You probably paid for this book with a debit card, a credit card, or perhaps in cash, but in the Middle Ages you might have paid your way with a home-grown onion. Onions were so valuable and sought after that many people paid their rent in onions. That probably wouldn’t go down well today, but that doesn’t mean the world has fallen out of love with this special vegetable.
When you regrow an onion, you are really doing it for the green onion sprouts (green stems that emerge as the onion regrows). Green onion shoots make a great alternative to spring onions and work well in stir-fries and as a flavoursome addition to a fresh salad.
You can use a fresh onion for this project, or if there are older sprouting onions in your kitchen scraps, these are perfect too. It’s so sad to think of how many perfectly healthy onions are thrown away every day when they could so easily be repurposed and regrown at home.
| Growing speed | Slow |
| Difficulty level | Medium |
| Position | Sunny |
| Temperature | Cool |
| Use | Edible |
| Container | Large |
You will need
Sharp knife
Shallow dish or saucer
Fresh water
Large plant pot with drainage holes and drip tray
Potting compost
Kitchen scissors
To regrow onions
| 1 | The next time you use an onion in the kitchen, be sure to retain part of its base, as this is the area from which it grows roots. You’ll need at least 3cm (1¼in) of the bottom part of the onion for this project. |
| 2 | To encourage the onion to grow roots, place it in a shallow dish or saucer with the base facing downwards and add enough cool, clean water to cover the base of the onion. Change the water daily for the first few days and keep an eye out for new root growth. |
| 3 | Once you are sure that your onion cutting is growing healthy new roots, and you can see that fresh green shoots have started to reach upwards from the centre of the cutting, it’s time to transfer your onion into the earth so it can continue to grow. |
| 4 | Fill a large plant pot with potting compost and create a hollow or indent large enough to hold your onion cutting in the centre of the pot. Position the cutting in the hollow and use a little more potting compost to cover the older part of the onion. Your fresh onion shoots should now look nice and neat in a bed of soil, with no sight of your original onion trimming. |
| 5 | From this point onwards, you need to keep your potted onion plants in moist soil, so remember to water it regularly. You can choose to plant your onion cutting directly into a raised bed or directly into earth in your garden. If you do this, you won’t need to water it as regularly, but as with all plants, it’s best to monitor it and tend to it accordingly. |
| 6 | When the fresh onion shoots are 10–20cm (4–8in) high, you can use a clean pair of kitchen scissors to trim them off for use in your kitchen. |
Tips
Onion juice can make head hair grow faster if you apply it to the roots. Just remember to wash your hair before you hit the disco.
If you come across an old overgrown onion which has already begun to sprout, simply remove the skin and outer onion layers until you reach the green centre. You’ll have a ready-made onion plant ready for planting.
You can use onion skins to dye fabric if you’re so inclined.
