15 Foods you can regrow from scraps!

Originally posted by JustSlowlyBackAway

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix

Originally posted by OnWhiteMars
I mean no disrespect but the appreciation for a thread like this just shows how long we have been disconnected from Mother Nature. The fact that people have to reminded of these things scares me :S I think we are screwed if we are bound for a big catastrophe.

Star for you anyway, because maybe this information will provide help.

I think it's good to have a list of go to re-plantable foods because GMO foods you don't want to plant and not all plants will grow from cut shoots.

I'm pretty sure none of those plants he listed are varieties that are GM....yet. There was talk of a tomato, but I don't think it is on the market yet.

But to be safe, yeah, save and plant heirloom seeds, or tops from organic veggies only. It is not that hard. Even if you live in a very small place, you can get a lot of stuff to grow. I wish people would try it. It's all well and good to envision stepping out into the garden for food when things get tough, but most people have no experience or clue how to make a garden function.

We eat at least one or two meals a day. How long would a sprouted celery plant take to get big enough to even make one salad? Weeks? Practical self-sufficient gardening that actually has a chance to feed a family takes a much more focused approach. But it can be done.

There is no doubt that using your own heirloom seeds i the best way to go .... but in an emergency ... get immediate needs done first but one must prepare for the future..... with whats available

I would think that even your non-gmo heirloom seeds might be cross-bred with gmo veggies too .... it will be very hard to keep your crops from being cross pollinated

What a lovely place this would be if we ALL grew our own food! It's sad, the neighbor kids come visit my garden in total AWE (which is hilarious because the grasshoppers have done a number on the veggies this year..) It's like magic to people now, when it used to be NORMAL! Everyone should grow food, or whatever, it's good fer ya!

reply to post by fnpmitchreturns

It would be if you were growing soy or rapeseed, field corn, or sugar beets. I think there are varieties of zucchini too, and mangoes, I believe. But most home garden crops are not GMOs.

But my point is that while it's cool to think, "Hey, I can grow my carrot top again from the carrot in the refrigerator!" It won't be the thing that will feed people in a crunch situation. Plus, you can't really eat carrot tops. The carrot part won't regrow. Just the green top.

I liken this idea to waking up to find there is no water and saying well, we can catch it with buckets when it rains. Or, I know, we can go outside now and dig a well. Do we own a shovel?

I think if you're looking for an educational, fun thing for the kids, then by all means re-sprout carrot tops and plant apple seeds. But if you're looking at FEEDING yourself, then it takes planning and a little work, and it takes time to get it all going. And the time is now. Read some books on gardening for self-reliance, not books on making cute planters out of dixie cups.

I'm 60 years old, a woman with a not so super back, and I manage to do it. If I can do it, most anyone can.

I like the OP's mentioning the way to keep scallions going by keeping them in a sunny window in water. That's a keeper, though!

reply to post by JustSlowlyBackAway


HI Just Back, Here is a great page on gmo veggies and which ones are most likely to be grown in the USA... they could cross pollinate your heirlooms; some more than others....

www.nongmoproject.org...

High-Risk Crops (in commercial production; ingredients derived from these must be tested every time prior to use in Non-GMO Project Verified products (as of December 2011):
•Alfalfa (first planting 2011)
•Canola (approx. 90% of U.S. crop)
•Corn (approx. 88% of U.S. crop in 2011)
•Cotton (approx. 90% of U.S. crop in 2011)
•Papaya (most of Hawaiian crop; approximately 988 acres)
•Soy (approx. 94% of U.S. crop in 2011)
•Sugar Beets (approx. 95% of U.S. crop in 2010)
•Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash (approx. 25,000 acres)

ALSO high-risk: animal products (milk, meat, eggs, honey, etc.) because of contamination in feed.

Monitored Crops (those for which suspected or known incidents of contamination have occurred, and those crops which have genetically modified relatives in commercial production with which cross-pollination is possible; we test regularly to assess risk, and move to “High-Risk” category for ongoing testing if we see contamination):
•Beta vulgaris (e.g., chard, table beets)
•Brassica napa (e.g., rutabaga, Siberian kale)
•Brassica rapa (e.g., bok choy, mizuna, Chinese cabbage, turnip, rapini, tatsoi)
•Curcubita (acorn squash, delicata squash, patty pan)
•Flax
•Rice

Common Ingredients Derived from GMO Risk Crops
Amino Acids, Aspartame, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin C, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Ethanol, Flavorings (“natural” and “artificial”), High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Lactic Acid, Maltodextrins, Molasses, Monosodium Glutamate, Sucrose, Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), Xanthan Gum, Vitamins, Yeast

ok a little garden know-how never hurt anyone.. you can't just take seeds outta a fresh tomato and hope they'll grow.. that isn't how it's done.. you have to 'culture' the seeds in the tomato acid.. it's actually a process anywho.. and the uses for sour milk include but not limited to pancakes, biscuits, and the like. You can make your own yogurt with a crockpot and a cheesecloth.. i've done this many times and there are plenty of good website/recipe's. ( 5 kids addicted to yogurt we make our own)

celery actually does well regrown from the stalk.. i do this alot along with the scallons.. i haven't bought any produce from the store accept for oranges, lemons, banana's and apples in forever and a day.. I might miss oranges if there were some kinda catastrophe...

reply to post by fnpmitchreturns


Doesn't work so good, however, for hamburgers, corn dogs, pizza or donuts,.

reply to post by JustSlowlyBackAway


I have heard some have made yoghurt in same way.
This is regrowing of bacteria so no heating, just mix and left in steady room temperature for 24 hours.

Thank you for posting this info!

I've been living off grid for 10 years or so and grow a lot of my own veg which I learned through a process of trial and error. I have not saved any money but i have lived without money pretty much all the time, which to me means I'm "rich".
I never worry about money for food.

What I cannot understand is in these times of cutbacks and austerity measures is why do the governments not educate the people in how to grow their own food? There was schemes and programs during the second world war for example

.
Type Grow for victory into your search engine you'll see the posters I mean.
Would it not be better for the economy of a country to free up some money that otherwise would have been spent on food?
I think they really just want as many people to be dependent on the "system" as possible!

I have tried linking to sites which show the old wartime posters telling people to "Grow for victory" etc 3 times now the links do not work
resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk... .htm#dig

This is really strange, every time i link ANY "grow for victory" Image or website It gets 404'd
Conspiracy???













/

I read somewhere that the people of Ireland starved to death when all around them the wild foods of their ancestors grew abundantly. They had lost the wild edible information when the potato was introduced. I have made it a priority to know the wild foods and medicines in my No. California location. And keep wild edible books in my emergency pack. I grow a garden with heirlooms and seed saving etc. I also, plant asparagus roots grape vines and fig trees by creeks when we go camping. . I save my seeds from fresh fruits (peaches, apples etc. and plant them too!
But as a long time grower, dont count on rotted root crops, except the potato varieties. They will grow from just an eye, but carrots celery will never reproduce themselves.

reply to post by misskat1


Yes the Irish Potato famine.
3 Million people starved to death as they were only allowed to eat potatoes. The English land owners exported all the other food. The potatoes suffered from blight and rotted in the ground.
en.wikipedia.org...

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the hybrid problem yet.If you plant the seeds from a hybrid, you may be unpleasantly surprised to find that your beautiful tomato winds up looking more like a plum. And apples basically require grafting onto a good known hybrid rootstock. If you are in a survival situation, sprout your beans and eat until your veggies grow.

reply to post by misskat1


Actually celery is easier to grow fro m stalk than from seed.. try it..
chickensintheroad.com...

reply to post by fnpmitchreturns


I did not know this but we live in a time that this info could be very valuable! I'm going to read up on it. Thanks for sharing this!

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix
I think it's good to have a list of go to re-plantable foods because GMO foods you don't want to plant and not all plants will grow from cut shoots.

Not to mention that home-grown fruits and vegetables taste so much better than that mass-produced store-bought crap!

I've grown tomatoes, green beans, peppers, watermelon, and corn among other things, and in every case, the first time you taste home-grown it's almost shocking how much more flavor it has.

I regrow green onions ( scallions).

Honestly, I don't get as much progress as the op's link suggested.

I cut off the green part and put the white part with roots in a cup of water. You will see regrowth REALLY quickly. I was shocked the first time. This may not happen with everyone, but when mine grow back they are very skinny and they don't get as tall as the original green onion. They grow out to a certain point and then just stop. Once I cut off the new green part, I rinse the roots (they start getting mucky and slimy) and replace them in new water. They will start to grow again, but they only grow 1-2 inches tall and then stop. I can't get them to regrow more than once.

You won't get a bunch of green onions back but it can make enough to make an omelet or two, or have a few in a salad.

Originally posted by TruthSeekerMike
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the hybrid problem yet.If you plant the seeds from a hybrid, you may be unpleasantly surprised to find that your beautiful tomato winds up looking more like a plum. And apples basically require grafting onto a good known hybrid rootstock. If you are in a survival situation, sprout your beans and eat until your veggies grow.

Hybrids happen.

I've been planting the same saved green bean seeds for 12 years. They are (were) a purple seeded pole bean, and a very old heirloom variety. So, over the years, the bees have done their thing and they were cross pollinated with the neighbor's Kentucky Pole beans. Now, about half of my seed has yellow flowers and white seed, and half still reverts to purple flowers and purple seed. It's all good, though. The beans on both types are good. I'm even finding the yield is improved.

While it is possible that a cross pollinated hybrid or seeds from a hybrid might not revert to perfect type, I think the old varieties are pretty resilient to hybridization. I know of no way to avoid it unless you plant your garden miles from anyone else's.

This is why GM crops like canola are so invasive. No one can stop the bees or winds from blowing pollen around and contaminating non-GM crops. As long as they don't genetically modify common garden crops, we are okay. But the zucchini squash, and corn has been, so they are in danger.

reply to post by tport17


I am not familiar with growing green onions personally, but have experience growing other plants. That slimy stuff on your roots is most likely root rot. You can wash it and replant it, but you will get the root rot back as long as you keep using the same plant. Back off on how often your watering, don't keep the soil moist to the touch constantly.


We just moved to a mountain area in So Cal, the soil is all sand and decomposed granite. We plan on building some above ground planter boxes soon, but was wondering if anyone could suggest any plants that might grow well in that type of soil?

reply to post by JustSlowlyBackAway


From what i've read, greenhouse the hybrid and let it go to seed for 3 generations.
This eliminates the hybrid strain in the genome and it should be back to normal.

Originally posted by discolo
Thank you for posting this info!

I've been living off grid for 10 years or so and grow a lot of my own veg which I learned through a process of trial and error. I have not saved any money but i have lived without money pretty much all the time, which to me means I'm "rich".
I never worry about money for food.

What I cannot understand is in these times of cutbacks and austerity measures is why do the governments not educate the people in how to grow their own food? There was schemes and programs during the second world war for example

.
Type Grow for victory into your search engine you'll see the posters I mean.
Would it not be better for the economy of a country to free up some money that otherwise would have been spent on food?
I think they really just want as many people to be dependent on the "system" as possible!

I have tried linking to sites which show the old wartime posters telling people to "Grow for victory" etc 3 times now the links do not work
resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk... .htm#dig

This is really strange, every time i link ANY "grow for victory" Image or website It gets 404'd
Conspiracy???













/

edit on 4-11-2012 by discolo because: linky no worky

edit on 4-11-2012 by discolo because: (no reason given)

edit on 4-11-2012 by discolo because: (no reason given)

edit on 4-11-2012 by discolo because: Can anyone find a grow for victory link that works

Grow for Victory

I get what you are saying. The more dependent you are to the system, the more they will earn and the less you will learn.
These days most people want life 'survival' to be easy.We don't have time to grow our own food, i have to work from 9 to 5.
Survival is a word unknown to this culture. It's no more about just surviving but about competition.
I want the same thing my neighbour has but a little bit better. I don't care what it is and if i will use it, i just want it.

A small problem also on your suggestion if more people grew their own food so that the economy freed up more money to spend on other 'things'. what would that be? My first thought would be war and politics. Or to make the rich even more richer? is that any better? One thing i know that it wouldn't be a thing the people could benefit off.
This is another topic, but i understand where you are going.


About your link not working, what always works with me is using the LINK tab and add your link there.

Thanks OP for the article, I also save most seeds from vegetables we buy or from the vegs from the garden.Last 3 years i had good luck with saved seeds from tomatoes, paprikas, zuchinni even lemons( which has now become a 3 meter high tree) and some herbs like basil, mint,rosemary

As an experienced mushroom grower I'd like to add that mushrooms might fit well on that list. Great info OP.