BBC Gardeners' World's Monty Don says 'never thought' as viewer shares how to grow veg for free

Gardeners' World viewers got an amazing tip on how to grow their vegetables for free from scraps. On the latest episode of the popular BBC show, lead presenter Monty Don introduced viewers to fellow gardening enthusiast Maria who discovered the method 'by accident'.

Speaking from her own garden, she showed people how they could get a supply of vegetables and salad ingredients using just a bowl of water. Maria, a Gardeners' World fan, said she was keen to share her tips so others could get tasty food for free.

She explained she discovered the method while trying to make her own plant food with kitchen scraps, but after putting them in water 'promptly forgot about them'. Maria continued: "A few weeks later, to my amazement, I discovered that many of them actually grow into new plants.

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"Complete new vegetables and salads." Maria then revealed how others could do the same as she explained exactly how she gets new roots to shoot.

She explained: "What I do at the beginning, for instance with the lettuce, I cut it maybe three centimetres (from the bottom), take off any old leaves from the outside and then pop it in some water on the windowsill."

Maria continues: ".At the bottom after a few weeks you will get roots. As soon as it starts to get roots it'll be put into a pot."

Noting some of the easiest items to develop new roots on, she said cabbage was 'really easy' with the same method, and celery too. She also showed how it worked perfectly with spring onions too.

She showed viewers her homegrown celery pot that had some big sticks ready to eat. Maria said the best thing was that it "cost absolutely nothing".

Monty, 68, was certainly impressed. He said it was a 'great tip' and 'not one I had thought of doing'. He added that it was 'great for limited spaces'.

Gardeners' World is currently airing at 8pm on Friday nights on BBC Two.