growing food from kitchen scraps: old wisdom or new trend?
When I was a child, my grandmother would tuck potato eyes and onion ends into the dark, rich soil behind our house. She called it 'making something from nothing.' These days, I see neighbors sharing videos of regrowing lettuce in jars on sunny windowsills—some call it eco-friendly, others say it’s just a fad.
In our North American neighborhoods, the debate is real: is regrowing kitchen scraps a return to our roots, or just another social media craze? Some of us remember the satisfaction of coaxing green shoots from leftovers, a quiet rebellion against waste. Others argue that with our unpredictable weather and short growing seasons, it’s more practical to buy fresh from the store or farmers’ market.
But there’s a deeper question: do we value the tradition of self-reliance, or do we prefer the convenience and aesthetics of a tidy, store-bought kitchen? My own lettuce scraps sometimes wilt before they root, and my grandkids laugh at my muddy windowsills. Still, I feel a sense of healing watching new life sprout from what others might throw away.
In a world where community rules sometimes frown on messy gardens, and where environmental concerns clash with our love for order, I wonder: are we growing food, or growing memories? I’d love to hear your stories—do you regrow scraps, or do you think it’s just a waste of time?
#kitchenscrapgardening #familytraditions #generationaldebate #Gardening
