Kitchen Scraps: 10 UK Veg You Can Regrow

Lots of kitchen scraps will happily regrow on a UK windowsill. Spring onions, celery, lettuce, garlic and a few herbs are the easy wins. Stand the base in a little water, give it light and you’ll have something to snip within a week or two.

It’s a fun, free project and a nice way to get children growing. Just keep your expectations sensible. Most scraps give a bonus harvest, not a whole new crop. Here are the 10 that work, how to do each one, and the popular “regrow” tricks that rarely pay off.

Why do kitchen scraps regrow?

The base of many vegetables is still alive. A spring onion’s root plate, the heart of a lettuce or a garlic clove still has growing buds. Give it water and warmth and it starts growing again, using food stored in the scrap.

That stored food runs out after a cut or two. To keep going, the plant needs compost, light and nutrients like any other plant. Potting rooted scraps into compost is what turns a quick experiment into a plant that keeps producing.

Light is the other limit. From October to February, many UK kitchens are too dull for leafy scraps like basil and lettuce. Spring onions and garlic cope better because they grow from their own bulb energy. In winter, a south-facing sill or a small grow light makes a big difference. For more on growing in limited space indoors, see our guide to growing vegetables on a windowsill.

Same scraps, different light. The bright sill on the left grows sturdy green tops, while the dim one gives pale, floppy growth.

Which 10 kitchen scraps regrow best?

Here they are, roughly from quickest to slowest.

1. Spring onions

The fastest and easiest scrap of all. Keep the bottom 2-3cm with the roots attached. Stand it root-down in a glass with about 1cm of water. Change the water every day or two.

New green tops appear within days, and you can usually snip them after about a week. After two or three cuts, move them into a small pot of compost and they’ll keep going for months. When you want a bigger supply, our guide to growing spring onions covers sowing them outside.

Keep the roots and a little of the white stem. Fresh green tops will be ready to snip in about a week.

2. Leeks

Same method as spring onions, but slower. Use the bottom 4-5cm with roots attached. New green shoots appear within a couple of weeks. You’ll usually get a cut or two of mild green leaves for soups and stir-fries. Plant it in a deep pot of compost if you want it to keep going.

3. Celery

A celery base regrows a small new heart from the middle. Cut the bottom 4-5cm off a head and sit it in a saucer with about 1cm of water. Keep it on a bright sill.

A celery base in a saucer of water soon pushes out fresh leaves from the middle. It’s a lovely one to try with children.

New leaves appear within a week. After a couple of weeks, once roots show, pot it into compost with the top just showing. The regrown stalks are small and strongly flavoured, which is perfect for soups and stock. Peel off outer stalks as they go soft.

4. Lettuce

Cut a cos or romaine lettuce 2-3cm from the base and sit it in 1cm of water. New leaves grow from the centre within days. You’ll usually get one cut of small, fresh leaves. After that it tends to turn bitter and run to flower, so pop it on the compost heap.

5. Pak choi

Same method as lettuce, and a little quicker. You’ll have a handful of new leaves in a week or two. It goes bitter fast too, so think of it as a short kitchen project rather than a lasting plant.

6. Garlic

A sprouting clove from the kitchen can grow into green garlic shoots. Plant it pointy end up, just below the surface of a small pot of compost. Green shoots appear within a couple of weeks. Snip them into omelettes and stir-fries for a mild garlic flavour.

Growing a whole new bulb is a longer job. Garlic needs a cold winter outdoors and takes most of the year. For that, plant certified cloves in autumn, as shop garlic may not suit the UK climate or may carry disease. Our garlic growing guide explains when and how.

Plant a sprouting clove point-up in compost. The green shoots are lovely snipped like chives.

7. Ginger

Choose a plump piece of fresh ginger with small bumps, or “eyes”, on it. Bury it just below the surface of moist compost, with the eyes pointing up. It needs warmth, so keep it somewhere around 20°C, such as a warm kitchen. Shoots can take several weeks to appear.

Once growing, it makes a leafy, tropical-looking pot plant. After several months you can dig up a small amount of new ginger. Our guide to growing ginger at home has the full method.

8. Basil

Basil roots easily from cuttings in water. Take a 10cm shoot from a supermarket basil plant, just below a leaf joint. Strip off the lower leaves and stand it in a glass of water on a warm, bright sill.

Roots appear in a week or two. Pot the cuttings into compost once roots are a few centimetres long. Basil hates cold and dull light, so this works best from spring to early autumn. Our guide to keeping supermarket herbs alive indoors shows how to split and grow on the whole pot too.

9. Mint

Even easier than basil. A 10cm cutting from any mint roots in water within a week or two and copes with less light. Pot it on into compost and it will keep going for years.

Basil and mint root quickly in water. Pot them up once the roots are a few centimetres long.

Grow mint in a pot, not straight into a border. It spreads fast underground and will take over a bed.

10. Lemongrass

Buy fresh lemongrass stalks with the base intact. Trim off the leafy top and stand the bottom section in a few centimetres of water. Roots appear after two or three weeks. Pot it into compost and keep it on a sunny sill.

It grows into a tall, grassy plant you can cut stalks from for cooking. Lemongrass is tender, so keep it indoors over winter and only put it outside in a warm summer spot.

Which kitchen scraps don’t really work?

Social media is full of videos of avocado stones sprouting and pineapple tops rooting. They do sprout. The trouble is what happens next.

Avocado from a stone

A stone held over water with cocktail sticks usually sprouts within a couple of months. It makes a handsome houseplant, but it’s very unlikely to give you avocados. A UK home just doesn’t have enough light and warmth. If you’d like one as a houseplant, our avocado from stone guide walks you through it.

Avocado stones sprout well in water and grow into lovely houseplants. Just don’t expect any fruit.

Pineapple from a top

A twisted-off pineapple crown can root and grow into a spiky houseplant. Fruit takes years and needs more warmth, light and humidity than most homes give. It’s a fun project plant, not a crop. Our guide to growing a pineapple from a shop top has the details.

Mango from a stone

Mango stones can sprout, but a windowsill mango in the UK is a slow houseplant that’s very unlikely to ever fruit. Enjoy it for the novelty.

Carrots and beetroot from tops

A carrot or beetroot top in a saucer of water will grow fresh leaves. It will never grow a new root, because the root is the part you’ve already eaten. Carrot tops make a peppery pesto, and young beetroot leaves are tasty in salads. For new roots, sow seed.

How do you set up a windowsill regrow station?

A few jam jars on a bright sill are all you need. It’s free and only takes a minute a day.

Once scraps have a few centimetres of root, move them into compost. They’ll grow on for far longer than in water.

You’ll need:

• Small glass jars or glasses
• A shallow tray or saucer to catch drips
• The brightest windowsill you have, ideally south-facing
• Small pots of peat-free multipurpose compost for potting on

The routine is simple:

• Change the water every day or two. Stale water goes cloudy and rots the cut base. It’s the most common reason scraps fail
• Keep the water shallow. Only the base and roots should sit in it, not the leaves
• Pot on once roots are 2-3cm long. Water in well and keep the pot on the same bright sill

Anything that doesn’t regrow can go on the compost heap, so nothing is wasted.

Common mistakes when regrowing scraps

Using a scrap with no base. Spring onions, celery and lettuce need their root plate to regrow. If it’s been trimmed off, nothing will grow.

Drowning the scrap. Too much water rots the base. Keep it to about 1cm.

Forgetting to change the water. Cloudy, smelly water means rot is on the way.

Leaving it in water too long. Water only carries a scrap so far. Pot it on once it has roots.

Expecting a full crop. A regrown lettuce gives a few leaves, not a new head. Treat it as a bonus.

Find more ideas in our growing guides. Once you’ve caught the bug, try a tray of quick windowsill sprouts and microgreens for a fresh harvest in a week or two.

Frequently asked questions

Can you regrow vegetables from supermarket scraps in the UK?

Yes, several vegetables and herbs regrow from scraps. Spring onions, leeks, celery, lettuce and pak choi are the most reliable. Garlic, ginger, basil, mint and lemongrass work too. Each needs a base with roots or growing buds, fresh water and a bright windowsill.

Do regrown vegetables produce a full second harvest?

No, usually just a smaller bonus harvest. Lettuce and pak choi give a few new leaves before turning bitter. Spring onions give two or three cuts. For more, pot rooted scraps into compost so they can grow on like normal plants.

Why do my regrown carrots not produce new carrots?

Because the carrot itself is the root you’ve already eaten. A cut top can grow leaves, but it can’t make a new root. Carrot tops are edible, though. For new carrots, beetroot or parsnips, sow seed.

Will an avocado stone grow into a tree in the UK?

It will grow into a plant, but it’s very unlikely to fruit. Stones often sprout in water within a couple of months. A UK home doesn’t give enough light and warmth for fruit, so grow it as a houseplant.

What is the best kitchen scrap to regrow in winter?

Spring onions are the best scrap to regrow in winter. They grow from their own stored energy, so they cope with dull light and cool rooms. Garlic cloves also do well. Basil and lettuce struggle in winter without a grow light.

Can I plant supermarket garlic in the garden?

You can, but bulbs sold for planting are a better bet. Supermarket garlic may be a variety that doesn’t suit the UK climate or may carry disease. For a proper crop, plant certified cloves in autumn.