All kinds of magic happens in the kitchen. Flour and water become a bubbling, leavening sourdough starter. Beer stands in for yeast in the ultimate homemade pizza dough hack. And vegetable scraps regrow themselves with just a bit of water and sunlight.
Miraculous little tricks like these have earned more appreciation as the days/weeks/months of quarantine continue to drag on. I thought I knew most of them already, but it turns out there's been one sitting right under my nose all this time—and it has me saying, duh, of course this works.
Did you know you can grow tomatoes at home using fresh tomatoes? I know, I know, it's obvious. But it was a revelation to me that you could slice up just about any tomato, plop it in some dirt, shower it with water, sunlight, and lots of love, and—voilà!—after about two weeks you'd have bright-green seedlings ready for replanting.
Even better, this exciting news comes just in time to grow your own for summer (mayo-slicked tomato sandwiches, here you come).
The handy video below shows you how. All you need are fresh tomato slices (cut about 1/4-inch thick), a gardening pot with holes for drainage, and vegetable-friendly potting soil—you can also use a mix, like the one shown in the video. We didn't have any gravel in the house, but my mom (who has the greenest of thumbs and impeccable taste) says you don't necessarily need it.
Fill up the pot almost all the way to the top with your potting soil, leaving a few inches of room, and place your tomato slices directly on the soil, in a circular pattern. Cover the tomato slices with a light layer of soil—you don't want them buried too deep in there. Move the pot to a spot that gets a mix of sun and shade, and water the pot daily so that the soil stays moist (but not drenched).
Those lil' tomato seeds will start to germinate in one to two weeks. According to the video, by day 15 or so, you should have dozens of thriving baby seedlings. You'll want to pick out a few of the strongest-looking seedlings of the bunch and transfer them to a larger pot so they can grow into full-fledged tomato plants. For more tips, check out this short-and-sweet guide from Gardening Know How—and always feel free to post any questions down in the comments below (my mom and I will do our best to answer!).
We planted ours just the other day, so stay tuned to see whether or not they sprout! I've got a good feeling about this...
This post contains products independently chosen (and loved) by our editors and writers. Food52 earns an affiliate commission on qualifying purchases of the products we link to.
