4 Vegetables you can regrow without a garden
Not everyone can have a garden, but there’s just something about having something fresh that you’ve grown yourself. Even better if it’s off-cuts from veggies you bought at the store and would normally throw away. These items take very little care, just make sure they have some water and maybe a little soil and you have your own mini-garden on your windowsill and also make a great project for your kids.
Green onions. The easiest of the three and doesn’t require potting up. We have two jars with green onions on our windowsill right now, as a matter of fact. All you need to do is just buy some from your favourite local producer or grocery store, then when you’re ready to use them use only the top part until about 1-1.5 inches from the root zone. Just pop the remainder in a jar with a little water in the bottom and sit them on your windowsill. Let them grow and simply periodically chop off the tops as needed. They’ll appreciate the haircut and keep on growing. If you do have access to a little liquid fertilizer, like seaweed extract or similar, you can pop a drop or two in there from time to time to give them a little nutritional boost and they’ll keep on growing.
Celery. Celery is almost as easy as green onions. When you buy a whole bunch of celery simply use the top until about an inch from the root zone. Sit this in a dish with some water in the bottom and sit it on your windowsill or other sunny location. As it grows you can periodically cut off the leaves and stalk down to the similar level if you need it for stocks or similar, or let it grow quite a bit and start re-rooting then you can pot it up into a pot with soil and it’ll carry on growing!
Herbs. If you buy herbs that still have roots on the base then you’re in luck, you can re-grow these! Simply use the tops down to a few inches from the root zone then pop them into a jar with water. As they start to re-grow you can either use them or pot them up into a little windowsill planter for easy access. You’ll get the benefits of the fresh herb smell in your house, fresh herbs when you want them, and also don’t have to worry about going outside to the garden when you’re in the middle of cooking because the herbs are right there!
Romaine lettuce. Much the same as those listed above, simply use the top part of a head of romaine lettuce to a couple of inches from the root zone/base. Sit it in a dish of water on your windowsill and take leaves for your sandwich as they grow. Try to leave some little leaves in the middle as this helps to stimulate growth because the plant can photosynthesise easier. Again, you can either keep it in this stage for quite some time or you can pot it up and let it regrow entirely.
There you go, you can have not one but two (or more!) uses from one purchase of any of these fresh produce items. Plus, it adds a little greenery to your kitchen and particularly with herbs, some delicious smells to stimulate your senses.