06/04/2026
The base of the green onion you just sliced is still alive — and it'll regrow in a glass of water on your counter faster than you'd expect.
A few kitchen scraps root so reliably in water that they're worth saving every time you cook. The yields are small — garnish to handful quantities — but they're free, fast, and surprisingly satisfying to watch.
🌿 kitchen scraps that regrow in water:
- Green onion — leave about an inch of the white root base, set it in a shallow glass of water. Fresh shoots grow back within a week. The fastest and most reliable regrower in the kitchen — you can harvest and regrow the same base several times before it gives out
- Celery — cut the bottom couple of inches from the bunch and set it in a bowl of water. New leaves push from the center within a week or two. The regrown stalks are thinner than the original but usable — and they're free
- Romaine lettuce — save the bottom heart, set in half an inch of water. New leaves sprout from the center within a couple of weeks. The second head is looser and smaller — harvest as leaf lettuce, not a full head
- Garlic — place a single unpeeled clove in a small glass with water barely touching the base. Mild garlic shoots grow within a week. The green shoots taste like a cross between garlic and chive — snip and use as a garnish
- Lemongrass — trim the top and place the bulbous root end in a jar with an inch of water. Roots and new stalks form in a few weeks. Once rooted, this one is worth transplanting to a pot — it becomes a permanent supply
🌱 What determines whether this works or not:
- Change the water every day or two — shallow dishes spoil fast and a rotten base kills the regrowth
- Bright indirect light speeds things up. A dark counter works but takes longer
- These are one-round or limited-round projects. The base uses stored energy to push new growth — it doesn't sustain indefinitely. Green onion is the exception and can go several rounds
The scraps you compost tonight could be growing on your counter by next weekend 🌱
