Regrow Green Onions
With the world ending and all I’ve been doing a lot of things I wouldn’t normally do. For example, I’ve been taking baths daily (don’t worry, I use the leftover water for my houseplants). I’ve also been becoming more and more obsessed with regrowth. Why? Because regrowing vegetables is a cost-effective way to grow your own veggies, and because it is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint. And also, I mean, taking care of those little green onion babies will make you feel like the plant parent you’re meant to be. It’s almost like adopting a dog but without all the walking, picking up poop, smelly sheets, pet dandruff, and yeah, I think you get the point.
Green onions, also known as scallions, usually come from the grocery store in bundles held together with rubber-bands. To regrow your own, you’ll need to choose onions with roots still attached on the bottom (I’ve only seen them sold like this). Try and find ones that are turgid, green, and long for better regrowth — the longer the better! To start you can try one bunch, and then add more as you need. After you’ve got some green bundles, check out and get the hell out of the store! It’s time to get your babies growing.
At home, lay out those thin lil’ guys so that they are ready for surgery. You’ll need a sharp sterilized knife and a cutting board for this part. Make your incision about an inch above the roots of the onion bunches (scallion bunches for you fancier folk) and ensure your cut goes clean through. On the cut you should be able to see the onion rings — they are reminiscent of tree trunk rings.
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To set up your onions for regrowing success, place them in a bowl, cup, or any container that can hold water and is clear (so that the sun can reach them and help them grow). Fill the dish with water so that the roots are covered. Be careful not to put too much water — you don’t want them fully submerged or they’ll get soggier than soggy cereal! They should look something like this…
The final step is to find a good spot for your onion babes. Perhaps it is on a sunny kitchen windowsill, or in your bedroom, or even in your hopefully not-smelly bathroom! Placement is up to you. Just be sure the onions are getting lots of direct and indirect light for most of the day. Here in Los Angeles, I put mine an east-facing kitchen windowsill and they THRIVE. Here are two bunches after just one week!
Be sure to change their water once a day. Here’s where the onion babies are like dog babies…you have to clean up after them! If you leave your onions in stagnant water for days on end, you will end up with no regrowth and lots of mold growth. Avoid that at all costs. Take care of your babies!
After the onions grow a while (6–12 inches) you can trim them and eat them whenever you’d like. They go great with baked potatoes, in salads, or even roasted with salt and olive oil. I put them on almost everything (except for soggy cereal, yuck). Keep trimming them and using them so that they keep growing. If you’d like to you can plant them in soil at this stage and grow them like any other vegetable. This is up to you if you have space, time, and resources to grow them outside. Otherwise they’ll stand up just fine in your kitchen (or bathroom) for weeks.
Good luck growing these easy, breezy, and beautiful green onions. If you have any further questions I’d be happy to answer them in the comments section. Thanks for reading, and happy regrowing!
