It's Alive!

It's happened to the best of us. You push a few things to the back of the fridge in the course of cooking, making PB&Js, or putting away leftovers, and when you get around to cleaning things out, there are things growing. Some things are fuzzy and blue, while others are growing roots. While it's a safe bet to toss the moldy bits, I've always scratched my head about the things that are growing roots or shoots. Are they salvageable?

If it's a root vegetable or in the allium family, you can do something with it, though it might not be what you expected. Here's the lowdown on a few things you're likely to have in your crisper drawer.

Carrots: Carrots that have started to grow roots and sprout greens can be planted for more greens (the carrot is actually a taproot so once it's pulled, it can't regenerate more carrots). Greens work well for juicing or in vegetable stock, and since carrots are biennial plants, you can let it go to seed and try your hand at seed saving.

Garlic: If a head of garlic has started to sprout, you can separate the cloves and plant in the ground.

Ginger: While it's not likely that ginger root from the store will sprout without help, it can grow plants up to three feet tall.

Turnips: Like carrots, turnips won't produce more turnips, but you can get turnip greens for salads out of the deal.

Links in this Post:

Can I Eat Sprouting Garlic?

Planting Ginger Root

What To Do With Sprouting Onions?

How To Grow Potatoes in a Garbage Can

Grow Carrots from Carrots