Making Food Blog

Have you ever wondered if it was possible to grow new plants from the seeds that are often discarded during the preparation of fruits and vegetables. I’ve even seen videos on social media that propose that growing your own fruits is as simple as smashing the fruit and covering it in dirt.

Well, those of you that have tried to transform grocery store produce into a garden know that the results are often disappointing. I used to think that this was simply a reflection on my poor gardening capabilities, but that actually wasn’t true. The lack of sprouting from most grocery store produce seeds is actually due to factors like irradiated seeds and immature seeds due to an early harvest.

The truth is most store-bought produce is usually designed to prevent consumers from being able to propagate their own versions of the plants. In fact, many mainstream produce seeds are often the result of GMO crops designed to produce genetically weak seeds incapable of being used to produce viable seeds. This keeps the farmers that grew those crops beholden to purchasing seed each year, which is not how farmers used to get seed in the “old” days.

However, if you are shopping at a farmers market and buying locally grown produce there, chances are good that you will be able to use the seeds from that produce to grow your own. And if the farmer you bought from is certified organic, then you may be able to turn your farmers market produce into a direct descendant of their plants.

That is exactly what I was able to do when I planted a seed fresh from an acorn squash I acquired from Prairie Woods Farm and sprouted my very own offspring of Jeremy’s organic acorn squash. I toured Prairie Woods Farm several months ago, and Jeremy kindly offered some free produce samples at the end of the tour. I gladly accepted two acorn squash, which I lost sight of in my kitchen fruit basket. Then, when I excitedly rediscovered them, I simply took one of the seeds I had scraped from the center and added to a pod in the hydroponic system in my apartment. A week later a strong sprout threw off the covering and jutted toward the grow light.

Not all seeds will automatically grow from purchased farmers market produce simply by planting them. Depending on the type of produce, you may need to dry, shade, or even abrade the seed. There are plenty of seed guides out there to consult, but remember that you must at least start with viable seeds from produce that was not altered to prevent its furtile seed qualities. The possibilities for growing your own new plants from the seeds of purchased produce are well worth a little home experimenting.