Save Money on Food by Growing Plants from Grocery Produce or Fruit Seeds

Growing plants from seeds you order is the most reliable way to get the plants you want, but sometimes a gardener may decide to plant the seed from a piece of produce from the grocery store. It can be incredibly exciting watching the seed from a plant you ate grow into a thriving source of tasty and nutritious treats for your family!

While it can be fun to try to grow a food plant from grocery store produce, it does require some care to successfully grow the plant into a producing member of your fruit and vegetable garden. Let's explore some awesome crop plants that can be grown from the right food at your local grocer.

Potatoes

Are sprouting eyes ruining the edibility of your bag of store-bought potatoes? Cutting and planting the sprouts may give you potatoes later in exchange for your ruined potatoes now. The easiest way to grow potatoes this way is to cut chunks out of the potatoes around the sprouted eyes and get the roots to develop in a glass of water before putting the potatoes in the ground.

Some potatoes at the store are sprayed with a substance that helps stop them from sprouting, so if you plan to grow potatoes from your store-bought fare, go for organic for a better chance at potatoes that will grow in your garden. In general, potatoes take about 3 months before they are ready to eat, but the time until harvest will vary depending on the size of the potato.

More information:

Potatoes are Easy to Grow Vegetables

Avocados

The fat pit that is the bane of avocado eaters' existence can actually be a pathway to a slew of tasty avocados, but it may take a while. Avocados can take up to 13 years' to grow into a producing plant!

Budding gardeners should be aware that not all avocados grown from seeds grow into avocado producing plants. The only sure way to get an avocado fruit laden plant is to graft a plant from an existing plant, but rolling the dice on the avocado pits from the fruits you eat can be a fun project for the whole family, and one that may bear tasty gifts in the faraway future.

More information:

How to Get Rid of Root Rot in an Avocado Tree

Avocado Pit Home Growing Experiment

Peaches, Nectarines and Apricots

These delicious fruits come ready-made with a seed right inside. Some of them are even already partially sprouted for you! Plant the pit about 3 inches deep in fertile ground, but don't wait around for these succulent fruits. It takes about 3 years' for a pit to grow into a fully producing fruit tree.

More information:

Growing Peaches and Nectarines in the Home Landscape

How Do I Plant a Peach Tree?

What Are Some Easy Fruit Trees to Grow?

Pit Gardening Tips

Choose a patch of land for experimenting with turning grocery store seeds into producing fruit plants. Not all seeds in produce are fertile, and not all of them grow into healthy plants. If your geographic area is prone to plant pests and diseases, it may be more productive in the long term to grow plants from seeds that are resistant to local plant diseases and pests.