Waste, Waste, And More Waste

Waste, Waste, and more Waste

By Joseph Parish

Before we get involved in the various ways of propagating plants from garbage, let’s briefly talk about garbage in America. Have you ever noticed the large quantity of trash trucks on our roads these days? Our waste appears to be their gain. Today, I have accomplished some past due reading and noticed the astounding amount of food which we waste. As I thought further on the issue, I decided to include these remarks in this article. As a nation, our lives seem gifted with an excess of food which we generously share with the world. I remember as a teenager reading how we shared wheat with the Soviet Union even though at that time we were cold war rivals. Even though we possess an abundance of healthy foods, we also waste a large portion of it.

You can sit in your easy chair reading this and commenting silently under your breath that your waste is very minor at most. Granted, you may not generate much waste compared to the total tons, but if each person’s waste becomes added together, it creates mountains of trash. As a nation, our total food waste amounts to over two tons every second. That is an amazing amount of food continuously tossed in the trash.

It is not just the final consumer who contributes to this waste, but rather contributions all along the road from the farm and up to you, each doing their fair share of wasted food. According to statistics, about 17 to 25 percent of the food grown on the farms, become garbage on that farm. This waste includes food which may not be totally appealing to the public. An example would be tomatoes, which might have imperfections or blemishes on them. Another source of waste is in the packaging center where additional foods become trashed due to minor imperfections. From there the foods make their way to the homes and restaurants where the “lions share” of waste takes place.

Sixteen percent of all potatoes in American kitchens become a trash product. This figure is even higher for other product such as 24 percent of lettuce, 20 percent for bread, 21 percent for yogurt and 15 percent for chicken. This is perfectly good food that has survived its trip from the farmers to its destination on your table. Now, not all this waste is a result of the farmers, the markets, or to the consumers, as we find much of the blame can fall upon the regulators employed by both state and federal governments. These are the individuals who “reject” foods for some reason or other. Perhaps only Grade A blemish-free fruit would find its way to the grocery shelves. This leaves the lowest grades to rot in the farmer’s field. We see this in our area each year as less than perfect watermelons lie in the farmer’s fields subject to eventual plowing over.

The point here is that each one of us must be aware of this waste, and in some way or other play a role in reducing these vast numbers. You may be asking how you can reduce this amount of waste within your own household. Tiny steps one by one will and do work wonders. There are several ways you can accomplish this. In our case, we find that these imperfect tomatoes are a benefit to us. We have a local farmer who places all his imperfect tomatoes in a bin. For the mere cost of $5.00, one can fill up a good size crate and take them home. We use these tomatoes for making spaghetti sauce and storing it up for future use. We had stopped this practice several years ago since it was not cost effective, however, we have currently resumed it due to the high market cost of jars of pasta sauce at the grocery stores these days.

Another way that we contribute to reducing waste is to buy the reduced produce in the store. Harris Teeter often removes their day or so old foods and place them for sale at a drastically reduced price. Although we would never pay premium prices for foods which are less than perfect, we will consider foods such as these assuming the price reduction. Unfortunately, our current food distribution facilities normally do not view this as a viable alternative. We take these foods and dehydrate them for storage. An example, would be carrots. We can buy a large bag of reduced-price carrots for possibly ninety-nine cents. We take them home and immediately prepare them for the dehydrator.

One of our local growers usually, sells the not so perfect apples at a drastic savings in price. These are good for making applesauce, apple cider and dehydrating for future pies or treats.

Lastly, we have discovered that we should make less food. We have given up cooking with oils, fats and greases and now find that in the event we do make more of a product than we need we can dehydrate it as well. Suppose we make too much green bean vegetables for our meal. Not a problem, as “no” butter or fatty substances occurred as an ingredient, thus we can dehydrate that which remains. These are perfect for adding to soups and stews.

This now leads us to the main topic of this book, garbage gardening. For years, I have tried to re-grow as many vegetables and fruits as I could. I jokingly refer to it as my “God” complex. I want to create my own plants which others may refer to as trash. These techniques may not contribute much towards reducing the landfill problems, but they are fun and are acceptably great for introducing young children to the joys of gardening and growing plants.

As most of my friends know I am an avid garbage gardener. I feel that all children should become versed in this method of gardening to encourage them to become involved in the activity and to become environmentally responsible. As a Master Gardener, I receive frequent questions on what fruits and vegetables a person can buy and regrow in their home. My usual response is generally any. The key here is to proceed with an open mind and accept success and not failure.

Before we get involved in the individual plants, let me give you a few hints that will lead to successful growing. First, when possible start with organic produce. Some chemicals used in the farming industry on the commercially produced fruits and vegetables often interfere with the plant's ability to sprout roots and grow. Potatoes are a prime candidate for this, as their treatment with chemicals after harvest frequently prevent rooting. The presence of the chemicals prevents them from sprouting and to extend the vegetable shelf life. In a similar fashion, some food receives an irradiated treatment to kill off any diseases. Spices are a good one for this. Although organically grown produce maybe not ensure that the food you buy is completely free of chemicals, it does indicate as little exposure as possible.

Hybrids are popular and available in abundance in the supermarkets. Unless the food product is a "heirloom" you will likely have a cross pollinated product. What this means to you is that you may not get the same results as the parent plant. Since growing garbage is so much fun, I suggest you take a chance and try growing it anyway. You have nothing to lose.

Enclosed in future articles you will encounter simplified instruction for regenerating many grocery stores fruits and vegetables. A few simple tricks are to generally provide full sun when growing the plants unless otherwise noted. The recommended growing media is a soil-less mix or a good quality potting soil with vermiculite added. Keep the growing temperature around 70 to 80º F. Additionally, keep the soil moist, yet not over watered. Liquid fertilizer is helpful when the plants reach a height of 12 inches.

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