Garbage Gardening Plant parts that are normally thrown away can be beautiful houseplants. Carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, and avocados are plants that have beautiful greenery. Try some of the following. Avocado Plants can be started by suspending the pit with toothpicks in a glass of water. However, it may be easier to plant it in soil. Let the pit dry for a day. Peel off the dark, brown covering. Put the pit in a pot filled with potting soil, pointed end up. Leave about one-third of the pit showing. A shoot should appear in about 4-6 weeks. Carrot, Beets, Rutabaga, or Turnips These plants produce a graceful leafy and often colorful plant. Cut a one-inch section from the top of the vegetable and plant it in moist sand, with only the upper part exposed. Small leaves will appear in about 10 days. Be sure to keep the plant moist. Pineapple Cut the top off the pineapple with about 1/2 - 1" of fruit attached. Let the top dry out for 1-2 days. Place the top in a shallow dish filled with sand. Keep the sand moist. The top should root in about 6-8 weeks. Plant in a pot with potting soil. Another method is to twist the top off the fruit. Remove the lower leaves, exposing the stem for 1 - 2". Place the top in a small glass of water so the water is just below the lowest leaves. In about 2 weeks you should see roots starting to form. Transplant when about half the glass is filled with roots. Papaya The inside of a papaya is packed with numerous seeds. Each seed is wrapped in jelly-like covering that needs to be removed before planting. Rubbing the seeds together in a bowl of water works well. After the covering is removed, let the seeds sit in the water for a while. Those that float should be discarded as they will not germinate. Place the seeds in a pot filled with potting soil. Cover the seeds with about 1/2" of soil. Keep moist. Seeds should germinate in about 4-6 weeks. Citrus Seeds of orange, lime, lemon and grapefruit are easy to grow. Soak seeds in water overnight. Plant them about 1" deep in a pot filled with potting soil. Put 2-3 seeds in each pot. Mango Remove as much of the fruit from the pit as possible. Scrape it off with a knife and then use a toothbrush and water to scrub the remainder off. After the pit is clean, soak the seed in warm water for 5 days. Change the water daily and replace with warm water. Plant the pit with the "eye" up. The "eye" is a flattened spot where the fruit was joined to the stem. Cover the pit with about 1/2" of soil. Don't lay the seed flat. Lay it on end with the "eye" up. Keep moist. The seed may germinate in 2 weeks or take 4 months. To try and get quicker germination, use very ripe fruit.

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