Ever grown your own food? You should try it. It can be super rewarding, and fun. Your little plants become your babies as you nurture them into adulthood… Until one day, they’re ready to be released into the big, wide world that is your dining room table. Of course, before they get there, there’s always time for a proud #Farmlife or #Blessed Instagram post to brag about the literal fruits of your labor.
But as with most things in life, gardening, or farming, doesn’t always go according to plan. And expectations certainly do not always meet reality. For every idyllic photo of someone holding a perfectly shaped pumpkin, there are a dozen people crying (or laughing) over their dreams that turned into duds.
Many can be found in an online community ironically called Mighty Harvest. It’s a wall of hilariously epic fails that prove harvesting is not always the satisfying end to a season of hard work. Sometimes it’s just a baffling mess that leaves you with more questions than vegetables.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the best harvesting fails for you to scroll through while you cautiously watch your carrots out of the corner of your eye. We also teach you how to grow your own food from kitchen scraps. And you'll find that info between the funny images.
#1 My First Carrot
Image credits: Flowscapesart
If you're keen to try your hand at growing your own food, what's stopping you? While you might think you need to make a trip to the nursery to buy seeds or seedlings, you actually don't. There's a load of fruit and vegetables you can grow using kitchen scraps and water. Most won't need soil in the beginning.
Carrots, onions, potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, celery and herb scraps are among the many things you'll want to think twice about tossing in the bin the next time you're cooking.
Keep scrolling to find out just how easy it is...
#2 Lemonade For Everyone
Image credits: pseudosysadmin
#3 My Hamster Mo Shall Eat Like A King This Winter!
Image credits: Brento-Bot
With vegetables like celery, green onions, leeks, and lettuce, you'll want to keep the bottom parts.
Green onions can be planted directly in soil if the roots are still attached. For the other veg, all you need to do is place the bottoms in a shallow bowl or glass of water on the windowsill and change the water daily until roots develop.
Voila! You can plant them in pots of soil or in your garden. And wait for your mighty, or not-so-mighty harvest.
Garlic is also a fairly easy one for beginners. "Place about 3 inches of the white part of green onion – with the roots attached – in a jar and in a few days, you’ll start to see regrowth," advises food blog Simple Bites. "For garlic, choose a whole bulb or individual cloves that have started to send out green sprouts – we tend to see this a lot in the winter months as the garlic gets older."
#4 Some Lemon Water For You Sir?
Image credits: Ajonezin
#5 Don't Worry Guys, I'll Make Dinner Tonight
Image credits: blondeotaku1
#6 Finally, A Pumpkin That Ants Can Carve
Image credits: Notel05
Perennial herbs like sage, thyme and mint are just as easy...
Take a stem, put it in a glass of water and make sure the leaves are above water level. Within a few weeks, it should begin to root. And once the roots reach around an inch long, transfer the herbs into a container of potting soil, or straight into your garden.
"If you want to try growing basil yourself, take a four- or six-inch cutting below a leaf node," suggests the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) site. "Be sure the cutting isn't flowering. Place it in water in a sunny location until roots start to grow. When they've reached approximately two inches, repot the cutting in soil."
#7 My Eggplant Decided To Give It One More Go And Blessed Me With This Generous Bounty As Its Last Hurrah!
Image credits: HealthWealthFoodie
#8 What Am I Going To Do With All These Leeks?
Image credits: softblanket420
#9 Send Me Your Butternut Squash Soup Recipes
Image credits: buprestibae
One of my personal favorites to grow from kitchen scraps is tomatoes. You'll find a range of ways to do this. And some might seem time-consuming. But there's a secret I'll let you in on a little later.
A SEAS student writes that Taco Tuesday prompted a co-worker to propagate tomatoes using seeds, adding that it involves more time and care than the other veggies the group had tried.
"She removed the seeds from tomatoes-on-the-vine and placed them on a piece of newspaper. (You could also use paper towels but she chose newspaper to be more sustainable.) To do this, gently scrape or rinse the gooey layer from around the seed. If left on, it will keep the seeds from sprouting," reads the site.
"Gently fold up the seeds inside the newspaper and dampen it slightly (below). Place the damp, folded-up newspaper in a container with a lid (she reused a sour cream container) or a Ziploc bag, close it up, and place it in a sunny spot for a few days. Check often to make sure the newspaper stays moist so the seeds can begin to sprout," adds the student.
#10 Any Recommended Recipes For Strawberry Jam?
Image credits: kebablili
#11 One Turned Out Big And One Really Tiny
Image credits: barbamara
#12 Behold My Giant Cucamelon Harvest!
For those wondering, they cucamelons taste like cucumber mixed with lime. This my first year successfully growing them. They are tasty and adorable!
Image credits: Leannor
The student adds that after three to five days, you'll notice the seeds starting to sprout. This is when you can plant them. Use any small container, cup, jar or pot you have available.
"Gently plant each sprouted seed in the container with the sprouted side pointing down," advises the site, adding that you shouldn't plant too deep. But rather just gently press it down into the soil to make sure it can take root. Gently water or mist just so the top of the soil stays moist. Then leave it in a sunny spot and water regularly to keep the top layer of soil moist.
Once they sprout, each little plant will need a container of its own, notes the budding farmer.
We did warn you that some methods are time-consuming. But also promised there's an easier way. Keep scrolling for that...
#13 Gonna Make Some Corn On The Cob Tonight
Image credits: NinesArt
#14 My First Lemon >*
I got my first lemon from a meyers lemon tree I got from menards earlier this year! I wasn't expecting it to blossom this year but lo and behold! A lemon! I didn't pull it off either, I gently touched it cause I was shocked it was yellow already and it just fell off the bone!
Image credits: Chankchomp
#15 Officially The Largest Asparagus Producer In The Country, Planning Exports Soon, Will Feed The Planet
Image credits: magic-creator
I've tried a few different ways to grow tomatoes from kitchen scraps or seeds. And I've found that the one that bears the most fruit (literally) is hands-down the easiest.
As an experiment, I sliced up a few cherry tomatoes and put them straight into a container of potting soil. I left the pot outside and covered it with a ziplock bag. I also made sure to keep the soil moist. Today, I have massive tomato plants bearing enough red babies for me to never have to buy any at the store.
#16 Going To Eat Like A King
Image credits: Pop-Smurf
#17 Garlic For Months. The Village Will Never Starve Ever Again With Me As The Farmer
Image credits: Endera64
#18 I Broke Through Frozen Dirt With My Hands For These
Image credits: angdrogyny
They'll start sprouting into tiny seedlings a few weeks after you plant them and just make sure to keep watering them. You can take the ziplock bag off once the seedlings have grown a bit. And you can transfer the seedlings into a bigger pot or straight into the garden.
I use a planter box for mine and I attach the stems to a trellis to hold the plants up when they bear fruit and get heavy.
#19 Our Village Shall Feast Upon Omelette Tonight!
Image credits: BearMcBearFace
#20 Behold This Mighty Harvest!
Image credits: NotCambo
#21 Lemonade For All!!
Image credits: juzzzzzzzzz
Growing your own food isn't just rewarding and fun. Or funny when it's a fail. You can also save some money during your next trip to the grocery store. Of course, it would be near-impossible for most of us to grow everything we need. But that's not to say you shouldn't try what you can.
According to the National Gardening Association, lawn and garden activities are at a 17-year high, with more than 43% of Americans growing some kind of food to eat at home. Many people turned to gardening during the Covid lockdown, and with grocery prices on the rise ever since, they're continuing to keep their fingers green.
#22 At Long Last… My Dream Of Homemade Tortillas Will Be Realised
Image credits: Electronic-Baker3684
#23 Five Years Of Waiting For This Dragonfruit
Image credits: pomjuice
#24 My Singular Potato That I Grew Years Back, All Fixed Up
Ngl. Legitimately delicious. Best bite of potato I’ve ever had.
Image credits: SpringSunflora
Erin Hostetler, also known as The Patio Farmer, teaches individuals and businesses to grow their own food. She says while it's rewarding from the start, gardening at home could take a couple of years before you really start saving money.
"It takes a little bit of time to really start reaping those financial rewards on your growing space, especially if it's something you're brand new to," Hostetler told Spectrum Local News.
But as long as your harvests don't constantly end up on listicles like this one, it should all be worth the wait.
#25 My Attempt To Grow Watermelon
Image credits: daisylion_
#26 Made A Batch Of French Fries
Image credits: jesakar1
#27 Bounty! One Single Blueberry On An Entire Patch Of Bushes!
Image credits: Robin_Sparklez
#28 Blueberry Harvest
Image credits: miss-ferrous
#29 Pepper Plant Produced Some Chokers!!
Image credits: badco74
#30 My Onion Harvest Ready To Last Through The Cold Winter
Image credits: TheLostwandering
#31 I Grew "Micro Gold" Tomatoes In My Hydroponic Unit. This Is A Very Good Harvest Given My Two Plants Were Both Under 4 Inches Tall
That's a US quarter in the middle.
Image credits: ObsessiveAboutCats
#32 We Feast On The Carrots
Image credits: Ok-Resort-5529
#33 Look Upon My Harvest And Be In Awe
Image credits: cheerupyoullthinkof1
#34 Stunted Basil Plant Finally Gave Me A Sizable Leaf
Image credits: MetaCaimen
#35 I Can Finally Make A Giant Pot Of Split Pea Soup For Dinner
Image credits: Jackattack111888
#36 Got My First Lime From The Tree Today!
Image credits: cannahollic420
#37 After 4 Months, My Mighty Onions Are Here To Cure World Hunger
Image credits: ABBR-5007
#38 This Bell Pepper Has Reached Maximum Size
This is supposed to be a red bell pepper. It decided it was done growing before it even got as big as my thumbnail. And I have small hands- my thumbnail is less than half an inch in length.
Image credits: MaySeemelater
#39 The Garden Provides
Image credits: totesmathgoats
#40 I’m Going To Need To Learn How Can All The Tomato Sauce I’m Going To Make - Any Tips?
Image credits: neurogeneticist
#41 It's Spicy Though
Image credits: mostly_ignorant
#42 A Singular Pea
Image credits: Make-Love-and-War
#43 Potatoes For Life
Image credits: FourLetterHill3
#44 Look At These Mighty Potatoes That Will Sustain Us Through Winter
Image credits: Great_Gretchen
#45 Come Hungry, Leave Just As Hungry
Image credits: Radiant_Bandicoot846
#46 Smallest Garlic Clove I’ve Ever Seen
Image credits: QueenMiniKiwi
#47 5 Years And Its First Fruit!! Tonight We Feast
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#48 I Fed My Family For Days
Image credits: lostbee44
#49 Planted A Hundred Chives Seeds. Grew 1 Chive. My Mashed Potatoes Are Going To Be So Good!
Image credits: HappySpam
#50 Behold, My First Ripe Fish Pepper This Year!
Image credits: dascobaz
#51 Accidentally Grew This Massive Tomato! Whatever Will I Do With It!
Image credits: epicsoundwaves
#52 It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
Image credits: RainbowSnapdragons
