41 Foods You Can Regrow From Scraps

We’ve all tossed out leftover vegetable scraps, thinking they’re done for, but did you know many common foods can regrow from scraps?

My kitchen has become an experimental garden. My husband and I have tried to regrow everything from lettuce to celery, and we’ve had great success! It’s easy, saves money, and makes for a fun project.

Before you throw out those leftover bits of carrots, cabbage, and onions, give regrowing a shot. You can grow fresh veggies from your countertop scraps with patience and the right conditions.

Discover which foods you can regrow from scraps (plant parts or seeds).

Vegetables You Can Regrow from Scraps

We all hate wasting food, so why not give some common veggie scraps a second life by regrowing them?

Below is a list of vegetables you can grow from scraps:

• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Celery
• Garlic
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce
• Bok choy
• Spring onion
• Radishes
• Ginger
• Sweet potatoes
• Rutabagas
• Shallots
• Turmeric
• Peppers (seeds)
• Potatoes
• Onion
• Tomato (seeds)
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Turnips

Growing Carrots from Scraps

Look for carrots with the green tops still attached.

Avoid carrots that look dried out or limp. The fresher the tops are, the better your chances of regrowing.

Next, place the tops in a shallow dish with some water. Make sure the cut part that was attached to the carrot is submerged.

Put the dish in a spot with filtered light and moderate temperatures. After a few days, you should notice new green shoots sprouting from the tops and roots forming.

Once a root system has formed, it’s time to plant your carrot tops in the soil. Bury the entire top and roots in a pot with well-draining, loose soil.

You can also plant them directly outside in a garden bed.

Re-growing Celery from Scraps

You can regrow celery from scraps easily. First, cut the base off a bunch of celery.

Leave about two inches of the root end. Next, place the base in a shallow bowl of water.

Make sure the cut side faces up. Put the bowl in a sunny spot like on the windowsill and change the water every couple of days.

After about a week, you will see new leaves growing. Once roots appear, plant the celery in soil.

Water it often and ensure it gets at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. Soon, you will have fresh celery to harvest.

Re-growing Beets

Beets are easy to regrow from scraps. All you need is the root end with some greens still attached.

We cut off the beet greens, leaving about an inch of the stems attached to the root end.

Next, we placed the root ends in a jar with water and the greens facing up. Soon, new greens started sprouting from the top.

Re-growing Potatoes

We start by cutting an Irish potato (white potato) into chunks that each have an “eye”—that’s the bud from which the plant sprouts. We let the chunks sit out for a day until the cut sides dry.

Next, we plant the chunks in garden soil, burying them about an inch deep with the eye facing up. We also keep the soil moderately moist.

We started seeing potato plants in about a week.

Growing Sweet Potatoes from Scraps

We’ve all tossed sweet potato scraps in the compost without a second thought. However, did you know you can regrow an entire sweet potato plant from them?

My family has been able to propagate new sweet potato vines from scraps, and it has become a fun gardening project.

Select a plump, healthy sweet potato to regrow your own sweet potatoes. Next, cut the potato into wedges, ensuring each piece has at least two eyes or buds.

Now, allow the cut surfaces to dry out overnight.

Bury each wedge about an inch deep in garden soil with the eyes facing up. Water the soil regularly to keep it consistently damp.

Re-growing Lettuce

Lettuce is one of the easiest veggies to regrow. All you need is the base of a romaine or any lettuce that still has its stem.

Place it in a shallow dish with some water, and wait. In a few days, you will notice new leaves sprouting.

Once the roots start showing, you can plant your lettuce in the soil. Bury the roots, but keep the top few leaves above the soil.

Plant it in a spot with indirect sunlight, and keep the soil moist.

Fruits You Can Grow from Scraps

Many common fruits can be regrown from the scraps and seeds you usually throw away.

Below is a list of some of them. Most of these will regrow from seeds you would discard or otherwise eat.

• Citrus (seeds)
• Pineapple (top)
• Pumpkin (seeds)
• Strawberries (seeds)
• Avocado (seed)
• Melon (seeds)
• Mango (seed)
• Winter squash (seeds)

Re-growing Pineapple

We’ve tried growing pineapples from scraps and have had great success. All you need is the leftover crown from a pineapple.

Once you’ve cut the crown off about an inch below the leaves, let it sit for a few days so the end can dry out and callus over. This helps prevent it from rotting when you plant it.

Next, place the crown in some water and put it where it gets sunlight.

Wait until it establishes roots. After that, you can plant it in the soil and keep the soil moist.

Now, the key is patience. It can take up to three years for your pineapple plant to produce fruit [1].

Herbs You Can Regrow from Scraps

Here are some of our favorite herbs that will thrive with a second chance at life:

• Mint
• Marjoram
• Basil
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Sage
• Lemongrass
• Cilantro
• Lemon balm
• Parsley

Growing Cilantro From Scraps

To regrow cilantro, take a few fresh stems and place them in water. Next, place the container where it can get some sunlight.

Add water as the days go by. In a few days, you will notice roots appearing.

When the plants are about three inches tall, transfer them to soil in a pot or the outdoor garden.

Growing Celery from Scraps

Growing celery from scraps is an easy way to get free without buying an entire bunch from the store. All you need is the base of the celery stalk with the roots still attached.

We like to save the celery base after chopping the rest of the stalks. Ensure that at least an inch or two of the stalk remains below the roots.

Next, place the base in a shallow dish with about an inch of water. Change the water every few days to keep it fresh.

New leaves will sprout from the center within a week or so. After another week, you can plant the celery base in the soil.

Re-growing Mint

Mint is one of the easiest herbs to regrow from scraps.

We took a fresh stem and removed the lower leaves. Next, we placed the stem in a jar of water in a spot that received some indirect light.

We also changed the water every few days, and within 9 days, roots started to form. Once the roots were an inch or two long, we planted the new plant in the soil in a pot.

Takeaway

These are some of our favorite foods; you can easily regrow them from leftovers right in your home.

Give them a try. You’ll be amazed at how much food you can produce from scraps that would otherwise end up in the compost or trash.

And, of course, growing your food is rewarding in many ways. Not only do you get to enjoy the fruits (and veggies!) of your labor, but you also get the satisfaction of doing something good for the environment.

Happy planting and eating!

We’d love to hear about your experiences regrowing plants from scraps. In the comments, let us know which crops you’ve succeeded with and any tips you can share.

Image via thespruce.