10 Vegetables and Herbs You Can Eat Once and Regrow Forever
There are some ingredients I cook with so often I can never buy too many of them, and
most of them are produce. 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.
Some foods are easy to regrow at home from leftover scraps, and some of them can even
be grown right on your kitchen counter. Here are 10 vegetables and herbs you can buy once
and regrow forever. 1.
Garlic. When 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 Greens.
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.
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.
Scallions. In as little as 5 days you can completely
regrow a full scallion (or green onion) from the scraps. Leave about an inch attached to
the roots and place them in a small glass with a little water. In a few days, you'll
have all new scallions. 5.
Romaine 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. Cilantro.
Like basil, cilantro can grow roots if the stems are placed in a glass of water. Once
the roots are long enough, just plant them in a pot. In a few weeks new sprigs will be
starting, and in a few months you'll have a full plant.