A genius hack on Instagram is going viral for showing people how to grow food using store-bought produce.
The scoop
The hack comes from Loudette Pavon-Catchillar (@sofarm_sogood) and shows off an easy way to save money while growing healthy, yummy produce without pesticides.
In the Reel, Pavon-Catchillar shows how to plant whole store-bought potatoes in your garden to turn them into more potatoes in just a few months' time.
"I usually don't plant potatoes but seeing the [price] of them now in grocery is not that cheap anymore unlike before," Pavon-Catchillar writes in the Reel caption.
"So I wanted to plant them now since I have more space," they add. "I am growing the most expensive [type of potatoes] because [they] will be all-natural and organic."
How it's helping
Choosing organic is especially beneficial when it comes to root vegetables like potatoes. That's because root vegetables are in direct contact with the soil, unlike other vegetables that grow above ground.
Synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have been linked to a host of health issues, including a range of acute illnesses such as headaches, nausea, and dizziness, as well as long-term health risks including metabolic and reproductive issues and some forms of cancer.
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While produce grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers is healthier, as Pavon-Catchillar notes, store-bought produce can also be pricey, especially organic fruits and vegetables.
Growing your own can save you a lot on staple foods like potatoes, which have been affected by recent inflation surges. And Pavon-Catchillar's hack can turn one bag of potatoes into an endless supply, with new potatoes popping up every 80 to 90 days.
What everyone's saying
The Instagram Reel comments lit up with tips and praise. One Instagrammer offers another helpful bit of advice: "You also can cut off several [sprouts] off each potato and it'll grow [a lot] more."
Another writes that if you start with store-bought potatoes, it's important to start with organic. "The non-organic potatoes are sprayed with agents to stop them from sprouting," they write.
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"And because they rely on pesticides to protect them, non-organic potatoes have virtually no natural pest defenses, so unless you cover them in pesticides, they usually get totally eaten up before you get a chance to harvest them," another adds.
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