Regrow Your Groceries: A Guide to Regrowing Vegetable Scraps at Home
One of the simplest and most satisfying ways to cut down on food waste, save money, and get started with a little indoor gardening is by regrowing your vegetable scraps. Whether you live on acres or in a tiny apartment, this small act of sustainability connects you to your food in a meaningful way—and it’s downright fun to watch your kitchen scraps come back to life! Here’s a comprehensive guide to the kinds of produce you can regrow, and how to care for them.
Head-Form, Leafy Veggies
Lettuce, Romaine, and Cabbage:
These vegetables often grow from a central base or crown, and they’re some of the easiest to regrow from the scraps left behind after cooking.
Save the base (about 2 inches) and place it in a shallow bowl with just enough water to cover the bottom. Place it near a sunny window. In a few days, you’ll see new leaves emerging from the center. Change the water every 2-3 days, and you can transfer it to soil after a couple of weeks for more robust growth.
Celery: Celery regrows the same way as lettuce. Place the root end in water, give it sunlight, and wait for fresh stalks to sprout from the center. Once it’s strong enough, move it to soil.
Bok Choy: Another great candidate! Regrow it just like lettuce and celery.
Bulb and Bulb-like Vegetables
Garlic:
If your garlic starts to sprout a green shoot, plant the clove in soil (sprout up). It will continue to grow and may eventually produce a new bulb.
Bulbs store a lot of energy, which makes them great for regeneration.
Green Onions (Scallions): Place the white root end in a jar of water, root side down. New green shoots will start to grow almost immediately! You can keep trimming them as needed and leave the base growing in water or transplant to soil.
Leeks and Fennel: Like green onions, these can regrow from their base. Place them in water and watch them regenerate.
Shallots and Regular Onions: Onions that sprout on the counter can be planted directly into the soil. They’ll regrow into fresh bulbs over time.
Root Crops and Root-like Veggies
Turnips and Radishes:
Similar to beets and carrots, these can grow fresh greens from their tops.
These are a bit more finicky but can still be regrown with the right conditions.
Carrots: While you won’t get another whole carrot, you can regrow carrot greens from the tops. Place the tops in a shallow dish of water and new greens will sprout. These make great garnishes or pesto ingredients.
Beets: Like carrots, you can grow beet greens from the tops. They’re delicious sautéed or tossed in salads.
Ginger and Turmeric: These rhizomes can be planted in a pot with well-draining soil. Keep them warm and slightly moist, and they’ll start to send out new shoots.
Easy-to-Regrow Fruits
While some fruit scraps can be regrown, they often require patience and care.
Avocado:
Suspend the pit with toothpicks over a glass of water (broad end down). Keep the bottom half submerged. With patience, roots and a stem will begin to grow. Once the stem is 6 inches tall, trim it to encourage stronger growth. Plant it in soil when the roots are strong.
Pineapple:
Cut off the leafy top, let it dry for a day or two, then plant it in soil. Keep it warm and sunny. It may take a couple of years to fruit again, but the plant itself is beautiful and satisfying to grow.
Lemon, Orange, and Other Citrus: Seeds from citrus fruit can be planted in soil. They may take a while to germinate and fruiting takes years, but they make lovely houseplants.
Tomatoes and Peppers: Save seeds from fully ripe fruits, dry them out, and plant in soil. These are technically fruits and can be surprisingly productive indoors or in containers.
Outdoor Garden Aftercare
Once your regrown scraps are healthy and strong, you can transition many of them to your garden. Here are a few tips:
Harden Off Your Plants: Before transplanting to the garden, gradually introduce your indoor-grown plants to the outdoors over the course of a week to prevent shock.
Choose the Right Soil: Enrich your garden soil with compost to ensure your transplanted scraps have nutrients to thrive.
Mulch Around the Base: This helps retain moisture and keeps weeds at bay.
Watch for Pests: Regrown plants can be more tender and may attract bugs. Use organic pest control as needed.
Harvest Gently: As new leaves or stems grow, you can trim them regularly to encourage continued growth.
Final Thoughts
Regrowing vegetable scraps is a wonderful way to practice sustainability, nurture a deeper connection with your food, and enjoy the satisfaction of coaxing new life from something that would’ve been tossed. Whether you’re teaching your kids how plants grow, or just want fresh green onions without another trip to the store, this is a habit worth starting.
The beauty of homesteading—no matter where you live—is in finding ways to make the most of what you have, right where you are. So next time you’re trimming vegetables for dinner, pause before tossing those scraps. There just might be a little garden waiting to grow right on your windowsill.
Ready to give it a try? Download our free printable scrap regrowing chart and start growing your groceries today—right from your kitchen windowsill! And if you’ve tried any of these before, leave a comment below and tell us how it went. We’d love to cheer you on!