Spring on our Windowsill

Did you know that many vegetable scraps, including green onions, can be placed in water to re-grow? When chopping green onions for a recipe, simply trim the root end with a few inches of white away from the green part of the stalk. Place the root ends upright in a jar, covering the roots with a few inches of water, and set in a sunny window.

In the photo above, the onions on the left have been shooting upward for exactly 1 week. The onions on the right have been growing for 4 weeks and are ready (or past ready) to use. You can snip the onions at any time as needed, or you can wait until they are taller, cut them off near the roots, and begin the process again. This gives you a continuous supply of scallions! You may need to refresh the water in the jar after several days.

I'm glad we tried this experiment. It's nice to have a little bit of something growing while there is still snow on the ground outside. Have you done something similar with success?

~Hannah

Comments

[Rose]

I didn't know that Hannah. thank you! Over the last few months I've been growing microgreens in a tiny bit of soil on the kitchen windowsill beside the sprout jar. I can take a few snips when I'm making a salad or lunch sandwich then it all regrows for a couple of weeks.

[Becka]

We have tried this successfully with green onions. We also tried planting the bottom of a bunch of celery (outside) and it was doing quite nicely until some animal dug it up and ate it. :)

[Susan]

I didn't know you could do this! I'm going to try it. Green onions aren't all that expensive, but it would be nice to have them at hand all the time! ;)

[Elizabeth Johnson]

I did not know this something to try with the grandkids! Thank you for sharing!

[Toni]

Hi Hannah,
Love the green onions on your windowsill. I've done this before, but we are such onion eaters (read that pigs) that there's not usually anything left to put in water, lol. Hope you had a great weekend.
Toni

[Cathy]

I think this is very cool, but don't you use the white part? That is the part I use.

[Hannah]

Cathy, yes, we typically use both the white and the green, so as not to waste any of the onion. In one recipe we saute the white (stronger part) for a sauce, and then add the chopped green stalks as a last-minute garnish. Other dishes we've made mostly focus on the milder green part, so that is what we most often use up first.

[Nic]

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to try it