Who knew you could grow green onions in water alone? Until recently I had no idea. Apparently, you just place the onions into a jar of water and put into a sunny window, rinse and refill the jar with fresh water every few days. You’re able to use the tops as needed while keeping about 1 inch of the very bottom of the onion bulb intact to put back into the water. These bottoms will regrow their tops, which provides you with a never ending supply of green onions! Well, probably not never ending - certainly they won’t grow forever with lack of nutrient rich soil – or at least my husband doesn’t think so.
I figured, if green onions grow in water alone, wouldn’t a leek do the same thing? I tried to research it but it appears that a leek needs good drainage as it is at risk for root rot. I’m determined to try it anyway. I’ll let you know if I’m successful. We use leeks in salads like crazy so the thought of a never ending supply of leeks makes me extremely giddy. 
This Tomato and Leek Salad is my absolute favorite salad recipe. It requires no dressing – just a little bit of olive oil – yet it is the most flavorful salad I’ve ever had. Delicious!
30 Comments
That’s neat! Another thing I’ll have to save for when I have a house- None of my windows get any kind of sunlight.
I would LOVE an endless supply of green onions!!! I am so trying this. Thanks for posting Carli
I love this idea…. I must try it and pass it on to my grandmother that uses green onions like they are going out of style
This is great! Do you think this would work with garlic?!?!?
Hi Shannon, oh goodness – it would be amazing if it would work. I know you can grow garlic by putting it in soil. I’m really not sure about water. Heck, it’s worth a shot. We love garlic around here. If you get to it before I do, please let me know what results you get!
If you eat rice and you wash your rice prior to cooking, you should use that water for the green onions. Most rice is enriched with nutrients (some even tell you not to wash the rice). So all those nutrients might help your plants.
Hey Julie, thanks so much! I don’t think I’ve ever rinsed my rice, but I do rinse my dried beans. Would that be the same scenario?
Probably not. Unless they have been enriched.
Just wondering why mine is not working!! The ends keep drying up and some are wilting away.
Hi Ali,
I do have some drying/yellowing of the ends and a few wilty ones every now and then. Only some of them do this some of the time. When it does happen I snip off those ends and that seems to do the job. You could try starting anew by cutting off the root and white part of the onion and placing them back into fresh water. They should start growing back really quickly. Hopefully snipping them helps! Keep me up to date!
If there were a grand prize for best kitchen tip, this should surely win it! Thank you so much. I’ve done this to keep onions and some other herbs fresh, but I put them in the refrigerator. I’ve never tried growing them. I intend to now! This is so exciting! I can hardly wait to get started.
Yay! Glad I could help, HW! It’s really fun and quite amazing how fast they grow. Enjoy!
I tried this about a month ago and the roots became yucky. I changed the water out ever other day but it was just gross. I didn’t have enough onions to fit in the mason jar tight…does that matter? I was really disappointed that it didn’t work.
-tera
Hi Tera,
I haven’t had an issue with the roots. Were they rotting? Next time you have a bunch, try it again and change the water out daily to see if that helps. You may also try to rinse the roots under your faucet daily as well. Also, once you cut the onion root off, the non-root end has to stick out of the water. The whole thing cannot be submerged. This is what I’ve learned from experience when I accidentally had a few fall down into the water. Let me know if that’s successful!
Thanks Carli,
I will try that. I had too much of the actual onion in the water I think. I will try again soon and will let you know. Love the site btw.
So, how’d the leeks work out? Any luck?
~J~
Hi Jane,
I wasn’t real impressed with the growing of the leek. It works but the leek grows back SO slowly that it’s just not worth the effort.
Good to know; too bad though. Thank you for the rapid response.
~J~
I’m wondering if you see much growth of the white part of the onion? That’s the part that I like to use more than the dark green part.
Hi Gina! The white part of the onion becomes more white and thicker when it’s underground, I don’t think you’ll see much growth on that part, but will mainly just get more green tops in water on a windowsill.
great tip, just not sure how much water to use? fill it up or just cover the white at the bottom?
Hi Heidi, just enough water to keep the roots submerged is just fine!
i had a issues using tap water….try filtered or distilled water.This is the case for all plants and sprouting. chlorine and fluoride are damaging to the plant and destroy natural microorganisms and life in the soil which are beneficial for a healthy plant
Thanks so much for your input, Beth! I didn’t have any problems with tap water but maybe you will help others that have!
Very interesting!
Hi! I just came across your site and may i say… i think you do a great job–lots of great info and very nicely presented.
i just wanted to say that if the green onion trick doesn’t work, i think you could get leeks to grow a few more times not by submerging the roots in water, but by putting a small amount of water in a container, then some rocks/marbles/etc., then the leeks. avocado seeds and tulip bulbs can be started this way–the roots get water as needed, but the rocks (or whatever you choose to put there) keep the plant dry.
also, i think your hubby is right about the need for nutrients… every time i try this, it grows back 2-3 more times, then they’re done. i have to try julie’s tip about using the water from rinsed rice!
Very interesting, Alva! I’ve had great luck with the green onions but not with the leeks – or maybe I’m just too impatient because they grow much, much slower than the green onions. Are you saying to add rocks/marbles then fill the jar with water just to cover the rocks/marbles then add the plant? I assume that way just the roots have a small amount of water and the plant is not submerged in the water at all. I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for your input! By the way, I’ve tried to sprout an avocado at least 20 times in my lifetime and I’ve never been successful. Ha!
Carli, I have had tons of avocados come up from the compost pile outside, then you can transplant them very carefully into a pot if you want , and overwinter them in the house on a windowsill . I have had some die on my windowsill too, but about 50 % have survived the winter . I think it all depends on how healthy the seed was to begin with …
Angela, that is so neat! I’m jealous of your avocado success. I should try again now that I’m in a different climate.
OK I TRIED THIS AND IT DOES NOT WORK .
THE OUTER LEAVES OF THE ONION WITHER AWAY FASTER THEN NEW LEAVES GROW OUT OF THE MIDDLE, AND THAT IS A WASTE OF MY MONEY, SINCE I HAVE TO DISCARD THE WITHERED LEAVES .
THE WHOLE THING STAYS FRESH ALOT LONGER IN THE REFRIGERATOR THAN ON MY WINDOWSILL IN A GLASS JAR .
IT WAS A GOOD IDEA THOUGH , BUT THE RESULTS WERE WASTEFUL .
Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you, Angela. It works fabulously for me so I don’t know what could be going wrong….;-/
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