Save your kitchen scraps to grow a garden right on your countertop.
The scoop
This TikTok trick will turn food waste into a food source. Home cook and TikToker Optimistic Kitchen (@optimistickitchen) shared her way of reusing food waste with scrap gardening.
@optimistickitchen Keeping a little scrap garden is a great way to reduce food waste, help your food budget, and add more fresh green in your life!🥰 💚 #OptimisticKitchen #makeyourkitchenyourhappyplace #ReduceFoodWaste #Garden #GrowFood #growyourfood #ScrapGarden #GrowFromScraps #growyourscraps #scallionhack #cabbagehack #lettucehack #celeryhack #budgetfriendly #foodbudget #kitchenscrapgarden #fyp #foryou #fypfood #Foodtok #creatorsearchinsights ♬ original sound - Optimistic Kitchen
"Scrap gardening is growing produce from scraps of produce that you already have," she says.
She shows off her countertop garden, which features a variety of veggies, like celery, cabbage, and bok choy.
What would otherwise become trash — the ends of celery, the tops of radishes — can become a brand-new plant with a little water and some sunlight. Scrap gardening works with all kinds of produce, though some plants will regrow entirely, while others will only grow to produce seeds, like carrots.
"Keeping a little scrap garden is a great way to reduce food waste, help your food budget, and add more fresh green in your life," she wrote in the video's caption.
How it's working
Gardening from seed can be difficult, but you can skip this step by scrap gardening. Simply replant the scraps of what you've already bought, and you'll be enjoying fresh produce for free.
Scrap gardening also helps reduce food waste, which is a growing problem. Americans discard "more food than any other country in the world: nearly 60 million tons — 120 billion pounds — every year," according to Recycle Track Systems.
That's around 300 pounds per person of wasted food — and wasted money. A report from the Environmental Protection Agency found "the cost of food waste to each U.S. consumer to be $728 per year. For a household of four, the annual cost is $2,913."
To reduce your household's food waste, learn to do more with your leftovers. With a little creativity in the kitchen, you can turn stale bread into breadcrumbs or croutons, strawberry tops into syrup, and vegetable scraps into a soup or stew.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
|
What single change would make the biggest dent in your personal food waste?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Not buying food I don't need 🧐 If you're not a fan of leftovers, you can also compost your food scraps. Nutritious compost can then be added to your soil or dropped off at a local organic waste recycling center.
What people are saying
Commenters shared their scrap gardening success stories.
"I do the same thing and it just adds so much cheerfulness to my day," one user said.
"I did celery it's growing so good," another wrote.
"I'm doing this now with some scallions!" a third chimed in.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
