Strawberries are my favorite summer fruit. I have fond memories of going strawberry picking with my family as a child and repeating the summertime tradition with my own children. Not surprisingly, on all occasions, quite a few fruits didn’t make it into my basket.
These bright red, beautiful fruits are deliciously sweet and juicy and are a summertime favorite for all. But, regularly buying strawberries from your grocery store can quickly add up, and instead of being a healthy, affordable snack, they become an expensive treat.
However, you can still enjoy a bumper supply of strawberries throughout the summer. Instead of buying them from the grocery store, you can grow and harvest your own, and all you need is a few kitchen scraps.
Grow your strawberries from kitchen scraps
You’ll need to start off with some strawberries for this hack to work, but this is the only purchase you’ll need to make, along with some potting compost (if you don’t already have a small supply).
Yardi Garden shares how to grow strawberries using this method at @yardigarden.
How to grow strawberries without seeds or plants
When you next come to enjoy some strawberries, instead of removing the top leaves and discarding them in the trash, keep hold of these strawberry scraps. This is the magic that will give you a free crop of strawberries all summer.
What’s more, another free hack is to use the container your strawberries came in to act as a mini greenhouse.
What you need to do
1. Cut the top section off your strawberries to remove the leaves.
2. Place some potting compost in the plastic container your strawberries came in.
3. Place the strawberry scraps on top of the soil — a good guide is add six strawberry tops to each container.
4. Carefully cover the strawberry scraps with a thin layer of compost, covering them completely, then give them a light water.
5. Cover the container with the lid — this will act as a mini greenhouse.
6. In a few days, you should see young seedlings popping up from the soil.
7. When the plants are ready, transplant them outside.
Next time I go to my local grocery store, I'm going to pick up a box of strawberries and save the tops to try out this hack. With any luck, I'll have a big enough harvest to keep my family happy all summer.
