Growing food from old food

[dashboardc33]

I'm sure you've sen these posts around the internet, where people put a piece of celery in a cup and watch it sprout new celery. Is this actually healthy at all? Sure it is cool, but wouldn't the old celery get rotten and cause the new celery growth to be infected? I'm just thinking out loud but I would like to try it if it is actually okay for you health wise.

 

[amelia88]

I've never actually tried it myself - I think it's a good way to use up scraps and seeds and things like that. I've just always worried it would be too difficult and time consuming, to be honest! I usually buy my plants in a state where I just need to put them into the ground and keep them alive, and all the hard work has been done for me in a sense! I'm curious though to hear if others have tried it, and the levels of success they've had with it too!

 

[IcyBC]

I think it is perfectly fine and healthy as the original one especially if it is organic. I don't consider cutting the top of the celery off and use the bottom to grow another one is old food, per se, but it is a rather clever way to re-use, re-grow and re-purpose the plant. Well, that is just my own way of seeing things.

 

[MrsE]

I grow my own celery now! The secret to not having rotten bits around the edges is to take off the outer stems until you get to the young small stalks in the middle and just plant from there. Also plant them quite deep and water well for the first few weeks. I do still buy celery but I have a planter full of young celery stalks shooting up and I cut them off from the edges to snack on or throw in a green smoothie. I have not tried any of the other fruits or vegetables yet but I can definitely vouch for celery

 

[amelia88]

I grow my own celery now! The secret to not having rotten bits around the edges is to take off the outer stems until you get to the young small stalks in the middle and just plant from there. Also plant them quite deep and water well for the first few weeks. I do still buy celery but I have a planter full of young celery stalks shooting up and I cut them off from the edges to snack on or throw in a green smoothie. I have not tried any of the other fruits or vegetables yet but I can definitely vouch for celery

Thank you for the advice - you make it sound nice and easy!! I always thought it would be complicated but the way you explained it makes perfect sense - so thank you!!

 

[Corzhens]

From what I know, new plants are immune to germs from the old plants. So a decaying vegetable that can still grow some new buds is okay as far as health is concerned. We used to plant decaying sweet potato stems and when it sprouts new leaves, it would look good to us and eventually would be harvested for food.

 

[Trellum]

I tried this once with lettuce, but I failed miserably The thing seemed to be doing just fine for a while, but then it got all rotten. I knew all was lost when I noticed it was rotting from the inside... eeek! But I have heard other people are so successful with this kind of things As for this being healthy... well, if it's an organic veggie and you washed it well... why not?

 

[Trellum]

I grow my own celery now! The secret to not having rotten bits around the edges is to take off the outer stems until you get to the young small stalks in the middle and just plant from there. Also plant them quite deep and water well for the first few weeks. I do still buy celery but I have a planter full of young celery stalks shooting up and I cut them off from the edges to snack on or throw in a green smoothie. I have not tried any of the other fruits or vegetables yet but I can definitely vouch for celery

Thanks, I might try this myself soon I lost motivation after the lettuce incident, but I am definitely going to give this a try now. We are going to get some celery today from the grocery store Can't wait to experiment!

 

[valedevento]

I have done this successfully with lettuce and onion, but never with celery. I don't think there is a problem for your health if you are a bit careful and wash the new grown celery before eating.