Growing Green Onions From Green Onions in Your Kitchen

Posted on Oct 8 2010 - 3:04am by Mike Lieberman

Categorized as

Balcony

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Here is another quick and simple way that you can grow some of your own food. It’s not really growing, it’s more like regrowing.

First you need to have either grown your own scallions or bought some at a local farmers market.

You can now re-grow green onions from the existing green onions in your kitchen on the countertop. This ideas was give to me by Leah Stoltz, one of my friends on Facebook.

You don’t need a backyard, fire escape, balcony or sunny windowsill to do this. All you need is a cup, water and your green onions.

Once your green onions have about three to four inches left on them simply place them in about one inch of water and set on your countertop. After two days, dump out and refresh the water.

You should be able to see them start growing again. Cut and use as necessary. Repeat until they no longer grow.

By doing this, you’ll be able to save some money, grown some of your own and save some trips to the market.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzfRtkCsauI

55 Comments so far. Feel free to join this conversation.

Leah Stoltz October 8, 2010 at 2:58 pm -

After 4 or 5 rounds of growing, it gets wimpier and wimpier… then put it in one of your pots or garden to ward of pests.. they don’t like onions. thanks for sharing mike.
Mike Lieberman October 8, 2010 at 4:41 pm -

Thanks. I’ll use it as my light saber against pests.
Meemsnyc October 9, 2010 at 2:55 am -

What an awesome tip!
Mike Lieberman October 9, 2010 at 4:13 pm -

Thanks. I love it and apparently you can do it with other veggies as well.
Praterclp October 11, 2010 at 1:21 pm -

This is interesting. I had some red onions that I pulled from the garden this summer and had them in the fridge to use as we needed them. However, no one noticed them in the back on the fridge in the plastic container. I noticed them the other day and they had formed lots of roots and green shoots were coming up. So I had this idea to let them get to room temp and plant them in the garden. Not sure if this will work, but I figure if they don’t, they will compost in the garden for something else to plant there. Thanks for this idea.
Mike Lieberman October 11, 2010 at 2:18 pm -

Word. Keep me updated on what happens.
jodie October 13, 2010 at 5:36 pm -

i have had similar success with regrowing basil from basil cuttings
Mike Lieberman October 13, 2010 at 5:37 pm -

Will have to try that as well.
Lentil Gurl February 16, 2011 at 2:38 am -

Handy tip! Every busk you save on fresh, real food is a buck that can go someplace else!
Mike Lieberman February 16, 2011 at 2:55 am -

Exactly. No need to waste it.
tali.mum June 3, 2011 at 8:46 pm -

i just tried that for the first time. it took less than a week for the little roots to start growing 🙂 !!
Mike Lieberman June 3, 2011 at 8:56 pm -

Sweet.
Garden Spot July 26, 2011 at 1:37 am -

Interesting.
Mike Lieberman July 26, 2011 at 1:55 pm -

Most definitely is.
Rhea Jonelle Brown February 4, 2012 at 4:55 pm -

You had me at ORGANIC Mike. I love this blog, love to cook, and I’m a local, organic grower and supporter. thank you!
Mike Lieberman February 4, 2012 at 8:00 pm -

That’s what’s up! Glad to connect.
Avalon Spa February 8, 2012 at 8:37 pm -

Yay! I love it!
Oopsies I just posted this accidentally as someone else, can you please delete it, and I will re-post, thanks!
Avalon Spa February 8, 2012 at 8:39 pm -

Yay! I love it!

Goodness, I did it again, so sorry. Why is there no way for me to delete my own post, yikes!
Rina Liddle February 8, 2012 at 8:44 pm -

Yay, I love it! And yay, my post worked 🙂
Mike Lieberman February 9, 2012 at 8:45 am -

Me to.
Kaitlin Beaumont February 12, 2012 at 10:10 am -

After reading this I actually took it a little further. I soaked the green onions for about 8 hours, then planted them in soil in tiny 3 inch clay pots. For the first few days, they wilted and had quite a bad case of shock. But then they stood back up and I’ve been snipping and eating them ever since. It’s been about two months since I transplanted them and four plants seem enough to meet our needs.
They don’t need much sun (Jan – Feb in Alberta).
I tried the same thing with garlic cloves from the store.. same awesome result!
Thanks for the tips Mike!
Mike Lieberman February 12, 2012 at 5:54 pm -

Ohhh I likes that. I’m sure they last longer that way too!
Gwen Young February 17, 2012 at 10:15 pm -

What a co-inky-dink I just bought green onions a few hours ago specifically to do this. I previously saw a post about re-growing lettuce so I wanted to see what else I could re-grow and save $$ and time from starting them from seed. So far this has worked on my lettuce, baby bok choy, and swiss chard. In addition to the green onions I also bought green leeks and a fennel bulb with the fluffy greens still attached. I am so excited about this process. I hope to post some pics soon. Oh… maybe I should post videos on YouTube.
Mike Lieberman February 18, 2012 at 11:16 am -

Get on that!
Anonymous February 20, 2012 at 8:29 am -

I did this a few weeks ago. But I just stuck em right in the ground and they started growing almost immediately. Celery is supposed to do the same.
Mike Lieberman February 20, 2012 at 9:06 am -

Nice!
Samantha February 20, 2012 at 10:50 am -

New here…what is up with the topless presentation?
Samantha_I_am_52 February 20, 2012 at 10:51 am -

New here…what is up with the topless presentation?
Mike Lieberman February 20, 2012 at 10:55 am -

I live in LA and it’s hot.
Karylls March 5, 2012 at 4:36 am -

I’ve done similar for years by putting the green onion end in my regular flower pot that hangs near the window and they grow just like any regular plant. I snip the end off and use often much like using chives.
Mike Lieberman March 5, 2012 at 8:34 am -

Nice!
Evelyne Simon March 6, 2012 at 2:49 am -

very, very good site. Thank you.
Mike Lieberman March 6, 2012 at 7:31 am -

Thank you for reading.
Kahorne1970 March 11, 2012 at 4:25 pm -

You can save that “green onion” water to make a great pesticide too…. I have my onion “sauce” brewing in a bag outside in the back yard! We do the same with our onions that are growing… we keep using the green part and continue to get the best organic and cheap food ever! I love my garden!! keep up the great work Mike!
Mike Lieberman March 11, 2012 at 9:34 pm -

Ohhh I likes that idea.
Mjusino March 15, 2012 at 9:30 am -

I can’t wait to try this! I absolutely love onions and use them in just about everything I cook. I’d like to find out more about RE-growing our own food. Thanks for sharing!
Mike Lieberman March 15, 2012 at 1:50 pm -

Got some of those projects coming.
Chelsea Rickard March 17, 2012 at 12:23 pm -

I put my green onion ends in water to grow the roots. In just three days they have grown so much. I can’t believe it’s so easy!
Mike Lieberman March 18, 2012 at 5:59 pm -

Exactly. Great job!
EsDog April 8, 2012 at 1:46 pm -

What do you do when there are flowers budding at the end of the stalk? Do you cut them or do you wait till they fall off? Will they create a new plant or are they supposed to anchor into the ground to create a new root system? Any ideas?

I think you’re supposed to cut them off on basil plants, so would that be the same?
Mike Lieberman April 8, 2012 at 7:46 pm -

Cut em.
Preciouszthing April 10, 2012 at 3:31 pm -

What kind of water ? Cold or warm ?
Mike Lieberman April 11, 2012 at 7:45 am -

Room temp.
Dsiknarf April 21, 2012 at 11:48 am -

If I feed them a liquid fertilizer will they grow forever?
Mike Lieberman April 23, 2012 at 6:16 am -

Not sure. Give it a shot.
Wkdeshrew May 9, 2012 at 7:36 am -

if you take the bottom of a cabbage place it in water it will spout then you can plant that and get a couple more heads to grow….aren’t plants great?!!!!!!!! how many other plants could you do this with/;]
John Bradley Foster May 9, 2012 at 7:36 am -

Hey Mike, we do the same thing with Leeks! I cut them up for soup down to about the last inch and a half before the root. I pot them up in a small container of potting soil so that the part of the leek that I cut is just above the soil. A few months later you have leeks V2.0. Cuts the cost of cooking with leeks in half!
Mike Lieberman May 9, 2012 at 10:48 am -

Pretty sure there are a few of them that this can be done with.
Mike Lieberman May 9, 2012 at 10:48 am -

Nice!
C June 5, 2012 at 10:02 pm -

Garlic, celery, bok choy … that’s what I have “regrowing” right now! ohh, and a pineapple plant!! 🙂
Mike Lieberman June 6, 2012 at 8:24 pm -

Dope!
maddie June 15, 2012 at 1:32 pm -

this is not verry helpful for me….i am doing a project and i want to know if a green onion grows better in 1 TBS, 1/3 cup of water or 1/2 cup of water….with dirt….any idea?
Guest November 15, 2012 at 3:21 am -

Hey Kaitlin, did you grown then inside or outside? Nothing survives outside in our Alberta weather, although we did have a mild winter last year!
jazzy March 31, 2013 at 10:40 pm -

hi was wondering if you do this with just water and change the water often do you need to feed them with anything else?
Angela T Blackwood June 6, 2013 at 7:01 am -

I do all the same as you Mike but here are two more.Keep a bumpy part of a piece of ginger and plant it straight into some soil with the newest buds pointing up..A plant will eventually grow Take it up and repeat the process to keep growing. It gets pink flowers which are ever so pretty so let one plant grow on and keep indoors 🙂

I also grow re- grow mushrooms.though they are a bit harder to succeed with .Just remove the head of the mushroom and plant the stalk in the soil, leaving just the top showing. I prepare a mix of soil and compost in a pot so i can move it around.I put it in warm filtered light during the day and somewhere cooler at night