Simply place the green sprouts into a jar of water. The water needs to be changed every other day, and within around a week you should have a full spring onion ready to eat.
3. Chillies: The seeds in chillies, which are the source of the majority of the heat, can also be used to grow more chillies. Simply plant the seeds into some soil, as you would do if you were growing a plant from scratch, then place in a sunny area.
4. Mushrooms: You can re-grow any type of mushrooms from their scraps. Simply remove the cap of the mushroom and keep that to use in your cooking. The stalks should then be planted into soil, with everything covered apart from the very top. The stalks should then regrow caps ready for you to harvest.
5. Pineapple: The top leafy part of the fruit needs to be removed in order to grow pineapples. To remove this you need to twist it. Then remove the lower leaves until the bottom layers are exposed. Cut off the base of the “tree” then poke a couple of toothpicks into the base and suspend over a bowl which has been filled with water. Once you can see roots forming plant the pineapple top in soil. It can take a few months for the pineapple to grow, so patience is needed.
