Kitchen Gardening for Beginners: Regrow Your Leftover Greens, Stalks, Seeds, and More

by Katie Elzer-Peters

Discover how to easily regrow vegetable discards and scraps and turn them into harvestable, edible plants—even if you have no gardening experience.

Stop tossing your carrot tops, leafless herb sprigs, lettuce and celery stumps, and beet greens in the trash! Cut back on your food waste and cultivate your own homegrown veggies easily with advice from Kitchen Gardening for Beginners, a beginner-friendly edition of No-Waste Kitchen Gardening.

Learn how to grow indoors and maintain your regrown plants until they are ready for harvest. The accompanying photos highlight each step of the process, showing you what the root section, seed, leaf, stem, or other plant part should look like when you replant it and then what it should look like when it’s ready for harvest. Many of the featured vegetables can be regrown in water or in soil. Full instructions are supplied.

A diverse selection of large and small edibles—some that are quick to regrow and others that take a bit longer—are included, so you can decide what regrown foods are the best fit for your family. A few of the many plants featured 
  Green onionsGingerCeleryTomatoesMelonsHerbsAvocadosPotatoesCarrots
The expert advice in Kitchen Gardening for Beginners gives you all the instruction and tricks you’ll need to regrow produce from food waste to provide your family with fresh, homegrown goodness from your own windowsill.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2024

Reviews

[*ੈ✩‧₊˚Sassy Little Hippy˚₊‧✩ ੈ* · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️
I am SO excited about this one.

👩🏻‍🌾 A complete A to Z guide on growing food from kitchen scraps for beginners.

✂️ Cut down on spend, waste and internet “how to” searches, because it’s all in here!

👩🏻‍🏫 Starts with basics of botany, types of vegetables, best materials and soil for growth, germination / propagation, and composting

Chapters 2-5 are broken up by growth type:
- roots and underground stems 🥔🫚🥕
- stems and modified stems in soil 🧅🧄
- seeds in soil & water 🍅🥑🌶️🍎
- whole plants and stems in water 🍍🥬

It covers everything from how and where to cut, to how to clean seeds and grow roots, when and how deep to plant in soil and when to harvest. Lot’s of detailed step-by-step, images, tips and fun facts.

🫶🏼 I will be using this often throughout the growing season. Worthy of storing this book with your recipe books in the kitchen, versus on a dusty office shelf!

📌 I plan to try some of these soon. I’ll post to my “I made it” shelf on GoodReads if you want to follow @sassylittlehippie for updates.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group, and Katie Elzer-Peters for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Kitchen Gardening for Beginners is a brilliant starter guide in how to minimise healthy food waste to save money and regrow your own little veggie garden from inside your kitchen until they are ready to be harvested.
The book gives lots of simple to follow instructions and advice, and I loved the quantity of photos to show you visually each step of the process when you replant it and then when it is ready for harvest.
This is a great book for anyone looking at reducing food waste and would make a great book to use with children as a family project, activity idea and even to incorporate into a primary school and high school science lesson.
Many of the vegetables only need water or soil to be regrow in so equipment wise, it's a cheap and cheerful project to give a try. I'm going to be giving it a go with my own daughter.

[Tove R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book everyone should read! There is quite a lot we can do when it comes to minimizing the amount of food waste, and at the same time save money, as well as enjoy the bit when we can see things grow in front of our own eyes. This book has a good structure, it is easy to follow, and has useful tips. Even if you do not have a green thumb you will succeed!

[Megz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel conflicted about this guide. On the one hand, the author does state that it is simply a beginner’s guide. On the other hand, nothing in Kitchen Gardening for Beginners could not have been gleaned from Instagram or Tik Tok. As a reference, I’m sure it’s nice to have around - rather than having to search through all your saved posts on Insta. But I actually think it is just OVERLY basic, and could have elaborated a little bit more on many planting methods, as well as appropriate crops/seasons/geography.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Yvette Stoddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for this Advanced Digital Copy!

This was definitely for beginners as there weren't many tips that I didn't know, but I did learn a couple. I wasn't aware of the fermenting process for seeds and that will be useful as I have cut back on buying as many each year.

[Heather Litster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really simple and clear guide. I enjoyed the stories and the directions for planting. For something that talks about sustainability, would have preferred less focus on plastic container use. I also see that most things are “full sun recommended” and I would have loved to see some tips for more shaded areas and planter gardening.

Overall, great library borrow and I’ll take some notes or return to this one again.

[Sharon Valler: Live Love Read Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! I am a keen gardener and aiming to get as close to zero waste as I can.

This book will help anyone who wants to work on both - minimise waste and effectively grow free food - it’s a win all round.

I have read lots of gardening books and websites that use jargon or assume a certain level of knowledge, even when written for beginners. This book is clear, explains everything and uses photos to show each stage.

I can’t wait to get started!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Katie Elzer-Peters and Quarto, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

[MarryAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is quite great if you want to regrow your scraps, but you can also use some tips from this book and use them when growing plants using seeds as well.

I was super excited to start this book because I just got some strawberries seedlings and I'm not sure how to take care of them, but strawberries are not covered in this book, so just a warning, not everything is gonna be there, but it got most popular plants.

What I really really liked is that the book is not looking to deceive you. If you can't regrow a whole plant but you can regrow the leaves and eat them, it is specified. I had no idea you can actually eat carrot leaves and also, I didn't really think about the fact that's part of the same family as dill or parsley, but that makes a lot of sense.

I also liked that a bit of biology is explained at the beginning, just enough to help people understand how the plants work, and it goes along great with the fun facts sprinkled throughout the book

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion

[Valerie Thirkettle-Kayser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a gardener and my green space is just an apartment balcony. However, this book caught my eye, in particular as it offers practical ideas for minimising waste.
I found the book very informative. If you have no real knowledge of how plants, roots and stems work, you can learn enough in this book to get you started. There is just enough information to get you on your way without overwhelming you with facts and techniques.
You will learn to regrow many different plants in soil or in water. Some of them will be regrown into a new plant (potatoes or ginger for example) and in some other cases you will regrow a part of the plant (radishes or carrots, which you will regrow for the leaves).
And there is also a part about sprouting and growing seeds.
I found this book really useful and interesting. Beyond the regrowing techniques, it is an opportunity to rethink how we use our veggies to give them a new life and consume them in a different way.
Useful read and food for thought.

[Debra Gaynor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitchen Gardening for Beginners
Regrow Your Leftover Greens, Stalks, Seeds, and More
Katie Elzer-Peters
Your food scraps can be turned into an edible garden. The top of your carrots can easily be turned into a new carrot. It is easy to turn a celery stump into a new celery plant. Lettuce, beet greens and many others can regrow. There is no need to waste fresh vegetables or any part of them. Regrowing vegetables can be done indoors. This book has illustrations and photographs demonstrating how to regrow your vegetables, how to recognize when it is time to harvest the vegetables. Many of the plants grow quickly. As food prices increase, we each need to be as frugal as possible plus food grown at home is healthier.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

[Despina · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to using food scraps and growing more sustainably fruits and veggies. There is advice for a variety of foods, and as someone who has wanted to start living more environmentally friendly and sustainably (as well as saving some money!) this is an excellent starter guide. It doesn't presuppose any level of knowledge so perfect for beginners who have never re-planted like myself! Highly recommend.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book from [Quarto Publishing Group – Cool Springs Press, New Shoe Press] via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, which I provide voluntarily

[SketchyNewEngland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really made me want to save all my kitchen scraps and start a garden! After a few failures and regrowing store bought vegetables, I had given it up, but this book helped me figure out the mistakes I was making and I’m ready to try again. What a fantastic resource! This book is going to help so many people save money on food. And healthy food at that! Wonderful!
I received a free copy in order to provide an honest review.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a remix and rebranding of a book the author wrote a few years ago. It’s an improvement in some ways, though I was still hoping for more. It is definitely for beginners, and leaves out a lot of information like that regrown lettuce is bitter and the nutritional content will be low in produce grown in only water. I had hoped for a lot more plants and deeper info, but it’s still a good book with lots of stuff to get you started.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

. This concise guide provides valuable information on growing plants from your kitchen scraps. Many times, I have discovered forgotten vegetables sprouting, prompting the question: if planted, could one yield more of the same vegetable? While the book did not explicitly address this query regarding the rutabaga with green sprouts I was currently harboring, extrapolating from similar root vegetables revealed the potential for a plentiful supply of greens. Incidentally, rutabaga greens share a taste resemblance to collard greens.

It's worth noting that the book does not cover every sprouting item in the kitchen. Information on horseradish was notably absent, though I assumed its behavior might align with that of ginger or turmeric. Despite these omissions, the book imparted valuable knowledge, and I look forward to applying this newfound information in practice.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an ok book for beginners to reduce food waste and grow your own food. I like the concept and there are some helpful tips, but the book really felt high level and the tips were fairly basic. I was hoping for something more in depth. Overall not what I was hoping for, but I can see it being helpful for those brand new to gardening and with limited space.

[Bzz Kolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this eCopy to review

What an excellent book Kitchen Gardening for Beginners is. Elzer-Peters details how to take our bought fruit and vegetable scraps and regrow them saving us money in the long run and reducing waste.

Full of easy to follow instructions and clear pictures so we can understand the process for the different types of plants

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook.
This book was really fasinating to read. This is perfect for beginner Gardner's or someone who lives in a small apartment with no garden. Or even if you want to have a small indoor kitchen garden when it is the middle of winter. This book was fun to read and was full of tons of information. Highly recommend!

[Kimberly Tierney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great resource for anyone looking to get into gardening of any kind. The focus is on using kitchen scraps to re-plant, but the ideas and knowledge can translate into larger gardening projects as well. I appreciated the knowledge breakdown of what growth you will get from the plant that you are trying to regenerate.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extensive guide to growing your own vegetables. I found the instructions to be easy to follow and understand.
Loved this book. Definitely give it ago no matter what stage of gardening/growing you are at.

[Michael Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book for reusing kitchen scraps for growing food and comp0sting food. There are many good ideas and suggestions. I would recommend this book for all home gardeners.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and easy read. This was really informative. I had no idea so many different things could be regrown! This book will definitely help save you some money on fresh produce.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A colorful, informative, and really fantastic read. A great book for the gardeners, cooks, and anyone who wants to be more environmentally conscious and reduce their food waste

[Debbie L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introductory to reusing scraps of food to regrow. I learned so much from he easy to follow descriptions. It has inspired me to try growing tomatos and peppers from repurposed seeds.

[Joni Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great beginners guide for sure. Lots of information written in a very clear, concise way. Easy to understand and follow.

[Ashley {_xamountofbooks} · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Edelweiss+)

Decent beginner guides covering a wide base though I was hoping it would have focused more in inside growing.