Nobody ever said how to sprout the pineapple tops. I'd really like to know. Are they a pretty plant; easy to grow? I am very new to gardening, so cheap and easy is what I'm looking for...

By the by... What zone is Boise? I looked it up and it said Zone 6, but the temps listed to qualify were way too low.

Yucca roots.. I had the same question- I bought one but it appears to have a waxy coating on it. Will this cause problems?

Ok, seems like people have lost interest in this thread...

But just in case, anyone tried growing a Kiwano Melon (Cucumis metuliferus) from the grocery store? I bought one and am going to try planting the seeds tomorrow.

I did grow a melon from the grocery store once. Before I could harvest the fruit winter had started to settle in. We ended up moving and I didn't have space to try again for a number of years and never did try to grow it again even though I now have space to grow! It sure was quite a thrill that it sprouted though! I've still got some seeds that I keep in the fridge... wonder if they are still viable??
Since that time I have collected many pepper seeds, some cucumber and various beans and peas. I plan to grow these this summer. I had been pretty unsure about the peppers though, but now reading this thread I am really excited to try this now!

I am going to put "sweet potato" on my shopping list too! Should be fun to try this with my kids!

I have done poppy seeds from the spice jar and they worked out great!

The how to grow pineapple is easy...cut the top off and peel off the fruity part...leaving a green knob or just slice the top off close to the green part...let it dry on the counter for a few days and then stick it down in some good soil and let it root...I have never used rooting hormone but that would probably help too..

It's been out of print for years, but I own a book called "The Don't Throw It, Grow It Book of Housplants," by Selsam & Peterson. It contains instructions for growing a wide variety of fruits, nuts, and veggies as houseplants. If anybody on this forum needs to know how to start a particular fruit/nut/veggie, let me know and I can look it up.

There is a similar thread to this one on - of all places - the Bog Garden forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grocery Store Plants

OOPS - just realized that somebody had posted that link back in '03 - but it's worth repeating.

I was wondering if you think it would be possible to grow black peppercorn plants from the black peppercorns you get in the store . has anyone tried to grow some from black peppercorns if you have did you plant them in dirt or sprout them in some water. any suggestions do you think the black peppercorns will grow?

This year so far I have planted bell peppers and taro. Both are doing great! Took quite a while for the taro to get going, but once the temps started heating up they really start growing.

Lee

oh crap i should have read this thread before posting on "my favorite frugal tip"

Don't plant normal potatos, they can cary a miriad of soil borne deseases, Spend the extra few bucks and buy seed potatos which are certified desease free, it not only greatly lessens your chances of losing your ability to grow potatos and tomatos in the future, but it does so for the gardeners around you who may catch any deseases you bring in aswell.

I'm growing a mango. It germinated almost instantly and is just sending up leaves. Also, I have a tip for germinating citrus seeds. dry overnight, peel away the thick wrinkly skin, soak in cool (not too cold) water for 2 hours. Then, plant it into moist compost. DO NOT LET IT DRY OUT!

Hello All,
I have planted several things from the grocery...right now I kiwano melons and peppers comin up...and i have grown the little grape tomatoes from mcdonalds and they have turned out awesome...actually so awesome that alot of ppl in the neighborhood would come over and ask for them...all i did was save the seeds from one of them.

P.s. I love this thread and i hope it never ends!

I germinated some papaya and some Dragonfruit seeds. The dragonfruit seeds had already produced roots in 3 days!

They sent up leaves overnight!

Tumbleweed- did you plant peppercorns? I just found this link in an effort to see if you can do just that :-)

Please let me know if you can plant peppercorns from the store to get a plant that produces peppercorns!

Onions and Garlic..

I have just planted a few small rooted stems from garlic and onions. I live in PA where is is really cold for quite some time. When should I plant outside? The garlic is a real trooper and seems to be growing fast and will need to transplant soon. I did not dry out plants just cut and placed into soil. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
~Sarah~

Time to help keep this thread going.

Few years back, I did a pineapple top. Just stuck it in a glass of water until it rooted, then put it into a pot and kept it in the most sunny spot indoors. I had it for about two years or so. Never fruited, but got pretty good sized. Word of warning - those leaves are SHARP. Both needle sharp at the tips and knife edge sharp along the edges. Word of warning Mark II - not all pineapple tops are created equal. For some reason, some you find in stores have the inner most (newest) leaves cored out. Those will not sprout and grow, at least in my experience.

Right now, I've got an avocado from seed. About 14 inches or so tall. Pinched it back at about 12 or so inches in hopes of branches, but so far there's just the one. Pinched it back again so we'll see what happens. Doing fine, though. Took it FOREVER to root. Did the toothpick and glass of water trick with the pit. Didn't change water, just added more as needed. Eventually it tossed up a stem sprout and the rest is history.

My kid (5) also was able to plant and sprout an orange pip and apple seed. Apple sprout got killed after a repot (dang) and I let the orange sprout dry out accidentally which resulted in shrivelly death (dang again).

I planted avocado and garlic back in Oct 2006. Here they are today. I think I'll pinch the avocado after learning that it's beneficial to start branches.
{{gwi:51645}}From 2007 avocado ...
{{gwi:51646}}From 2007 avocado ...

The newest food fad is acai berries. Frozen ones are available in organic food stores, etc. Has anyone tried growing them??

Thanks to all who have posted here. Think this thread should be kept alive.

Going to try rosemary and garlic that are lingering in the fridge.

Has anyone tried mushrooms? Heard that if you find them in the store with little bumps around the stem they will work.

Acai berry is the fruit from a palm tree from the lowlands of brazil. I am intrested in trying to grow some here. The recent fad has a drink being sold for $35 to $45 a bottle (OMG!). I thought it would be funny to have it grow here for free.

Love this thread!!! Current success: a volunteer avacado that I allowed to grow. About 6 yrs old with her very first flowers, the Mama tree came down in H.Katrina (she was huge). I just had to top off her leader because she is getting too big for me to handle.

New hurricane rule: No tree is allowed to get higher then what I can trim with a pole saw and A-frame ladder.

I've been putting scallions in the ground for years, pulling them out as needed. Keeps them fresher. Mine just blossomed. But they are still tasty.

Just put garlic in the ground to see what would happen. Grew like a rocket. But have no idea how to harvest. Going to do more research on this. Might not work long term because of our nematodes and heat.

I only grow cherry style tomatoes. Had the most success and there is much less waste for me. After H. Wilma ripped thru and destroyed my backyard, I had golden pear shape tomatoes volonteer from where my composer use to be. They were the most incredible taste. All the neighbors came around for them. Alas, I failed to save the seeds (but I'm learning).

I let my sons grow thier own plants in a planter i bought for this purpose in an effort to get them to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Orange seeds, apple seeds, even corn kernels get put into this planter and everything is growing quite nicley. They even put jalepeno seeding in there and sure enough, everything grows!

right now lettuce, garlic, roma tomato

I never buy seed garlic, always save and plant sprouted store-bought, and I plant 2 crops a year - the first as soon as the soil can be worked in spring and the second around Columbus Day.

A few years ago I tossed a few neglected, already-sprouting sweet potatoes onto the compost pile during a rainy March and was later shocked to see a bunch of vines growing up onto the fence. I was careful not to destroy them and ended up getting a good amount of gorgeous, fat sweet potatoes! Really surprised me.

Lots of ideas on this thread have never occurred to me - going to quit throwing out stuff - thanks!

Here in Pannsylvania they sell fresh rooted basil plants in plastic sacs in the produce department for alot cheaper than I can get them at the plant store plus they're alot more developed. I put them in right away. I get huge plants from them.

I think the grocery stores got hip lately about that because the price went up a dollar last year in the grocery store but it's still cheaper than buying the small basil starts in the pots from the plant stores.

They put a warning sign on the sacs that says "not for growing in garden" or something silimar. I dont know why they put that warning on there because it grows super well for me!

I've had really geat success getting the newly popular Goji berries to sprout. Throw em in some soil and they have a really amazing germination rate.

Has anyone been successful with the acai yet?

I've got some kiwi, green pepper, couple kinds of tomatoes, watermelon, some kiwano and some purple fingerling potatoes in the ground now, see how they go. Also picked up a pair of baby pineapple I'm gonna try, but some of the leaves don't look so hot. Maybe with rooting hormone!

I'm looking forward to stratifying some cherry, nectarine, plum, and apricot that i have on hand, though I think they won't be true for the most part. Chances are!

Anyone been successful with things that aren't already in the thread? I'm curious...

I don't know if pineapple is in the thread or not, but here's a top I planted about a year ago. It looked very sad all last winter, but come spring, it perked up and started to grow. No pineapple yet!

{{gwi:51647}}

I was told that in order for an avocado plant to bear fruit, it has to be *grafted* onto something else. Any truth in this?

anything with a seed in it - - grapes, apples, pears, even the sub tropical (avacados, mangoes) and tropicals are worth a go

All it costs you is the seed which would have been thrown out anyway. And it's fun to show off to your friends your mango seedling (even if the first winter kills it)

Onions are good, as are carrots - if the root doesn't grow you'll get a flower head (like Queen Annes Lace) and seeds; pineapples;
sweet potato and ordinary potatoes - you just need a bit of the peel with an eye in it..

Ages ago I bought 1/4 red cabbage to use as a dyeing experiment, but I didn't get around to doing it and the still wrapped cabbage spent weeks in the back of the fridge. When I finally got it out to throw it out I noticed that there was a bulge of leaves right at the base of the cut section. Showed it to my parents and asked if they think it might keep growing, was told definitely not. I rarely take no for an answer so stuck it in a pot with the rotting part under the soil, well it has kept on growing, the leaves have now opened, it's sending up stems. I'm waiting for it to flower and set seeds, going to grow them when it does. Has anyone else ever seen anything like this?

Thread is still alive!
:)
Very interesting ideas. I'm on a wicked pepper kick, so am giving the seeds from red pepper flake spice jar a try. lol, I figure anything with a seed is worth a try for free. What have I got to lose?

Well two years after reading about the "After Dinner Gardening Book" on the plants from the produce department thread, I finally found the book (out of print for years) and it is helpful(and a good read).

Because of it, I have some healthy papaya seedlings in the windowsill and some key lime seedlings.

Who knows? It may work this time. Anyway, Get the book.....

The pineapple looks GREAT!

I gave up on the mango seed and am going to dump it in the compost, and who knows, maybe it'll like it there?

:)

Doris, thanks for the comment on the pineapple. It's still growing but looking a little sad like it did last winter. Maybe Hawaiians don't like our chilly winters in CA! I hope it will perk up now that the weather is warmer.

I've had a mango sprout in my worm bin, so that's a good idea to put it in your compost pile.

I'm glad this thread is still alive.

I grow passionfruit from fruit bought at the grocery store.
All you need is a little bottom heat and you can be elbow deep in passionfruit- not to mention the vines and flowers are beautiful.

-Lileecoi-

My sister and I both started orange seeds last year and wound up with some nice tiny plants. Unfortunately, I got distracted and mine dried up. Will do them again and would really like to try a purple yam. I've not seen one in our area before so will need to branch out a little. I'd like there vines for my hanging baskets. Would like to try the passionfruit and several other things mentioned here as well. Has anyone tried a coffee bean? I had a store bought plant that died at the same time the orange plants died but it was so pretty I'd like to get another one started.

I have the "After Dinner Gardening Book", but haven't read through it. Picked it up on eBay. Love this thread. Hope it keeps going.

Raw peanuts are fun for kids to grow also.

has anyone tried tangerines or clementines?

Lileecoi: Please share directions for how you prepared and grew the Passion Fruit Seeds. Love the looks of the vine and flower, and would like to have some to eat, too! TIA Gloria

I have two clemantine orange seedlings on my windsill from the few seeds that I saw in the box of "seedless" oranges we got in December. Who knows if they will ever bear fruit but it sure is interesting to try and see what happens.

I love The After Dinner Gardening book - so fun! Our kids always dig seeds out of their fruit and dry them in the kitchen window. We have more stuff coming up now. We actually have a lime tree and a lemon tree that are in the ground outside and made it through winter - both from seed! And a tiny baby loquat that's still only about 6" high. I think another lemon or maybe an orange is growing in one of my potted plants thanks to the 4-year-old. And I know for a fact she stuffed apple seeds in another indoor plant.

Last year I found a bizarre looking round red ribbed squash at a South American grocery store. I just planted those seeds around the yard, and I'm really hoping some of them will come up.

After Halloween last fall, the kids and I garbage picked the Arboretum for fancy pumpkins from their patch. We got a few strange ones - white, blue, chocolate brown... Those seeds have all sprouted out back and the enormous vines are everywhere.

Fun stuff - I love it.

Also, the cabbage question - I have the base of a purple cabbage growing like mad in my compost heap right now. I need to dig it out and stick it in the landscaping somewhere to see what it does.

I'm new to growing plants from items in the produce department. This thread, along with some others, got me interested. I purchased The After Dinner Gardening Book. I was so surprised to find out it was humorous as well as loaded with good advice.

In the last couple of weeks, I have started seeds of avocado, mango, and lemon. I am trying to root ginger by thee different methods.

Currently, I have lime, grapes, kiwi, and tangerines in my kitchen. I think our consumption of fruit will increase significantly. I have a friend going to Hawaii soon. I have asked her to bring me an unhusked coconut and some fresh macadamias.

WOW im supprised this thread has lasted five years and now i have a whole list of produce to plant and a few new books to buy KEEP THE THREAD GOING

Please, I implore you...

I last asked this 3 years ago in May of '05.

Can we please, Please, PLEASE let this thread die????

I haven't posted on this forum in many years but this ONE thread continues to haunt me. (Yes, I know I can turn off email notification but still...) Surely we have covered all territory that there is to be covered.

Please let this thread die an (un)natural death...I swear I didn't know what I was doing!!!

its a fun thread, maybe somebody else should start a new one?

Arden, just don't look at it. Everyone else is enjoying it. We could start a new one, but then all the valuable information wouldn't be on it.

I posted a pic of my pineapple a while back. It's bigger now but has not shown any signs of bearing fruit.

wow arden ur violent and a little demented

GREAT READ! I will try planting hot pepper flakes from spice rack. Will sprout on papertown. Thank you. You can grown citrus seeds, but don't dry out. Keep moist and very warm. Sprout on moist paper towels in ziplock bag. I stick mine on top of fridge. Its warm. I will try coriander. Currently trying to root a very large rosemary in water, but it might not be warm enough.

Who has had success growing from spice cabinet?