Growing from 'scraps'

I know celery, green onions, a several others will grow from scraps. Does anyone know if Beets will regrow? I have a few monster sized beets and they are trying to sprout new leaves. I'm sure if I planted them, they would continue to grow,but curious if they will develop new root system from just the top.

Eleana Tomlinson wrote:I know celery, green onions, a several others will grow from scraps. Does anyone know if Beets will regrow? I have a few monster sized beets and they are trying to sprout new leaves. I'm sure if I planted them, they would continue to grow,but curious if they will develop new root system from just the top.

I imagine they would develop into healthy plants in good conditions, perhaps if you try it, you could record your findings please! I’m “rooting” for you! 😁

I love experimenting and have tried some experiments on lots of veggie scraps.

Carrots will grow from the cut-off top though I have read that it will not make a carrot.  If you like the pretty greens, they can be placed as as garnish.

I have also tried yellow onions.

None of my experiments have resulted in a new fruit.

I get bored changing the water often and usually end up throwing it all out.

Definitely potato eyes work.

These are some interesting threads that you or others might like:

https://permies.com/t/157762/Grow-veggie-veggies

https://permies.com/t/137699/Regrowing-store-produce

https://permies.com/t/2997/Vegetables-Eat-Replant

Eleana Tomlinson wrote: Does anyone know if Beets will regrow?

Hmm. I’m not sure but my guess is that beets would work like carrots, as in grow flowers that you could then get the seeds from to grow new plants.

What might happen with onions? The basic kind. I have bunch of onion that have started growing roots in the root cellar (hehe). I have still been cooking with them but wondered what if I put them in water on the windowsill..

A new top and flowers? Many tops if I cut the top of? Are the greens tasty?

Edit for picture!

Saana Jalimauchi wrote:What might happen with onions? The basic kind. I have bunch of onion that have started growing roots in the root cellar (hehe). I have still been cooking with them but wondered what if I put them in water on the windowsill..

A new top and flowers? Many tops if I cut the top of? Are the greens tasty?

I've grown both white and yellow onions quite successfully.  Red onions would likely work the same.  I used two techniques this last year.

1- When I cut up a full-sized onion, I'll cut off the bottom 1/4 off the onion and prop it up in a shallow dish of water.  I'll generally use toothpicks to hold the cut end up out of the water.  Replace the water weekly.  Before long, you'll see roots emerging and after that 2-4 green shoots coming out of the top.  When those shoots get to 3-4" tall, I plant them.  They successfully grew, but produced smaller onions since I didn't separate them. I'll try separating them this spring.
2- When I have a full onion that has significant green shoot growth and is starting to get soft, I don't bother using it for food.  I prop it up in water, similar to above but as a whole onion.  As the shoots grow, they get their energy from the softening onion.  When they get 3-4" tall, I peel the outer layers of the onion and carefully separate the individual plants.  These have grown fine.

I have onions that overwinter in Ontario Canada so they are tough - called Egyptian or Winter onions.  i have continuous green onions growing in small pots in the window.  I cut off the tops and they keep regrowing all winter.
Also I have various herbs just growing in small planters on the window sill too.

Hi Judy,

Welcome to Permies.

Judy sieffert wrote:I have onions that overwinter in Ontario Canada so they are tough - called Egyptian or Winter onions.  i have continuous green onions growing in small pots in the window.  I cut off the tops and they keep regrowing all winter.
Also I have various herbs just growing in small planters on the window sill too.

Hi, Judy welcome to the forum!

I have Egyptian Walking Onions, do you think these are the same as you are growing in pots on the window sill?

They grow through the winter, too.

I experimented with putting mine in hanging baskets.

Do you put yours in soil or water?

My current experiment is with pineapple. I have a friend who successfully started a pineapple plant from the discarded top and it eventually grew a fruit. I have a number of tops that I have placed in water that I change regularly. You must cut the tops at the base and peel off the lower leaves to reveal what look to be little rootlets. There are probably more technical terms for these parts, but I do not know them and I've just been messing around with the simple instructions my friend gave me. I would wager there are a load of how-to's on YouTube. Some have started to grow roots. If I remember, I'll get a picture to post. I have grown celery, turnips, carrots, and head lettuce this way before. I will have to try the onions especially with the ones that go soft as that seems like a great way to prevent wasting them.

Usually these experiments occur in the Jan-March period when I am desperate for growing things.

I'm testing the beet theory now. Day 2- the green leaves doubled in size, so that's promising.

Hi, I've been trying this kind of stuff too for a few years.  What's worked best for me has been garlic.  I have a pot of it now, it took no effort at all, and it even stayed green all through Winter.  (An English Winter, so mild, though we get a little snow.)

What I've been struggling with, though, is celery.

Have been trying for about 2-3 years.  The first year I planted the last bit from every celery we ate, and after a whole year, two actually started to grow, but /someone/ mistook them for weeds and removed them. (Aaarrgghh!)

The second year, I thought, maybe it needs to root before I send it out into the cold harsh world of the back garden.  So I rooted them all first, but none survived.

So here we are in year 3, I let the last one root a fair bit before planting, here it is:



(It actually grew a fair bit while I was rooting it in a cup of water.)

But soon after planting, it too perished . . .

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?   I had watered the celery, the soil was still damp around it when I checked it, and the weather's warm.  The soil is a bit clay-ey, but tonnes of stuff grows out back.  Any ideas?

Could it be that it would have needed some hardening of before placing it permanently on it’s new home outside?

Saana Jalimauchi wrote:Could it be that it would have needed some hardening of before placing it permanently on it’s new home outside?

Thanks Saana.  Worth a try!  The last celery, I put in a cooler room one night before planting, but maybe that's not long enough.  I don't own the property and there are no cold frames etc., so I've had to think about this.  I've found a cooler spot in the home where I'm  putting the celeries for a  week or two before planting.  Also as the weather gets warmer hopefully that'll narrow the gap.
Cheers, Antony

The sudden harsh sun can be a problem too, along with the cold nights. Thing get droopy and sad surprisingly fast when brought to full sun from inside.

For example, I'm hardening off my tomato plants slowly, first time they were outside I only left them for 10 minutes and then brought them back in. I extend the time everyday and do this for a week. Tomatoes are sensitive though and this was full sun I was  taking them in to. And I'm also overly caring.

I cover the plants with row covers for at least few days when bringing them outside fulltime, for the cold at night and the sun in daytime.

I've have had sun burn chili plant leaves too when brought to full sun too fast.

Saana Jalimauchi wrote:The sudden harsh sun can be a problem too, along with the cold nights. Thing get droopy and sad surprisingly fast when brought to full sun from inside.

For example, I'm hardening off my tomato plants slowly, first time they were outside I only left them for 10 minutes and then brought them back in. I extend the time everyday and do this for a week. Tomatoes are sensitive though and this was full sun I was  taking them in to. And I'm also overly caring.

I cover the plants with row covers for at least few days when bringing them outside fulltime, for the cold at night and the sun in daytime.

I've have had sun burn chili plant leaves too when brought to full sun too fast.

Oh wow, that's serious!  I will try something like that.  Thank you again!

I hope it works out! Please do come back and give us an update on your celery growing adventures later!

Saana Jalimauchi wrote:I hope it works out! Please do come back and give us an update on your celery growing adventures later!

Thank you!  Will do.

I used up the leaves of a big head of napa cabbage from Walmart and planted the bare base. It rooted and grew new leaves. I transplanted it in ground this spring and it flowered. Now I am collecting thousands of seeds and will grow a fall crop. I already have the "one kilo slow bolt" napa cabbage and will compare them side by side.

I can't seem to kick the habit of rooting my pineapple tops. Sure I could throw them in the compost, but it just amazes me that if you cut them off the top, peel off the lower leaves and place them in water, they grow roots. I probably should read up on exactly how to get them to produce a fruit, but until then, I'm going to be the insane woman growing a field of pineapple in the midwest. (okay maybe not a whole field, but this top hoarding is getting pretty serious. I think I have 10 and another fruit on the counter ready to be cut up.