For anyone wanting to “go green,” the most basic form of recycling is also one of the easiest: planting the seeds of fruit you eat. Who hasn’t wistfully wished — after a particularly delicious orange or kiwi — that they had an entire tree full in their backyard? The good news for students is that, for most fruits and vegetables, backyards aren’t required. All that is needed is a pot, a window sill and some patience.

“Don’t Throw It, Grow It!” is a book that details how to grow 68 different edible plants in pots indoors. Some, such as herbs, are not that surprising and have probably been attempted by most students, but others are foods that most people would never think they could grow, like almonds, pomegranates, celery, pineapple, beans, carrots and more.

The authors, Deborah Peterson and Millie Selsam, did extensive experiments to find out which seeds, pits and roots (that most people discard) could be recycled to grow plants. To their surprise, they found that even tropical plants such as kiwi, papaya and guava can grow indoors, given the right methods of cultivation. Orange seeds, for example, can grow into 10-foot-tall trees without ever going outside.

“That’s madness!” said Taylor Wood, a junior majoring in applied physics. When asked what food from “Grow It!” he’d be interested in growing, he said, “I want to plant the most ridiculous one. I would grow lentils, for they make a delicious soup.”

One of the most intriguing parts about growing your own foods is that it turns useless kitchen scraps, like carrot tops and old, shriveled potatoes, into new carrots and new potatoes. As the cover of the books says, “it’s kitchen magic!”

Different plants require different levels of care and attention. “Grow It!” ranks each type of plant by how quickly it grows, how much light it needs, what kind of soil to use and how difficult the process is overall.

Blen Nance, an organizational behavior major from Kaysville, was intrigued by the kinds of foods “Grow It!” suggested planting.

“I’d be most excited about ginger root and other spices, because they’re expensive as heck,” he said. “If I could just plant a little piece of ginger and never have to pay for it again, I’d be happy.”

Nance has some experience with kitchen gardening.
“I’ve tried growing strawberries,” he said, “and we also started tomatoes, in pellets, before moving them outside. Everything worked out pretty well.”

“Grow It!” is a reprint of a book originally published in 1977. Since then, one of the authors — Selsam — has died and the most recent edition of the book is dedicated to her. “Grow It!” is available at Barnes & Noble and Borders book stores, as well as online on amazon.com.