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How to Grow Carrots from Carrot Scraps (Pictures)

How to grow carrots from carrot scraps is as easy as a-b-c. Certainly, growing vegetables from scraps extends to carrots as well. In this tutorial I will be sharing the approach I used to regrow my store bought carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) from scraps.

By scraps, when growing carrots, we mean the generally inedible carrot tops that you cut off as you work in the kitchen. Although you would start growing the carrot tops in water at first, they will end up in the soil and flourishing. You can grow carrots this way in containers or directly into the ground.

Let’s begin growing the carrots from carrot scraps…

Step 1 – Get your Carrots and Cut them up.

How to grow carrots from carrot scraps.

Get fully grown, mature carrots ready for consumption. The carrots should still have their leaves on them to encourage quicker sprouting.

Trim the carrot leaves

As mentioned, used here are store bought carrots which I cut off the tops for scraps. Since I intended the scraps for regrow, I deliberately left a bit of “flesh” on them compared to what I did normally do. The rest of the carrots can be used in your regular recipes which is also what I did in this case.

Trim the leaves further

After you cut-off the tops from the main carrot, go ahead and trim off the leaves leaving nice short trimmed stalks still attached to the carrot scraps or tops as shown here. At this point our carrot scraps are ready. Let’s now turn our attention to the initial growing container.

Also see how to grow other vegetables from scraps such as Chinese cabbage, potatoes, regular onions and green onions a.k.a. spring onions.

Step 2 – Get a container for the initial carrot sprouting

Empty carrot scraps growing container

Get a container of a smaller size. Your container should allow the carrot scraps to sit flat without being submerged in water. So the container should hold just enough water to achieve this. In this case I repurposed a grocery store punnet that had fruit in it. The one used here is 20 cm long, 12 cm wide and 2 cm deep. How big your container will be is overall guided by the number of carrot tops you have. In this case I only had 8 scraps. Whatever the case, avoid having the scraps completely covered in water, they will start rotting.

Step 3 – Place your Carrot Scraps in Container for Sprouting

Carrot scraps

With your container ready, place your scraps face-down into the container and proceed to pour plain tap water (no nutrients etc added) into the container taking care not to completely cover them with the water. Set aside the container in a shade away from birds or rodents which may also take interest in the scraps as I learned the hard way.

Step 4 – Witness your Carrot Scraps starting to Sprout.

Sprouting carrot scraps

After a few days, as shown here, I witnessed the glorious moment when the scraps began sprouting. The shooting of the leaves was rapid and since this point, did not stop. I just made sure to keep the container with enough water to support the sprouting.

Carrot scraps rooting

I left the scraps in the containers in the water for a few days more to allow signs of rooting. As shown here, the scraps started growing some tiny roots an important signal that time was on the horizon to pot the scraps. Time to look for an even bigger and better container with longer term growing medium.

Step 5 – Get a Bigger Container and Soil for your Carrot Scraps

Get container to grow your carrot scraps in soil.

Which way to go from her is a matter of choice. I mostly grow food in containers so it came naturally to prepare for a transfer of my carrot scraps from the shallow water container into a bigger growing container filled with soil as the growing medium. If not containers, you may also plant your now sprouting and rooting scraps in a traditional garden. It is all good.

Carefully space your carrot scraps for soil planting

For the container, I took a good sized 20L water bottle lying around the yard which I cut in two. In case you are interested, the other top part of the water bottle which I didn’t use here on this project, I used it to grow some beets also from scraps which you can see here. For the growing the carrot scraps, I filled the cut-off container with nutrient rich soil mixed with compost. I did mock placement of the scraps on top of the soil to make sure each plant would enjoy good space. I am a bit methodical in my approach but you are free to plant your scraps anyhow.

Plant your carrot tops in soil and thoroughly water

As shown here, I proceeded to plant the scraps by first digging a shallow hole in the soil and placing each scrap into its own hole before covering slightly around it with soil. To make this process easier, first water the soil to the point of drenching it if its two dry. This way, it’s much easier to manage the planting process. Water one last time and place the container first in the shade for one or two first days and later in the open air even under direct sunlight. Depending on your environment, take care no competing members of the ecosystem could be interested in your scraps as to come for them and dig them out of the soil for own consumption! As mentioned, I found this to be the case with rodents.

Step 6 – Your Scraps Get a Life of their own

Growing carrots from scraps

Once in the soil, the carrot scraps will flourish. You will notice in a day or two after transplant to the soil that all is well by the vigorously growing carrot leaves. These will be tender and taste just like carrots. These can be picked carefully for use in salads and other greens at will.

Summary of How to Grow Carrots from Carrot Scraps

Here is a summary of how to grow carrots from carrot scraps or tops as some would call them.

  1. Get some mature, healthy carrots with leaves still attached
  2. Cut off the top parts of the carrots while the leaves are still attached
  3. Trim the leaves off the carrot tops leaving only short stalks attached to the tops
  4. Take a shallow container, fill it with water and place the scraps in the container
  5. Set aside the container in a shade for some days.
  6. When the leaves start sprouting and roots forming transfer to soil
  7. Transfer the scraps to a potting container with soil and continue watering
  8. Pick tender leaves to include in salads.

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One reply on “How to Grow Carrots from Carrot Scraps (Pictures)”

I have two questions that I wish to be answered. One, if you pierce the a onion cutting when setting into water with toothpicks, will it not sprout but will take root. Mine is growing roots but no sprout growing at the top. Question two, If bell peppers are grown in a greenhouse or indoors, don’t the flowers need to be pollinated to develop the peppers after flowering?

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