If you're like me and you're avoiding supermarkets right now, you'll be glad to know a trick that will keep me at home. I am sure you have heard that you can only grow spring onions from a tiny knob end. But did you know that you can turn half-rotted sprouted onions into brand new full-size onion plants?
I use spring onions so often that I always run out of breath. They don't last long in the fridge and their greens start to wither within a few days. You can put them in a glass of water in the fridge to extend their lifespan a little, but that only delays the inevitable.
To be honest, it is so easy to repeat them that I am surprised that they are not very popular. It only takes a few minutes of your time and in a short time you will have more onions than you expect. The best thing is that they are healthy and strong, unlike the thin little things you get when you just soak the root end in water.
Ready to record a few tricks? If so, let's go!
Useful things to get your onions working:
Redeeming spring onions
So you separated and planted and grown the onions … or you bought them on the market. In any case, you have harvested spring onions ready to eat.
The first step is to use what you want from your spring onions … and save the root end.
But before you cut, Look closely at your goals. Let's look at a few different ways you might come across:
This onion doesn't have enough roots.
This onion end looks kind of ragged. It will likely grow, but it is not in the best shape. The knot to which the roots are attached is still intact and not too discolored, so that new ones appear over time.
Very consistent root material, much better for growing.
It is almost perfect. There is an even selection of cut root material over the entire end and these will all regrow. These are the ones I always want to save for replanting purposes. Ends like this can usually be easily regrown 2 to 4 times because they are sturdy with plump little tendrils to easily absorb water.
It is doubtful. It is discolored and has few roots.
He has seen better days. The root node has started to darken and discolour, but there are still a few protruding spots here and there. It may take root, but if it does, it is probably only good for further regrowth.
From time to time you will find an onion that has no roots at all. It can even look like the entire end has been cut off. These will not regrow, so don't waste your effort!
Now you have found some healthy, potential candidates. Cut a 1.5 "to 2" segment of white in the end. You will grow out of it. They can go as short as 1 inch in length, but I find a slightly longer one is better for regrowth.
If you soak your onions in water, they can develop new roots and green tips.
Take these spring onion ends and put them in cold water. Place them in a place where they can get a lot of light.
This is the stage at which onion regeneration begins. Since it forms new roots and expands new green growth, your only daily task is to rinse off all the sprouting onions and change the water once or twice a day. The facility will do the rest.
You I don't want the water to become cloudy, as this is usually not good for your young plants. Cloudy water is water that fills with bacteria and you want them to stay as clean as possible.
Avoid covering the tips of these new beginnings with water. You need both air and water to survive!
Do yours over the next 3-5 days daily water change and rinsingand leave them in a place with lots of light. A sunny window or well-lit room should be fine, but the more light they get, the greener they get. You will see that new developments are gradually emerging.
Here are three phases of new growth. The one on the left is cut straight. The middle one is about 2 days after soaking. The right one is about 6 days after soaking and has very long greens.
First, the cut end will lightly couple, then it seems to separate a little. New green material protrudes outwards. The first sheet still has its tip cut off, but new sheets follow very quickly. By the time a week has passed, you should have two stems, one with a pointed tip and one with a flat one.
At the end of this week it's time for plant all of your starts in the garden or use the leaves fresh for cooking. If you use, remove the new growth just above your original cut.
You need good potting soil or an available garden bed to plant. The soil must be well drained, but should retain some moisture, since your onions are now used to a lot of water.
Try to use good potting soil if you can.
I mixed two types of potting soil. One of them is a seed-start mixture that is full of worm castings and other great materials, but has a finer particle size. The other is a raised bed mix that contains much larger pieces of wood or compost and some composted manure. The pieces of wood retain additional moisture and keep the floor moist longer in warm weather.
You don't have to use a fancy blend if you don't have something on hand! Use what is available to you. Even normal dirt from the back yard will work for this purpose. You should make sure that it is loose enough to work and plant. It is better if it does not dry out to a hard-baked surface even in the heat.
The distance is not absolutely necessary if you are mounting these for green tips.
If you clear your starts about every 6 inches, you'll find that they get massive. In fact, they may look more like leek than spring onions. They will be a little harder, but you can still eat them and they are good for cooking.
But if you want more fresh spring onions, I'll plant 2 "apart or closer. These will fit together nicely and won't take up much space. I've planted eight of them in this pot today, but in a few days I'll add more in between and until I can harvest my first batch at the end of the week.
This is a form of Regrow succession. If there is enough water for all the onions in the pot and there is enough soil, you can always put new spring onions in the same pot by pulling out the old ones. You can also just drop by and harvest some leaves.
Once your bulbs are planted, water them well.
Don't forget to water your spring onions!
Regrowth of sprouted onions
Have you ever taken an onion out of the pantry just to find out that it did? green leaves grow out of its tip? It happens to the best of us, but this onion is not ruined. In fact, you can let them grow out of these onion sprouts.
This brown onion has a single sprout that protrudes from above.
Today I have a brown onion. This has only one sprout, but sometimes two or three different sprouts will protrude. I think this is more common with red onions than with brown or Spanish onions. Reds just like to share!
Your first step in recovering this sprout is to start carefully Peel off layers the outer skin.
Carefully peel it off layer by layer to avoid damaging the sprout.
Mold can occur when peeling off. That's fine. Peel it carefully layer by layer. Save these outer layers of onions for your compost bin as they have already passed the point of consumption. In fact, you can find weak spots and it can have a pungent aroma. As long as it has a healthy green top, keep going.
The original stem of the old onion is still partially in place.
Onions with a hard stem such as brown onions may come across the part from which the stem of the original onion grew. You can easily peel off this flat stem segment when you come across it. It won't harm your sprout.
The sprout is peeled almost enough, but the onion skin on the bottom is still wrinkled and loose.
When you get into the layers, you may find that some of the inner layers are loose. You want to try to get to a fairly plump inner sprout if you can without losing too many leaves.
Well if you have several rungs Be more careful when you peel them out. You don't want to damage any of these sprouts because you can later split them into individual onions!
We have reached the solid sprout in the middle!
Here we came to the only sprout that was in this onion. If you look at the bottom, a lot of material has been removed, but there is a surprisingly thick layer of root end there. The original end with the old dry root material is still at the base, then a white layer where the onion had formed. There is more another brown spot.
Guess what? This is the actual bottom of your onion sprout, which has basically created a new root segment over the old one, but within the onion. Since it fed on the old onion, it did not have to cut out any roots, but could suck it directly from the old root segment.
But we don't need the root end of the original onion. just the new one.
Carefully remove the old onion end and keep the new brown end for the sprout.
Cut the excess root material clean by cutting between the old end and the dark brown spot where the new root end has formed over it. Don't cut into this dark brown stain, you want it to be completely intact.
If you have several rungs connected to a single baseand they all have brown ends. You can also cut off the old roots of the original onion. Then carefully cut the base apart, making sure that each sprout has a root end that you can work with.
There is just enough root base left to take root.
If you look at your cut end, you can see that it's not like the rest of the onion. It's almost like looking at a solid core. Your new root mass will form from this core.
Put this onion sprout in the cup while all of your spring onions begin. If it is viable, new roots will be pulled from the cut end. Just like your spring onions, you want Rinse your onion sprout once a day and provide it with fresh water. Check the root end to see if new material begins to grow. If so, wait until this beautiful bundle of vines is at least 1 inch, preferably 1.5 inches long, and then plant it. This can take up to a week and sometimes a little longer. This is a larger base, and since they form a larger onion, more root material is needed to survive.
When I plant your sprout, I like it plant it deep. You want most of the green to protrude above the ground surface. Since most of this sprout has been kept moist and recently peeled, there is a risk of sunburn damage. Try to cover up most of the white part. If you want, mulch around it to cover any remaining white parts. Protection from the heat of the sun is important right now.
Make sure you keep the soil moist and that your plant gets plenty of sunlight and that you find a new bulb to replace the lost one. If you're lucky, you'll have three or four onions from your original one and get more than you started!
You can easily grow spring onions or older, sprouted onions!
As you can see, this is pretty easy. I hope this is how you try to extend the time between visits to grocery stores. The best thing is that you always have fresh and delicious spring onions or local onions at hand.
The green thumbs behind this article:
Lorin Nielsen
Lifetime gardener
