Homegrown: Growing plants from food

It's still a bit early to start plants from seed, but Linn County Master Gardener, Lisa Slattery, points to a fun way during winter to add a little green indoors:

Let's face it - winter in Iowa can get long and boring.  Yes, you can clean out closets, but it's much more fun to root common foods and try to grow them as houseplants (especially with children.)  Take the common Sweet Potato.  You can start a houseplant from a sweet potato and you might even get some light purple blooms down the road.  Sweet potatoes are part of the morning glory family and will grow lovely vines.  In a mason jar or water glass, suspend the sweet potato (using four toothpicks) so that the bottom of the potato is underwater.  Make sure you have the pointed end in the water.  Place this in a sunny window and change or add water as needed.  Within a few days you should see roots starting to form below the water and a few weeks later you should have some stems and leaves sprouting from the top.  After a month or so transplant the sweet potato into potting mix being careful not to break the stems.  As the vine grows, cut it back to encourage full, bushy growth.

If the sweet potato doesn't amaze your kids - try a pineapple! Cut off the top of a fresh pineapple about 1 inch below the top leaves, trimming away the outer part of the pineapple top, but leave the core.  Let the pineapple top dry for a few days on your counter, which discourages rotting.  After a few days of air-drying place the pineapple top in perlite or vermiculite up to the base of the leaves.  Water the rooting medium from the bottom and keep it moist but not wet.  Place this in bright, indirect light and within 6 to 8 weeks you should have some roots.  Once you see roots plant it in well-draining potting mix and keep in bright, indirect light for a few more weeks.  After a few weeks the pineapple plant can handle direct sun but water regularly and use a soluble houseplant fertilizer once or twice a month in spring and summer. The pineapple plant can go outdoors in the summer but it isn't hardy and will need to come back inside for the winter.  You probably won't get pineapples either.

If the sweet potato or pineapple isn't your thing - go get an avocado.  Remove the big seed from the center and wash it in water. The wide part of the seed is the bottom and the pointed end is the top.  Using toothpicks about halfway up the seed, suspend it over a glass of water, making sure about one-fourth of the seed is resting in the water, adding water as needed.  Within a few weeks you should see sprouts from the seed.  Roots should form first, then the stem will show up second.  If it doesn't sprout within two months throw it out and try another one.  Once a good root system is established you can move the avocado plant to an 8 inch pot with potting soil and keep in a bright location.  Water regularly, fertilize once or twice a month is spring and summer and pinch back after it reaches about 12 inches to encourage branching.

If all this seems too complicated, save the seeds from your grapefruit, orange or lemon and stick them in a pot containing potting soil, planting them about 1 inch deep.  Keep the soil moist and the seeds will germinate anywhere between two to eight weeks.  Citrus will grow into huge plants that look lovely but most likely will not produce more fruit.