6 ways to regrow vegetables in water only

I wish personal development was this easy for people. 

You may not get enough mint to keep your mojito habit this way, but you can certainly grow some starter herbs.

Many articles on gardening assume that everyone has access to trucks of nutritious soil and ample room for ample plants. This won't be one of them. We know these garden staples aren't always easy, especially if you live in a city. Fortunately, there are some vegetables that can regenerate using just water and sunlight.

The premise behind regrowing vegetable scraps in water is simple: plants are often built to use energy from the sun and nutrients from the soil. A small glass or container of water won't provide the same nutrients as hearty soil, but plants can use it to grow new tasty shoots or ground-ready roots.

Plants for growing

shoots You can easily regrow the edible stems and leaves of some common kitchen vegetables by placing their inedible bases in water. For best results, place these logs on a sunny window sill and change the water frequently.

Lettuce and cabbage

Chances are, after you've ripped off all of its leaves for your salad, you'll usually throw away that tough white piece at the base of a cabbage or lettuce. But you can get new leaves by placing this piece in water. Place in a wide glass or shallow bowl with an inch or two of water, leaf-side up, and check often to make sure the outside is not slimy. In a week or two, new baby leaves should start to sprout from the center of the stump. Your home grown head won't return to its full leafy glory, but this can be a great way to grow a side dish or complete a larger meal.

Celery and leeks

Most stores and grocery stores sell celery and leeks with the soles still attached, sometimes with the little white roots hanging out already. This makes re-growing these vegetables very simple: place the bottoms in a small glass with about an inch of water at the bottom and wait for the new stems to emerge. Make sure to top up when the water is low - but don't flood the plant by submerging the base too much. Your new sprouts will be thinner than the originals, but even a small amount of these crunchy crops can add flavor to a wide variety of dishes.

Garlic and green onions

While garlic or onion bulbs cannot regenerate without soil, these aromatic plants can produce delicious green shoots in water alone. Put a single clove of garlic in a small glass of water, suspend it with a toothpick so that the bottom is submerged and the top is submerged. Do the same with a few inches below the scallions or scallions. Within a few short days, you should start to see signs of green growth emerging. You can harvest these scallions and garlic shoots (called scaps) with regular kitchen shears and keep watering to produce even more.

Plants to root

Let's say you have access to a pot or two, but don't have the patience (or green thumbs) to grow vegetables from seed. The good news: water and sunlight can encourage leftovers in your kitchen to grow roots in the soil that will feed the larger plant. Develop these strong, healthy roots in H2O first, then transplant the vegetable into a nice lime.

herbs

Just a sprig of coriander, thyme, basil or any other herb is all it takes to regrow an entire plant. The next time you use your favorite herb in the kitchen, take a healthy shoot with a few leaves growing on it—the stem under the lowest leaf should be a few inches long. Then use a toothpick or bent paperclip to suspend this stem in a small glass of water. Plunge the bottom of the stem, but keep the leaves dry. You should soon see the roots start to sprout underwater. Once the roots are over an inch long, transplant the mini plant into the soil - the submerged portion should now be under the dirt. With careful watering, sunlight, and patience, your little plant can grow into a full-size plant.

tubers

As with garlic and the herbs above, you'll need a few toothpicks or some other type of homemade suspension system to grow amazing flavors. With the right setup, it is possible to persuade potatoes and their relatives, such as potatoes, to sprout leaves both underwater and in the air. Place a small piece out of the water with at least one eye facing up. After a few weeks, you should see growth on both ends of the pile. Then bury these sprouted tubers in the ground with only the leaves above ground. The plant will eventually grow whole new masses of roots that you can dig up and eat next year.

Ginger

Although the part of the ginger plant we eat is often called the root, it is actually another part of the plant entirely: a rhizome. Even a small piece of ginger can sprout both roots and greens, as potatoes would. Some of the ginger should be partially suspended in water until roots emerge and grow an inch or two long. Ginger is a tropical herb, so try to keep its environment warm—at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit, but not below 50. When the ginger has roots and at least one green shoot emerges from the light-colored nodules on the rhizome, plant the plant. water everything in the soil and regularly. After four to six weeks, the new plant will begin to add mass underground, which will allow you to simply dig it up, cut a piece for your recipe, and re-bury it.