How to Regrow Green Onions #ScienceSundays

by Erin March 7, 2021

written by Erin March 7, 2021

You’ve chopped up your green onions and you’re left with the white nub of roots. Don’t toss it! You can regrow green onions by placing them in water.

This post isn’t science-y, but it is useful! Today I am going to show you how easy it is to regrow green onions.

Green onions are the easiest veggie scrap to regrow. After chopping all the greens you need for a recipe, just place the leftover white and roots in a glass (at least 1 inch worth), roots down, with about an inch of water. Depending on how much sun they get, in a few days to a week you’ll have fresh green onions.

I’ve done this for years and actually keep my freshly purchased green onions in water before I even use them. Which often results in a serious amount of green onion if I don’t use them quickly, but thankfully many recipes can use a little green onion garnish on top.

But after you’ve regrown them a couple times they tend to peter out and get really skinny. At that point I toss the leftover white nubs in my veggie scraps freezer bag to be made into homemade veggie broth later!

Or you can replant the bulb in soil. The advantage of bulbs is that if they aren’t harvested they will multiply and more will grow! Which means less you have to buy later – maybe never if you’re a good plant parent.

Using regular house plant soil and a pot with proper drainage, place green onions an inch into the soil, root side down. Then place it in an area that gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight and in a few days you will see new growth. Just trim off what you need.

Want to try regrowing other scraps? Take a look at this post that includes how to regrow celery, ginger, lettuce, pineapple, potatoes. They could be fun experiments to do with kids too!