Start Gardening From Scraps With These 11 Foods You Can Regrow

Grow A Vegetable Garden From Scraps With These Tips

It surprises some people to learn this, but there are several herbs and vegetables you can regrow from their own scraps. If you’ve got the patience for it, gardening from scraps can be a fun and rewarding practice, plus it can help you cut down on food waste and save money too.

The foods I’ve chosen to feature in this post are some of the best you can regrow, whether inside your home or out in the garden. Most only need water and a bit of sun, while others may take a bit more time or effort.

Keep in mind that if you’re planning to garden from scraps, you’ll almost always get better results using scraps from garden-grown or organic produce. Some conventionally-grown produce gets treated to prevent it from sprouting, which makes further growth impossible.

Gardening From Scraps: 11 Foods You Can Regrow From Scraps

1. How To Grow Green Onions From Scraps

Wondering what is the easiest vegetable to regrow? If you’re looking for an easy win, look no further than green onions.

After using the green tops and white centers of green onions, collect the bottom parts (the root sections) and set them aside. To regrow them, trim the root sections to about 1 inch above the roots, then set them in a container of shallow water in a sunny area. Refresh the water as needed and watch your green onions grow!

2. How To Grow Potatoes From A Piece Of Potato

You can grow a whole potato plant (or sweet potato plant) from a relatively small piece of potato — ideally a piece that has at least two root eyes. You can plant the potato piece directly in your garden with the eyes facing up, or wait for it to sprout inside.

To sprout a potato in water, use toothpicks to suspend a piece of potato with two eyes so that the cut side is submerged while the eyes remain up out of the water. When you see roots starting to grow in in the water, plant your sprouted potato in a pot or out in your garden.

3. How To Grow Romaine Lettuce From A Cut Heart

Grow another round of romaine leaves by placing the bottom of the cut heart into a bowl of warm water. You won’t end up with a whole new head of romaine lettuce, but you can grow enough additional leaves for a few sandwiches.

Related: Want Your Lettuce To Stay Fresh Longer? Make This Easy DIY

4. How To Grow Mint From A Mint Stem

To grow mint from scraps, start by removing the bottom leaves from a mint stem while keeping the top leaves intact. Soak the stem with the cut side down in a glass of warm water, then wait for new roots to sprout before transferring it to a pot.

5. How To Grow Carrot Tops From Carrot Ends

When you buy carrots with the tops intact, cut the topmost part of a carrot off with the top still attached. You can regrow the carrot tops from this little piece of carrot!

Start by soaking the little carrot piece in a shallow bowl of water for one week, then transfer it to soil once roots start to form. The tops will continue to grow beautiful greens that make a delicious addition to salads and pestos.

6. How To Grow Basil From A Basil Stem

The process for growing basil from scraps is almost identical to the process for regrowing mint (see #4 above). Just take a basil stem, remove the lower leaves, and place the stem in water until it start growing new roots. You’ll have bunches of basil before you know it!

7. How To Grow Celery From The Root End

Trim the celery down to about an inch or two above the base. Place the celery base in a bowl of water and leave it somewhere where it will get a decent amount of sunlight.

New leaves will soon begin to sprout from the middle, but give it a week or so after that to increase in thickness before transferring it to a pot of soil.

8. How To Grow Bok Choy From The Root End

If you’re interested in growing bok choy from scraps, you’ll be happy to know it’s as easy as regrowing romaine lettuce! Grow a few more bok choy leaves by placing the stem end into a bowl of warm water.

9. How To Grow Cilantro From Cilantro Stems

To grow mint from scraps, follow the same process I outlined for mint and basil: remove the bottom leaves from a few sprigs of cilantro, then soak the stems in warm water until new roots form. Then transfer them to a pot of soil and let your cilantro flourish!

10. How To Grow Cabbage From The Root End

Get a few more leaves from a head of cabbage by placing the root portion in a bowl of warm water. Bonus coleslaw is the best kind of coleslaw!

11. How To Grow A Pineapple Plant From A Pineapple Crown

While you certainly won’t be growing a pineapple right away, you can grow a nice new houseplant in just a few weeks. If you’ve really got a green thumb, you could end up with a homegrown pineapple after a few years!

The trick is to grab hold of the pineapple crown by the leaves, twist, and pull it off so the stalk is still attached. Then remove some of the lower leaves to expose the stalk, and make sure there’s no fruit flesh attached to the stalk that will cause it to rot.

Place the pineapple crown in a glass of water and wait until new roots begin to sprout, which should take about three weeks. At that point, you can transfer the rooting crown to a pot with fast-draining soil in a sunny location.

Related: How To Cut A Pineapple The Quickest And Easiest Way

Do you regrow any foods from scraps at home?