Oh my gosh, that is SO cool. And you know, I hardly ever buy scallions because I use them pretty infrequently so they inevitably go bad in the fridge. But next time I buy a bunch for a specific purpose, I will save a few bulbs and try this to keep a small but ongoing supply. Fun!

I am definitely trying this with some of the scallions currently in my refridgerator.

I love to keep my fresh herbs on my windowsill, and recently started doing this as well - it's so great!

I basically do the same thing with basil, when you buy the packages at the store you can stick them into water and they'll keep growing ~ just cut off what you need and remember to change the water regularly

I learned this tip from my mom. It's great and a convenient way to grow just enough green onions for a little garnish. It usually doesn't grow to a full stalk though.

Great idea! Some recipes call for the white part only, but if you have two or three jars growing, you'll have enough to keep the supply going and still be able to meet your recipes' requirements.

Thanks!
Carol

Interesting! How does it taste after multiple re-growings?

This is like that garlic peeling trick that was going around a few months back. I cannot believe I've never seen it before! TRYING tonight!

@Hungry Passport - that addresses my comment/question. I typically use equal parts white and green, which doesn't seem like it would work with this process.

This is such a great, simple idea to prolong the life of an all-too-perishable fridge staple. Several of my favorite recipes (for example, sesame-peanut noodles) really require the kick of scallion green, but the leftovers get slippery so fast in the fridge that I don't often buy them. Even if this trick extends their life by just a few days, that's enough to make a big difference in my kitchen.

(I have long wished that my grocery would allow me to buy scallions by the stalk, even at a premium. In the long run, it would save money and waste.)

I'll have to try this tonight. Usually, when I buy green onions, I buy a whole package, then chop them up immediately, and then i put it in a jar and freeze it.

But this is great for when you need fresh green onions as a garnish.

I really don't see the point (but happy some of you do) since if I use a scallion it is the white part primarily ...... I can't think of a time where I use the green and not the white.

I tried this, then went ahead and planted them in a pot on my windowsill. It's been about 6 months and they're still going strong, and continue to taste great.

One of my friends has been doing this and posted it on her blog the other day. If only I had sunlight inmy kitchen or in a spot where my cat wouldn't end up eating them...

Picantel, when thawed arent they mushy? I thought they dont freeze well.

I've done this, but after a couple weeks mine always get slimy. I may have to try Monstertruck's potting method.

I do this all the time. If not to grow them, to keep them fresh longer.

I almost always use the white, but it is a great save for scallions that are getting dry or limp in the fridge.

How cool! Thanks for the tip. I'm definitely going to try this.

Great tip. Thanks!

When I tried this I found that the taste of the "second cutting" was not very good. They tasted too spicy and a little bitter. Faith, I would be interested to know how yours taste!

I have done this a few times since seeing a pin on Pinterest. I find you can regrow them 3-4 times, then they're just done. Since I barely ever used an entire bunch without throwing away some, this has cut down on waste considerably. Each regrowth tends to be a little paler, and a little less onion-y, but just fine for my purposes. (I'm not some green onion snob, I suppose, haha.)

I did this several times. Gotta remember to change the water once in a while because it can get kinda smelly and gross... After cutting them 2 or 3 times, I just plant them in a pot or out in the garden and they keep coming back. I also tried this with fresh sage (very fresh) cuttings and in a couple of weeks, they started growing roots, and then I planted them in a pot.

Cool tip but mine never last that long. If I have leftovers from a recipe,
I just eat them as a side with my meal. Yum.

TIP to extend freshness: Wash green onions, trim the [green] ends &
store in a glass of water in the fridge instead of the veggie bag in which
they came home. And if leftovers are a bit slimy, remove the outer layer(s)
and trim the wilted greens again. Even those that are beyond edible will
still grow when planted in soil.

Also, a number of fresh herbs can be rooted in a jar of water & then planted,
either indoors on a sunny window sill or in the garden. We're still enjoying
the benefits of a bunch of watercress I bought at the market 3 yrs ago. I rooted the leftovers in a jar in the window & tucked the sprigs to the waterfall of our garden pond. I just snip a few as needed with my trusty kitchen scissors. Can't beat $1.29 for three+ years of flavor!

Hmm... I would exactly call that "down to the roots". I'm used to just slicing of a thin little disc of the root and chopping up everything else.

I saw this on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and have a bunch of second-growth scallions going on right now right on the windowsill. It is so cool. The other day when I just needed a couple to garnish some soup, there they were! It's the best "invention" ever!

If you are freezing green onions, wash them, then cut them up into small bits and put them in a jar or ziploc bag.

Add them straight from the freezer at the END of the recipe. If you thaw them out ahead of time, they will be mushy. The frozen bits work great for fried rice, miso soup, stir fry.

Whenever my onions and garlic get green shoots I plant them in soil and trim off the shoots when needed

i like both parts, but my absolute favorite marinade recipe calls for a whole cup of just the very bottom white parts, so im always buying bunches of scallions just for the bottom part! Usually it takes 3 bunches! Too bad you cant plant them upside down.

I started doing this a few weeks ago, but now I have all these green onions! Any recipes for the green part? I hardly ever use them so keep giving them away when they get too tall! :)

That is the sort of thing that makes me bang my head on the desk and say "Why didn't I think of that?". Great tip.

I have done & am doing this. I have had the same stalk of green onions for over a month now. Its SO easy & SO nice to have them on hand.

I change my water every couple of days. Just giving them a quick rinse with my sprayer & a clean fill up. I have a shelf I mounted to my window frame over my kitchen sink so they get plenty of light.

Also, YES! they grow fast & inevitably you will have more than you need. I find 2 things do-able...start adding them to things you would not maybe think of since you normally wouldnt have them on hand. Pastas, salads, etc. You will love the results, I am sure!

Also I snip them into a tightly sealable rubbermaid container & put in the freezer. That way, when I maybe DONT have any on hand than they are there. & trust me this has happened quite a few times. I live in a rural area with a small grocery store that closes early & when making mongolian beef at 8:30 pm on a friday...you need green onions :)

to those who havent done this....what are you waiting for?!

We did this for years, and finally I just decided to grow them in soil. They are very easy. And if they do die off or get overeaten we just buy more and do the same and plant them.

Also, if you get a bumper crop you can chop them up and freeze them as another poster mentioned. They do tend to get a bit soggy, but this trick helps to keep them crisp in the freezer: keep them very loosely wrapped in a damp paper towel and put them in a bag or canning jar that is not fully sealed. The air circulating seems to help somehow.

Some people have asked "Why bother?"

I live in a northern clime. It can get pretty bleak here in winter. I always grow bulbs inside this time of year to remind me that life comes back. Green growing things, edible or not, are a refreshing sight for some of us in the cold months. This has the added bonus of being yummy!

We go through several bunches of scallions per week so this is probably not practical for me, but I might do it for fun anyway. As per Charlotte's comment, it'd be nice to have something green growing in the house in the winter.

But tip to keep your refrigerated scallions fresh: as soon as you buy them, wrap the bunch in paper towel. It absorbs the humidity and keeps them from getting slimy. I do this for peeled garlic too.

Yahoo had a short article on the green onion re-growth and I planted my limp onions and they are still growing 6 mo later...taste great...they also said you can buy limes on sale and put them in the freezer whole and let thaw before use and they are great. Martha said you can take unused lemon grass and put them in a jar of water and they will root in a week...and they did then I planted them in a pot outside and I also plant unused ginger..

I am a avid reader of the apartment therapy blogs. I grow herbs, tomatoes, and strawberries on my balcony.

A few months back I was cleaning out my refrigerator and found some wilted, nasty looking green onions down in the bottom. I was about to throw them out, but I had one pot empty on the balcony, so I stuck them in there on a whim. They grew very big to the point I cannot get them out of the container. LOL

So, now when I need green onions for a dip, or other recipe, I go out and trim a few of the tops, and they grow back rather quickly. All from something I probably would have thrown away in the past.

dur! this is one of those -- why didn't *i* think of this!?!

my fiance hates onions... i have to chop regular onions tiny tiny for him to eat them. and we can't ever go thru an entire bundle of green onions before they get all wilty and gross.

We lived in Alaska for 5 years and used this trick on garlic (think chives with a mild garlic taste), green onions, scallions, as well as lemon grass. We also planted up ginger. When you have to drive over an hour one way to get to the grocery store on some of the most treacherous roads in the state you learn to take advantage of any tricks to extend the time between trips.

My mother can get green onions to keep for up to 5 weeks in her fridge. Her trick... she cuts off the roots, wipes them down, then wraps then in a paper towel, and wraps the whole thing in foil. She has done this for over 40 years and has never had to throw them out due to spoilage.

Trying this tonight. For those who fear mushy defrosted scallions, we keep them in the freezer and never suffer, using this method: as soon as you bring them home, wash and dry scallions thoroughly. Snip or chop. Pour into freezer bag. Force out extra air and roll the bag from the bottom, leaving bag open a tad to "burp" before sealing. Freeze. The key is to make sure everything's dry and remove air from the freezer bag. Cheers!

I'll usually trim them and plant them in my backyard and they'll regrow and the bulb grows into an onion.

Thank you for this great idea!! I found a charming jar that has an antique look with tiny handles on each side, I can't wait to try it. Scallions was one of the items I would buy over and over again, not being able to keep it around for the next time I needed it.

so going to try this

Um, am I the only person in the world who would EAT them before they could regrow?? :) Seriously!!

And for people looking for "recipes" for them... chop 'em, and sprinkle them on.... EVERYTHING. Pizza. Toast. Goat Cheese. Salad. Pasta. Steak. Chicken breast. Rice. Tofu. Seitan. Veggies of all kinds. Cheeses of all kinds. Soup.... especially Pho. Seriously, eat them on everything. They taste better than "big" onions (because, you can grow specifically a breed that is 'green onion', or you can start onions from seed and do this, too).

I did something similar to that with a regular onion. It was growing a shoot, so I stuck it in a pot. That shoot grew pretty big-it looked like a scallion but I was scared to taste it.

I don't understand the people who say this won't work for them as they use the white part of the onion. Even if you do use both white and green parts you're not eating the roots. As long as the roots and some of the white part are there this seems to work just fine.

yes I agree. I just put the root part with a little white in a glass of water.
When I see the roots grow out, I plant them in dirt and they grow. Just snip off what I need
and the keep growing.
Cheers
irina

If you cook Asian dishes, the green parts of the scallion is what is used most. This will be great for me since I end up throwing out half a package of scallions.
You can also regrow shallots (instead of buying those little, expensive bags of them).
I need to make more room on my windowsill - I'm going to be doing a lot of this.

Okay. What nutrients/vitamins are being gained by regrowing in this way? It seems the water is not providing you any goodness, not compared to what the plants gain from being in well-composted soil or grown with good organic fertilizer. Is the taste the same as if the green onions were grown organically? If this is a form of hydroponics, don't such growers add nutrients to the water? Just curious.

You can freeze chopped green onions! Make sure they are dry, chopp them, and put them into a water bottle, (spring water), it really works they remain crisp and usable. I finally found a way to preserve green onions especially when I buy them by the bunch, they will not go to waste, then with this tip of putting them in the window sill is even better!

I've been doing this for about a month now! I cut the onions the first time, and left about 3 inches of green, then I let them grow back about another 6 inches (only took a few weeks) and then I cut that off again, leaving about 3 inches...right now they're about 12 inches high! The second time I cut them they grew even faster! I swear from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed I could notice them growing! Also, I change the water daily and rinse the slime off the roots, I don't know if that helps them grow but it's working for me!

I've been doing this for a few years now, only in a box just outside the kitchen with other herbs. Just poke a hole, drop the roots in, and voila - fresh scallions forever if you re-plant a set every few days! Some of my older experiments have overwintered (Seattle area) for over 3 years, getting woodier and less tasty as they got larger, so best harvest them young.