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So it’s come to my attention that a lot of people didn’t know anything about green onions. When you buy them in the store they have their bulbs and roots attached. Most just snip them down to the roots and toss the root and bulb in the trash. When they need more they just buy another bunch at the market.
Um, why? Seriously why do this? I mean you are given the bulb and roots intact. Why not just grow your own?
I’ve been doing this for years and have done it both indoors (in just a jar of water that I change regularly) and then when the weather breaks, in a pot outside.
Cutting The Green Onion for Water Growth
Cut the onion back to where the roots, bulb, and 1″ of the white part is preserved.
Going all the way to the bulb may cause the onion to not regrow
What prompted this is a TKW Family member asked how they can preserve green onions as she got a boatload of ’em and didn’t want them to go bad before she could use them all. I gave her the instructions on how to flash freeze the snipped onions and then that all she needs to do to keep getting more is just stick the roots and remaining bulbs in freshwater. These grow pretty fast too. Just change the water every few days, snip off what you need, and watch them regrow!
Green Onion Growing Tips
Change the water every 2-3 days.
If the outer sheath becomes slimy (this will happen), gently peel it off.
If the roots get too long and start to ball up snip them back to about 1″ long
Planting Green Onions
I tend to regrow mine for 3 full growths in water and plant them in soil.
I found that by the 5th regrow the bulbs and roots can get slimy to the point it’s too hard to clean them.
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Hey Kitchen Whisperer! I’m confused on the wording here. “3 regrowths” as in 3 times in water, cutting to the bulb, and THEN waiting for them to grow 4-5 inches and potting instead of cutting that fourth time? Is that right? Thanks!
Sorry – I’m not sure how to word is more clearer so I’m definitely open to suggestions!
But yes I will cut them down, stick it in water. I’ll then let them grow to about 4-5″ and cut again. I’ll repeat this about 3-4 times (obviously changing the water as recommended). I tend to NOT let them regrow a 5th time in the water as I find the roots get funky/slimy.
Hi!! can I possibly regrow onions the same process as this without sunlight? Our apartment doesn’t get any sunlight by the window and there are lots of kids playing outside too. The plant might get kicked out :'(
Maybe I’m misunderstanding? You say not to submerge in water… that you want the tops exposed above the water…, but how do you keep the root & the attached 3/4-1 inch white part from tipping over & becoming submerged?
Use a small jar instead of say a quart size jar. Plus I tend to put the whole bunch of green onions (cut down) in a jar so they don’t tip over for me. As they grow I may increase the size of the jar – height/width.
How often is regularly? I can’t t mine back to about 1-2” high, put the roots in water and change every few days. I also keep it in a sunny location that’s draft free.
Do you ever cut the roots? I have one bunch that I placed in water in a cup. Not only are they growing well, but the roots, too. It’s a big ball of roots in there. I notice there are some that haven’t grown on each onion, while others have grown to 2 or 3 inches each. I’m wondering if the roots that haven’t grown are “dead” and am hesitant to trim them. Do you have any advice?
Hi Jenelle! Yes. I just updated the post to add some growing and cutting tips. I will cut the roots when they get too long and start to ball up leaving just about an inch or so of roots in the water.
I have found that by the 5th regrow that they don’t last that long in the water (they will turn slimy). If I plant them in soil then, the nutrients in the soil help and they will start to flourish beautifully!
Hi! I’m doing this and love it so far! I’ve noticed a papery film growing and covering some of the stalks. When I peel it off, it goes all the way down to the root. What are we supposed to do in that case?
Initially I loved the idea because I thought you just put the sprouts in water, but that isn’t how you do it. What is the purpose? I use both parts. Keeping that much of the white part, like a few inches defeats purpose of buying green onions. Maybe I am missing something. If you want green parts then grow chives.
I need more information I guess.
You can actually cut a significant part of the white part off. I did an experiment and cut one down to 3/4 of an inch and it still grew, just keep the water shallow at first when you cut them super short. I cut one down to half an inch and I think that one might have been too short, but it still might grow.
Hello, Lori. I decided to try this out two weeks ago. The green parts certainly grew quickly. I changed the water every two to three days.
Just wondering, does mould ever set into the roots or white bulbs? How long would you keep that jar of bulbs going?
So you’re talking about using the green parts and sticking the rest of the “whole” onion in water to continue to grow? I have tried this with putting just about 1/2″ of the white (with roots attached) in water and it didn’t work for me, maybe that’s why. I’ve seen other photos where “supposedly” you can stick just the white & roots in water and they grow whole new onions…but I find it hard to believe. Guess it depends on what part of the onion you usually eat/use the most. For me, it’s the whites! We did, however, grow both red and yellow onions in the garden this summer quite successfully and ended up with probably 20-30 lbs of onion! Sliced in food processor, bagged & frozen!
Not quite. These shots are of ones that have been growing again for a few weeks. I cut mine way back (as I like the green AND white parts). I leave enough of the white so you have about a 1/2″ of it including the bulb. You can cut to about 1/4″ above the bulb and put that in water. Just be sure to NOT submerge it as you need the top exposed. These onions I’ve had for about 4 months (the others I planted outside when the bulbs got too big in the jar). I change the water about ever 3-4 days.
I’m sorry it hasn’t worked for you but I can say with 100% truthfulness that this does work as I’ve been doing this for a good 15-20 years with great success.
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