These days you can buy plants, pots and potting soil, plant food and all kinds of garden things, including tools, at the supermarket. But there is another way to garden from the supermarket, too. Have you ever tried raising house plants from the seeds and other parts of the fruits and vegetables you buy? In most cases it is easy to do, and you get a pretty "free" plant to enjoy. Here are a few of the plants I've grown in this manner, and there are plenty more that you can try. All of the plants mentioned here do well if they spend the summer "vacationing" outdoors in a protected area such as a patio or courtyard.

* AVOCADO - The method most often used to start roots on an avocado pit is to put toothpicks in it and suspend it with just the bottom touching water in a glass, but that has never worked very well for me. I just half bury the pit in a pot of soil and put the pot and all in a plastic bag until the little plant starts. Pinch out the top when it reaches about 12 inches so it will branch and you'll have a nice indoor tree.

* DATE PALM - Plant the pit from a dried (but untreated) date and grow your own palm tree.

* POMEGRANATE - Dwarf or regular, these are nice easy plants with pretty orange flowers and large fruits. They can be planted outdoors in Sierra Vista when they get too large for the house.

* PINEAPPLE - Cut the whole top with a thin slice of "meat" from a ripe pineapple and let it dry for a day or two. Then, plant it so the crown of leaves is just at soil level in the pot and water as needed. Roots will develop, new leaves will grow, and with luck, some day you may even get a small pineapple on a stalk on your plant... but it will take a few years to bear fruit, if at all!

* CITRUS - You can plant the seeds from any citrus fruit - lemon, lime, orange, tangerine, grapefruit, etc. All have glossy green leaves and are attractive pot plants. My current one is a calmondin which has tiny, very sour orange fruits in winter. The best part is when a citrus tree blooms because the blossoms are very fragrant. Kumquat is said to be the easiest to grow as a house plant, but I haven't had problems with the others I've tried.

* MANGO - Did you know that its relatives include cashew and pistachio nuts and poison ivy? A mango has a large pit which is difficult to clean before planting. Scrape it with a knife or brush it with an old tooth brush to get as many of the "hairs" off it as possible. Plant it on the edge with the "eye" pointing up. First new growth is a pretty red color that changes to green as time goes by.

* SWEET POTATOES AND YAMS - These can be started in a glass of water using tooth picks stuck into them to support them on the rim of the glass if you wish, or you can pot the bottom half of them in soil in a pot. Roots will form and pretty vines will grow all around a sunny window. You can train them on to a trellis or string attached to the top of the window or to the curtain rod.