Make growing vegetables from scraps your quarantine hobby

No garden, no problem. You don’t need any gardening know-how, space, or equipment to try out this gardening hack. Just a glass of water and the off-cut of your chosen vegetable.

Quarantine gardening might be a growing trend, but let’s be honest, it’s not something everyone can do.

Not only are you limited by your actual gardening know-how, people who live in apartments, or homes with limited outdoor space are also restricted by what they can grow.

However, if you want to start a burgeoning veggie patch without the skills, commitment or need for soil, consider regrowing your veggies in water.

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Not only will they be the easiest plants you’ve ever had to keep alive, all you need are the off-cuts from your weekly shop and a glass of H2O. Now, give it a go with these seven vegetables.
1. SPRING ONIONS

If you’re someone who struggles to get through a whole bunch of spring onions (also known as scallions and green onions) try this hack next time you buy some. all you need to do is place the white stalk and the roots in water and you’ll see new shoots begin to sprout in days.

As with all of the veggies below, make sure to change the water every one to two days to prevent rotting and place your cup, bowl or jar somewhere that receives lots of natural light.

Scallion update. Might transfer them to soil since I happen to have some. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/x6ZAcwkBy3

— Aaron Hutcherson (@thehungryhutch) April 10, 2020

3. LETTUCE

Whether you’re an iceberg, butter lettuce or cos fan, you can make your own DIY salad with this hack.

Reserve the roots (if they’re still in tact, no worries if not) and leave about four centimetres of growth above the base, before you place it in a small bowl or cup of water.

It’ll just take a few days for you to see new growth emerge from the centre of the lettuce.

2. CELERY

Whether you like to eat it raw, or mask the taste in a hearty bolognese, celery is another vegetable that’s so simple to grow at home. Reserve roughly five centimetres of growth and cover half to three-quarters of the base in a glass of water.

Those shoots will grow into edible stalks in no time. Picture: iStock.

4. GARLIC CHIVES

While you won’t get a new supply of garlic bulbs, this technique will give you garlic chives which can be used as a flavour-packed garnish to soups, sandwiches and salads. Just make sure to only partially submerge the clove to prevent rotting.

Onions can be “planted” in the same way to produce a more subtle-tasting chive.

5. AN AVOCADO TREE

You might have to wait 10 to 15 years before your tree will actually bear fruit but it’s an easy way to add some greenery to your home

After cleaning off the pit, use three toothpicks to create a structure that lets the wider half of the pit sit in a cup of water (see below). Top up the water as needed and within two to three weeks you’ll see roots begin to sprout. Gradually, a stem will also begin to grow from the top of the seed as well.

6. LEEKS

Another type of allium – the same family of vegetables as onions, garlic and scallions – leeks will regrow in a glass of water too. Just pop the roots and a few centimetres of the white stem in a glass of water and you should see new stems begin to form within a few days.

7. BOK CHOY

Just as you would with lettuce and celery, simply plunk the discarded ends of your bok choy in a shallow dish of water and watch the leaves re-sprout. But don’t just stop there, you can do this with most kinds of Asian greens, including pak choy and Chinese cabbage.

Originally published as Make growing vegetables from scraps your quarantine hobby