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Take the challengeLearning to regrow food from scraps is a great way to ease yourself into gardening. Especially if you live somewhere that doesn't have a huge amount (or any) space for a garden.
You can regrow food scraps in small pots or glasses of water on the windowsil!
Image: Elephantine
I've been regrowing spring onions for a while now and I'm always amazed by just how quickly they shoot up!
You'll Need:
An onion
A small starter pot or you can just use one large pot or garden space if you have it
About a cup or two of soil (depending on the size of your pot)
A knife
Patience
Instructions:
Slice off the bottom end of your onion. Leave about 1 1/2" of onion "meat" on the bottom. This gives it a bit more of a head start to regrow.
Put the larger part of your onion aside for cooking something delicious later on.
Take the bottom part of your onion and leave it to dry in a shaded well-ventilated spot for anywhere from a few hours to a few days. You're waiting for the onion to dry and 'callous'
You'll be able to tell when it's ready as the cut portions will be dry and slightly shrivelled.
(note: the onion in the picture has not been properly calloused - it's fresh cut for the sake of example)
Fill the starter pot 2/3 of the way full and compact.
Create an indentation in the center to cradle the onion bottom and allow for good soil contact.
Cover with 1-2" of soil.
Water as needed.
Note: You can skip the starter pot if you can't be bothered and plant it directly in the ground.
Once the onion bottom has developed a few leaves, remove from the pot.
Remove old onion scales.
Separate plants as needed by slicing between plants and leaving a portion of the roots attached. You may have more than 1 plant develop from a single onion bottom.
Replant in a prepared growing bed.
Cut leaves down to 1/3 of the size to allow the bulb to develop. This might seem harsh, but the onion will regrow those leaves with less stress.
Repeat the process. Harvest as green onions or fully developed mature onions.
This blog post was adapted from an Instructable originally posted by AngryRedhead
Read this next: 17 food scraps you can buy once and regrow
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