Book of the Week: Don't Throw It Grow It - 68 Windowsill Plants from Kitchen Scraps

Author: Deborah Peterson

You can have houseplant fun with fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices. From the common carrot to the exotic cherimoya, dozens of foods have pits, seeds, and roots waiting to be rescued from the compost bin and brought back to life on your windowsill.

Planted and nurtured, the shiny pomegranate seeds left over from breakfast and the piece of neglected gingerroot in your refrigerator will grow into healthy, vigorous houseplants—kitchen experiments in the wonder of botany.

Book Description

Magic and wonder hide in unexpected places — a leftover piece of ginger, a wrinkled potato left too long in its bag, a humdrum kitchen spice rack. In Don't Throw It, Grow It! Deborah Peterson reveals the hidden possibilities in everyday foods.

Peterson, former president of the American Pit Gardening Society, shows how common kitchen staples — pits, nuts, beans, seeds, and tubers — can be coaxed into lush, vibrant houseplants that are as attractive as they are fascinating. With Peterson's help, a sweet potato turns into a blooming vine; chickpeas transform into cheery hanging baskets; the humble beet becomes a dramatic centerpiece; and gingerroot grows into a 3-foot, bamboo-like stalk. In some cases the transformation can happen overnight!

Don't Throw It, Grow It! offers growing instructions for over 50 plants in four broad categories — kitchen vegetables; fruits and nuts; herbs and spices; and more exotic plants from ethnic markets. The book is enhanced with beautiful illustrations, and its at-a-glance format makes it a quick and easy reference.

Best of all, every featured plant can be grown in a kitchen, making this handy guide a must-have for avid gardeners and apartment-dwellers alike. Don't Throw It, Grow It! will appeal both to committed recyclers and to anyone who wants to find magic in the mundane — from parents and teachers looking to instill a sense of wonder in children, to the houseplant enthusiast seeking to create a one-of-a-kind Eden right in her kitchen.

About the Author
Deborah Peterson, a founder of the Rare Pit & Plant Council and the editor of their newsletter The Pits for 25 years, has contributed to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Handbooks and lectured extensively on gardening with pits, among other gardening topics. Deborah is the proprietor of Landmark Landscaping and has landscaped and designed many gardens and private parks in NYC and Massachusetts.

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