10 Vegetables You Can Buy Once and Regrow Forever!

As much as we fought our parents at the dinner table, because we didn’t want to finish our broccoli or peas, we now know how extremely important vegetables are to our health. and i’m sure you work hard to incorporate them into your daily intake.

There’s only one problem – they go bad incredibly fast.

Why’s that such a big deal? Because it means we have to make extra trips to the supermarket and spend extra money to replace veggies that have gone bad in our household. So what’s the solution you ask?

Simple, grow your own vegetables. That sounds like a lot of work. But not with these ten vegetables, that you only need to buy one time-and enjoy forever!

Carrots:

Carrot, the wonderfully bright and crunchy snack are versatile enough to be regrown from carrot tops. Have the carrot tops put in a dish that has little water. Place the dish in a room that is well-lit or on a window sill. Carrot greens are a bit bitter, but when chopped up with garlic and sweetened with vinegar, they can be used in salads.

Celery:

You can use leftover celery bottoms for this. You know the part no one wants to eat. Cut the base off and place it in a shallow owl or saucer in the sun. The leaves will thicken and grow with time in the middle of the base. Plant it in soil after 3 days.

Romaine Lettuce:

Romaine lettuce, your weekly salads main ingredient. Romaine lettuce is pretty much a staple ingredient in my house. We use it in pretty much anything, wherever we can. You can grow more lettuce from the bottom of an existing lettuce head.

Put stumps of the romaine lettuce in a ½ inch of water. Once new roots and leaves start to appear (a few days later) replant your lettuce into a soiled pot or garden. The leaves can grow up to twice the size.

Fun Fact: Cabbages can also be regrown in the same way.

Bok Choy:

Chinese cabbage of a variety with smooth-edged tapering leaves. Place the bok choy in a well lit area, with the roots ends in water. Leave it for 1-2 weeks. After a couple weeks have passed move the vegetable to a pot filled with soil. It will grow a new full head. Not like a live head, of course. But a full head of lettuce. Ready to eat.

Globe Artichoke:

 

This member of the thistle family with edible flower bud called artichokes. Do not harvest them until they unfurl to reveal fuzzy purple flowers. To grow this plant you’ll a moist, well drained soil and sunny environment. Plant 24-36 inches apart in rows about 36 inches apart. Amend the soil prior to planting with 2 inches of compost. Fertilize monthly with a high-nitrogen fertilizer.

You can harvest these perennial artichokes in spring, but they also have a secondary peak in fall. Pick the flower buds when the stalk has fully extended but the bud has not opened.

Asparagus:

This slender spring beauty is probably the most well-known vegetable, and one of the most coveted early spring vegetables. It can keep producing for up to 25 years.  It’s not a quick producer, such as many annual vegetables are, but asparagus can end up providing tasty green treats every year once they get established.

Planting asparagus can be done with seeds or with 2-year old crowns. The seeds take a few years to mature, while the crowns (purchased from a store) produce much faster results. Whether you choose to go with seeds or crowns, make sure you plant it in well drained soil. Water logged asparagus will rot!

Scallions:

 

You can regrow scallions using their unwanted roots. Leave an inch of the scallions attached to the root then put them in a glass of water. Place the glass of water in a room that’s well-lit and of moderate temperature.  Once they’re 4-6 inches long, they’re ready to pick and enjoy.

Garlic:

The famous vampire repellant is also reusable as a vegetable. Sprouts will regrow from garlic cloves. They taste milder than garlic, and can be added to pasta, salads and other dishes. When they begin to sprout, have them placed in a glass that has little water. Leave it in a window, or outside and let mother nature do the rest. When the spouts are a few inches long replant the cloves in a pot with soil. You will see leaves in a few days starting to sprout. When the leaves turn brown and fall your garlic is ready for picking.

Fun Fact: one little clove could produce 10+ more cloves of garlic for you

Basil:

Basil cuttings can be used to grow new basil. Put basil clippings that have stems of 3-4 inches in a glass of water. Place them in direct sunlight and when the roots become 2 inches long, plant them in pots. With time, they will grow into full basil plants. Be sure to change the water constantly though, so they don’t get slimy. Cause who wants slimy basil? Not me.

Cilantro:

 

If you place the stems of cilantro in a glass of water, they will grow. When the roots become long enough, plant them in a pot that has soil. Place them in a room with ample lighting. The plants will be fully grown in a few months.

Feel proud of growing you own veggies! Your pocketbook will thank you and so will your health.

>