STALKING OUT THE GOODS

Old Mother Frugal can’t grow dirt.  That sums up my farming abilities. 

Growing one's own food is a frugal way to keep food costs low while also knowing a little something about what went into the food production. It’s healthy and sustainable. Yet year in and year out, it’s a talent that just has left me void of produce.

In the past, Old Mother Frugal has been known to save and freeze vegetable scraps for vegetable stock. A new purpose has been brought to my attention.  Some vegetables can be regrown!

For example, take celery but more specifically, the base of the celery.

Typically, one chops celery about 2” from the base and may take the base and freeze it for stock or toss it as trash. However, if the base sits in a bowl with about a half inch of water, over time it sprouts new leaves and grows roots. At the point where roots are seen, the celery base can be planted outdoors and it will grow tall celery stalks once again.

Who knew?  Just think how many shoppers just toss potential celery stalks in the trash.

Another “easy to regrow” vegetable is the potato.

When your potatoes start to sprout “eyes”, quarter the potato and plant it with the eyes faced upward.  Plantings should be approximately 9” apart. If you plant in spring, by autumn there should be potatoes below the surface of your garden. There are over a dozen of these potato plants now in Old Mother Frugal’s garden.

This technique of regrowing vegetables can be applied to green onions and lettuce as well.

Whether or not these plants will yield any edible produce remains to be seen. In the meantime, celery and potatoes are “eyed” a little differently in the kitchen now that they can regenerate into new plants. Being a frugal cook, it costs nothing to reuse and regrow these vegetables. Now that fits into Old Mother Frugal's buy once, use twice philosophy!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s Tip:  Celery leaves are a flavorful addition to many meals.  They can be included in chicken salad or tossed into a salad or added to soup. If you are one who would discard these flavorful goodies, try using them in one of these meals. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the flavor.