Posted on by Mike Lieberman

Growing Green Onions From Green Onions in Your Kitchen

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 Replies to “Growing Green Onions From Green Onions in Your Kitchen”

  1. 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.

  5. 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.

  15. You had me at ORGANIC Mike. I love this blog, love to cook, and I’m a local, organic grower and supporter. thank you!

  21. 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!

  23. 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.

  25. 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.

  30. 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.

  34. 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!

  36. 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!

  40. 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?

  46. 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/;]

  47. 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!

  50. Garlic, celery, bok choy … that’s what I have “regrowing” right now! ohh, and a pineapple plant!! 🙂

  52. 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?

  53. 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!

  54. hi was wondering if you do this with just water and change the water often do you need to feed them with anything else?

  55. 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

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