Regrowing leftover vegetables is not only child's play - it's also a lot of fun. Read more about our regrowing book here.
Who doesn't know this: You cut up all sorts of vegetables for a salad and the unusable stalks fly into the trash can. The fact that you can give this "waste" new life again does not require much effort and rewards you with home-grown regrow vegetables.
We are very pleased to be able to present our first practical book to you today, which was published by Ulmer Verlag: "Regrow your Veggies" provides you with clear instructions and information on how to regrow a wide variety of plants: from spring onions to basil to avocados.
To dig a little deeper into our book, we asked our Plantura co-founder and lead author of Regrow your Veggies, Melissa, a few intriguing questions.
Melissa, many people may not have heard of regrowing. How would you explain it in a few sentences?
Regrowing simply means reusing leftover vegetables to regrow them and give them a new life. For example, the bottom part of spring onions usually ends up in the trash. However, if you put the roots in a glass of water for a few days and then repot them in soil, the spring onions will continue to grow happily. So that's regrowing.
Is it that easy?
That depends ? There are some plants that are fairly easy and quick to grow. Others need a little more time and attention.
Which vegetables would you recommend for beginners?
Definitely spring onions, romaine lettuce and leeks - these three should really work for everyone.
What is more advanced?
Somewhat difficult candidates are, for example, the galangal or the pineapple. It is of course used to tropical temperatures, which is why it is almost impossible in our climatic conditions,to draw a small fruit. But you have a great houseplant for that and it's even free.
What are the advantages of regrowing for you?
In my opinion there are of course many (laughs). On the one hand, I think it's nice that regrowing avoids waste. In addition, you can literally watch the plants grow on the window sill. So regrowing is also something for people who may not have their own garden. And I also think it's a great way for children to experience a wonder of nature so directly.
So regrowing is for the whole family?
Yes, of course - there is no age limit. Even the little ones can join in with a little help and discover the joy of growing them themselves. I would be happy if parents or grandparents could try out different plants with the little ones and learn more about them together.
What's behind regrowing? Why are certain plants so easy to regrow?
Behind regrowing is a completely natural process called vegetative propagation. Many hobby gardeners will probably know this from the propagation of cuttings. In vegetative propagation there is no pollination, which would require a male and a female plant. Vegetative propagation is also known as asexual propagation because a new one is obtained from the same plant. Thus, the subsequent plant is a clone of the previous one, since the two plants have the exact same genetic material. But as I said, this is a process that also occurs in nature.
Finally, what can readers expect from your book?
The book is a mix of detailed regrow instructions for over 20 plants and beautiful pictures and drawings to illustrate all the important steps. Of course, there is also exciting background information and expert tips so that everything works. My ultimate goal is for the reader to enjoy the book and learn about regrowing.