2004 Year in Review

Sudden Greenery from the Kitchen

A little green in the home can provide some relief from winter’s forced indoor idleness and that rejuvenating bit of color might be as near as a fruit bowl or the refrigerator, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.

“In these places, you will find the seeds for some exotic tropical plant just waiting for you to plant and grow,” said Greg Stack. “Indoor gardening projects are great ways to pass the time, add a few plants to your indoor collection and have fun experimenting with something that you may not be familiar with. Even the kids can get interested in the simple pleasures of gardening.”

Stack noted that using seeds, pits and tops of fruits, roots, and stems that are often left in the kitchen when preparing meals can lead to plants that have an exotic look and draw comments from visiting friends.

He offered a few tips on getting started.

Mixed garden foliage is easy to create with the tops of carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, and other root crops. Cut about one-inch off the top of the roots you want to use. Fill a shallow plant saucer that is about 10 inches in diameter with pea gravel or colored aquarium gravel.

“Fill the saucer with water until you just see it at the surface of the gravel,” said Stack. “Next, take the tops that you have collected and push them into the gravel. Arrange and mix them up and keep water in the tray to just below the gravel. In a few days, a garden of mixed foliage will emerge. Everything from the fine, fern textures of the carrot to the bright red of the beets to the course green of the parsnips will be represented.”

Stack said that by keeping the tray just filled with water and using a week fertilizer solution, it is possible to keep the garden of leafy greens looking good for quite awhile.

“Tropical fruit is among the easiest to grow from seed because unlike some of our temperate fruit, they don’t require any special treatments to break seed dormancy,” said Stack. “One of the most unique seeds is that of the mango.”

After cutting open a mango and enjoying the fruit inside, a large, hairy, flat bean seed remains. The four-inch seed can be the start of something interesting, he noted.

“Take the seed and scrub off any remaining flesh from the fruit,” he said. “Give it a warm bath for about five days by letting the seed soak in warm water that is changed daily. This helps with germination. Plant the seed on end, not flat, so that the “eye,” a slight depression, is about one-inch below the soil.”

“The seed will take awhile to germinate but once it does, you are in for a treat. The mango is a tree-like plant that has very long, dark green, glossy leaves. The new leaves at the top of the plant start out blood red providing a great contrast. You won’t get fruit but you will have an interesting houseplant for the windowsill.”

Grapefruit seeds are very easy to grow. After collecting the seeds, plant them about one-inch deep in pots. After they germinate, they quickly grow into tree-like plants with glossy green leaves.

“Papayas, those large, pear-shaped fruits are not only good to eat but are just full of potential plants,” said Stack. “Inside a papaya, you will find literally hundreds of black seeds the size of peppercorns. Scoop these seeds out and lay them on a newspaper. Roll the seeds around to clean off the jelly-like covering, wash them, and plant. Put several seeds in a pot about a half-inch deep.

Papaya germinates very reliably and quickly and in no time you will have plants to transplant into pots. The plants have leaves that are formed at the top of a central trunk and look like maple leaves. The plants may flower and the flowers are very fragrant.”

by  Editor, theCity1.com
December 14, 2004