The Grocery Store Experiment

We have all experienced at one point or another the forgotten veggie in the kitchen and discovered instead, a science experiment... 

 

 This past spring I was cleaning up my pantry and discovered a few lone potatoes that had escaped from the bunch and snuck off to a dark corner to hide. The little buggars had started sprouting. Ordinarily, I toss the ones out that are too far gone but this time I thought why not plant them and see what comes of it?

 

I planted my little potatoes and within two weeks I had a row of plants developing. I was amazed at how quickly they took off and thrived in our desert garden. They grew to nearly two feet and had lovely little white blooms.

 

 My potatoes were doing so well I thought why not plant the roots from my grocery store butter lettuce?  I plopped two of them into the garden one in full sun and the other in partial sun and to my surprise the lettuce in the full sun is thriving. It costs around $5.00 for the butter lettuce at our grocery store so to be able to grow my own from the leftover roots is a huge help. 

It's nearly ready to be plucked for a fresh summer salad topped with juicy tomatoes  and an onion from the garden too!

 

   This morning I went out and noticed one of the smaller potato plants had died off so I dug it up to see if anything had developed. I was thrilled to unearth my first cluster of fresh potatoes! They are absolutely perfect and I plan to make a light lunch with them today along with fresh tomatoes and herbs from the garden. I can't wait to see the bounty from the larger plants!

 

I am amazed at how easy it was to take essentially scraps from the kitchen, plop them in the dirt and see them grow. Not only did they grow but they are producing and providing my home with fresh food.

 

I am completely hooked now and I plan to test out a garlic bulb, celery stalk, and ginger root.