Hang On To That Pineapple Top

Things are seriously slowing down in the garden and I find myself eyeing tropical plants in the garden centers, as my south-facing dining room windows are bare and screaming for greenery and color. It’s the time of year when retailers are trying to clear out indoor plant material to make room for their holiday displays, and in no time the kids will be eager for indoor projects.Along these lines, I know that most of you have always wanted a Chia Pet for the holidays, but this column is for all of you who may not get one of those cute chlorophylly creatures in the next couple of months. All is not lost, and while you may be down in the pits and feeling a bit seedy and with the kids off from school at various times in November and December I thought it might be fun to pick around in the kitchen trash.

Along with holiday cooking comes lots of kitchen waste, and many gardeners will turn some of this trash into compost, while others simply shove it down the disposal or into a plastic bag bound for a rejuvenated coal pit in Pennsylvania. But for the remnants of many a fruit and vegetable this does not have to be their fate, as they can be used to produce offspring, provide houseplants and amaze even the most skeptical child.

Think about baseball-sized avocado pits splitting and sending up the beginnings of a new tree. Or how about forgotten potatoes, wrinkled with age but producing nubby new shoots? Or sprouting onions coaxed into life by the dry air of a winter home. A cut-off pineapple top? An accidental kitchen garden? Perhaps, but such unforeseen signs of nature at work can be turned into interesting experiments, enjoyable wintertime lessons for children or even practical garden projects.

Tops of carrots, turnips and pineapples as well as potato eyes all can be rooted. Leeks and cilantro, both often sold in supermarkets with the roots attached and fresh, can be rerooted after the tops are sliced off for use in soups and burritos. Gingerroot can be sprouted into an elegant vining plant as well. Seeds from spent grapefruits, sliced oranges or even store-bought herbs (as in seed, not the dried kind, of course)—coriander, dill and celery, for instance—can be sown for an indoor garden and put out after winter to thrive through spring.

Undoubtedly, one of the most popular “found” seeds is the avocado. Easy to start into an eager houseplant, this pit will grow into a 6-foot giant in no time at all. It has large glossy leaves, a bushy habit and a very natural look not often seen in tender indoor plants. However, it will never bear fruit, and if the main leader (shoot) is cut out, the form of the plant is damaged forever.

Both the large green Florida and small dark California avocado will sprout readily if the seed is ripe. As you use avocados over the winter, keep a lookout for a seed that has begun to split vertically or, even better, one that has a root sprout curling from the flat base of the seed.

Remove the dark covering from the seed if it comes off easily, otherwise just leave it on. Holding the seed upright, insert four toothpicks horizontally like spokes on a wheel hub. The toothpicks should be positioned about two-thirds of the way up so that when the pit is placed in a glass jar of water, its lower half is immersed and the top third rises above the rim of the glass. It will take one to three weeks for the roots to begin growing into the water (roots always start before shoots), and the shoot will then emerge from the top. When the shoot is 6 inches tall and sports a bushy leaf cluster, pinch back the center growing tip to encourage branching. If this is done too late you’ll end up with a plant that grows only sideways and not upward.

Leave the avocado in its jar, making sure that the water level remains consistently high until the roots have filled the jar and there is substantial foliage. This should take two to three months from sprouting. Then transplant your new tree into a pot about 12 inches in diameter and about as deep, using any commercial potting mix. Repotting may be necessary every few months through the growing season, and the plant can be taken outdoors in early summer, but gradually to protect from sunburn and windburn.

Leek and cilantro bunches can be recycled from discarded roots. Use only those that have fresh, white roots not yet dried out. Trim leeks and cilantro so that at least a 1/2 inch of stem remains attached to the roots. Separate plants; this is easy with leeks, because they are large and individual roots are easy to locate.

With cilantro, the simplest way to disentangle the remnant is to lay it on the counter and gently pull it apart. Plant each rooted division individually in a pot holding very moist potting soil, mixed 2 to 1 with compost. New foliage will begin to grow almost immediately. Cilantro leaves will emerge from the center of the clipped crown; keep the foliage snipped back to encourage growth.

Leek shoots will come up slender and grass-like, also from the center of the cut stem. By winter’s end, the leeks will have sent up shoots, flowered and set seed. The seed can be harvested and sown in the garden in early April. The mother plant can be planted out then, too. They soon will produce side shoots, which will become adult leeks by summer’s end.

Old potatoes that have begun sprouting can be turned into houseplants. In April these can go into the garden for a harvest in July. To get them going, separate the “eyes”—the sprouted nubs on the skin of the potatoes—by slicing the potatoes into chunks, each holding an eye. Plant these into individual pots in a soil/compost mix and transplant as the plants outgrow the pots.

Carrot tops will grow into lush plants; these recycled plants won’t produce a new crop of carrots, but they will bloom with clusters of white flowers that are excellent for attracting beneficial insects to the garden next spring and summer. Place carrot tops, with a 1/2 inch of carrot attached, orange end down, into the soil.

Some other taken-for-granted kitchen items include apple and pear seeds, peach pits, papaya, mango, pineapple tops, garlic cloves and dried beans. Who knows, your 5- and 6-year-olds may be budding horticulturists just waiting for the right pit to germinate. Get them started while they’re young and keep them growing.