For the apartment or house dweller without room or desire to compost, there is an alternative to tossing your kitchen scraps: grow them.
I've done a potato, who hasn't? I've done a mango pit, which grew on the window sill of my upper-Broadway apartment for almost a year, then mysteriously died. And I've plunked celery in water (sometimes colored) and watched it suck up the nutrients while sprouting an up-do.
But sesame? Persimmon? Figs?
For those curious about the way the earth and it's bounty grows, a quick perusal through Don't Throw It, Grow It! by Deborah Peterson would be a fun way to start. Perfect for the urbanite with "no room for a garden" and great for children just beginning to get their little heads around the cycle of life.
Heck, I'm a fairly seasoned gardener and I think I just might cut back on the composting and just go straight to gardening with my scraps.
Don't Throw It, Grow It: 68 Windowsill Plants from Kitchen Scraps (Storey, May 2008)
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I've just started growing scallions and now I am hooked. All I had to do was cut their roots off, put in water for a few days and then transfer to dirt. After about 3 weeks there is enough to eat, just cut the tops off and let it reshoot. Spendid!
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worms! red worm composts fit anywhere, no really, mine takes up less space than my recycle bin! no one should really say they don't have room to compost.
Desire... well that's another story.
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