1. Regrow green onions in just one week:
2. Grow garlic sprouts (or a whole new head) from a single clove:
Difficulty level: easy
Growing time: three to five days for tops, several months for a new head
Have you ever had old garlic start to grow green tops? This sprouted garlic can easily be cultivated by placing it into a shot glass filled with water. Once sprouted, the tops can be eaten like green onions. Or, if you're patient enough, you can transfer the sprouted cloves into dirt and grow a whole new head (although growing full heads can be a bit trickier). See the full directions here.
3. Sprout another bunch of romaine leaves from the core:
4. Give new life to the tops of leeks:
Difficulty level: easy
Growing time: one to two weeks
Soaking the root end of leeks in warm water allows a whole new set of tender leaves to grow. See the full directions here.
5. Sprout new onions from their roots:
6. Coax roots from the stems of grocery-store basil and cilantro:
7. Sprout new celery from its butt:
Difficulty level: moderate
Growing time: five to seven days for roots to appear
The butt of celery can regrown a few extra stalks with just a little love. Simply place the end of the celery, root side down, onto a plate of water in a sunny window. After one week, roots will appear and it's ready to transfer to soil. See the full directions here.
8. And bok choy:
9. And even napa cabbage:
Difficulty level: easy
Growing time: three to four days for roots to appear
Napa cabbage butts can be grown the exact same way as celery and bok choy! See the full directions here.
10. Replant lemongrass stalks:
Difficulty level: moderate
Growing time: two to three weeks for roots to appear
Soak lemongrass stalks, root end down, in warm water. After several weeks, transfer the rooted stalks into soil and grow your own fresh lemongrass! See the full directions here.
11. Grow carrot greens from the discarded tops:
Difficulty level: moderate
Growing time: one to two weeks for roots to appear
Soak carrot tops in a shallow pool of water for one week and transfer to soil when roots form. The tops will grow beautiful greens that are great in salads and pestos, as a replacement for parsley, or simply as a beautiful house plant. See the full directions here.
12. Turn one potato into several:
Difficulty level: easy
Growing time: several months
Instead of throwing away old potatoes that have grown eyes, simply cut it into several pieces and plant it in the ground to grow new ones. Each eye can turn into a whole new potato! See the full directions here.
13. Conjure a ginger plant from a single root:
14. Sprout the tops of pineapples into beautiful houseplants:
Difficulty level: difficult
Growing time: six to eight weeks for roots to appear
Don't expect to get a new pineapple right away, but you will get an awesome houseplant after just a few weeks. Sprout the tops in either water or soil and transfer to a pot. If you are a real plant whisperer you can end up with a homegrown pineapple in a few years! See the full directions here.
15. Sprout an avocado tree from the pit:
Difficulty level: difficult
Growing time: up to eight weeks for roots to appear, several years for a tree to grow
For a long term project, try spouting an avocado pit to grow a tree. After sprouting the pit (which can take up to eight weeks) transfer the pit into soil and let it grow. The growth will be slow, but it's totally worth it for an avocado tree! See the full directions here.
16. Regrown mushrooms from their stems:
Now go put that green thumb to use and start giving your produce a second life!
