14 Vegetables You Can Regrow From Scraps

Did you know that there are many vegetables and herbs that you can grow from leftovers and scraps right on your kitchen counter?

This is a great activity to do with kids who might like to test out if there are any other plants that can also be grown this way. All you need is little water, a container, and some sunshine to grow organic fresh herbs and vegetables at home. 

Onions, garlic and fresh herbs are staples in a lot of dishes, and they may be inexpensive, but when you use them on a daily basis it can add up. 

Here are 14 vegetables and herbs that you can buy for once and regrow forever for free.

1. Garlic

When the garlic starts to sprout, the little green shoots are too bitter to cook with. Rather than throwing away sprouted cloves, you can put them in a glass with a little water and grow garlic sprouts.

The sprouts have a much milder flavor than garlic cloves and are great in salads, pasta and as a garnish.

2. Carrot

Buy Carrot Early Nantus - Desi Vegetable Seeds | View Details

The ends of carrots you usually chop off and throw away will grow carrot greens if you put them in a dish with a little water. Set the dish in a well-lit windowsill and you’ll have carrot tops to use as a garnish or in salads

3. Basil

Buy Thai Basil, Ocimum thyrsiflora - Plant | View Details

Put a few basil clippings with 4-inch stems in a glass of water and place it in a spot with direct sunlight. When the roots are about 2 inches long, you can plant them in pots to grow a full basil plant.

4. Leeks

Buy Leek Bunching - Vegetable Seeds | View Details

Leeks are awesome for soups, and it turns out they’re easy to keep around because they grow in water just as easily as green onions.

Just take the base of your leeks, cover them in water, and leave them in the window with some sun for a few days.

You should start seeing them sprout right away, and within a week or so you’ll be able to trim off parts to use in recipes.

5. Lettuce

If you have a stem from a head of romaine lettuce that’s still intact, place the stump in a bowl with about ½ inch of water and put it on a windowsill. You’ll start to see new leaves in about 2 weeks, and they’ll be full-grown in 3 to 4.

 6. Bok Choy

Just like romaine lettuce, bok choy can be regrown by placing the root end in water in a well-lit area. In a week or two, you can transplant it to a pot with soil and grow a full new head.

7. Onions

Plant the discarded root end from an onion in a pot or directly in the soil outside to regrow. You can harvest it early and get fresh green onions or wait until the bulb is fully developed.

8. Ginger

Like onions, ginger root can be planted in soil to regrow, but the process is a lot more lengthy. It can take a few months for it to sprout, and you should be able to harvest a fully grown bulb in 8 to 10 months.

9. Mushrooms

Plant mushroom stalks in soil with some compost or used coffee grounds and keep them in a moist environment, preferably where it will be cool at night.

They can be tricky to grow, and within a few days, the stems will either start to sprout new heads or rot.

10. Potatoes

Taking potatoes from produce back to growing is a great way to keep more waste out of the garbage.

You can grow any variety of potato you like, it should just make sure the scrap has ‘eyes’ growing on it. With a potato that has a strong presence of eyes, you can chop it up into 2-inch square pieces.

Make sure each piece has 1 – 2 eyes. After you’ve cut your potato into pieces leave them out in room temperature for a couple of days.

Leaving the pieces out allows the cut surface area to dry out and become callous which will prevent the pieces from rotting in the ground.

11. Bonus Fennel

Fennel has a strong enough taste that it’s pretty rare you’ll need more than just a small cutting from one.

If you’d like to keep one around all the time, it’s worth just regrowing one you have. Just take the bulb, put it in a cup, and fill it up with water so the bulb’s covered.

Stick that jar in the sun and within a few days, it’ll start sprouting up. Replace the water every couple of days and trim off a bit of fennel when you need it.

12. Sweet Potatoes

Start with a good sweet potato. If it’s sprouting, that’s a plus. Place it in a mason jar half-filled with water with room for the good sun.

Change the water periodically to avoid mold. Once the sweet potato sprouts (or keeps sprouting), wait for them to get four to five inches in length and then pull them off.

Place the sprouts in a separate jar of water until roots start popping about. From there, plant them in a pot with ten inches of soil and wait for the goods to come. Keep in mind, they don’t dig on cold weather and they take months to grow.

13. Lemongrass

To regrow lemongrass, place the root ends in a glass of water, and leave it in a sunny spot. After about three weeks you should begin to see roots. Then you need to transfer them into a pot of soil.

14. Mint

Propagating mint couldn’t be easier and it is the perfect activity for a beginner gardener because you will achieve fast results. Once your plant has grown you will have your own fresh supply that is free from plastic and pesticides.

By putting a cutting in a glass of water instead of a pot of soil you can have fun watching the roots grow. You just need to be gentle when you plant your cutting to ensure that you don’t damage the roots.