There’s something incredibly satisfying about snipping fresh green onions right from your windowsill, especially when you didn’t even need seeds to start.
Whether you’re a beginner gardener or just someone who uses scallions in nearly every dish, growing green onions at home is a simple way to enjoy fresh, continuous harvests without a trip to the store.
This guide walks you through exactly how to grow green onions endlessly. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder why you ever bought them more than once.
Why Green Onions Are Perfect for Beginners
Green onions (also known as scallions or spring onions) are among the easiest vegetables to regrow.
They don’t need a lot of space, grow fast, and don’t require any complicated tools or experience. Even better, they regenerate from scraps you’d normally toss out.
With just a few healthy bulbs and a bit of sunlight, you can start your own mini onion patch in days.
Unlike bulb onions, green onions don’t need to mature underground. You harvest their leafy tops, which means you can start snipping them regularly without uprooting the whole plant.
Step 1: Save Your Green Onion Scraps
Next time you’re chopping green onions, set aside the white ends, the bottom 1-2 inches with the roots still attached.
You’ll want to keep them as clean and fresh as possible. If the roots look slimy or black, discard them and wait until you have a fresher batch.
Healthy green onion bottoms should feel firm and slightly moist, with visible little roots at the base.
You can regrow one or many at the same time. If you cook with them often, save several and regrow them as a small cluster for bigger harvests.
Read more: How To Grow Onions From Onions
Step 2: Regrow Green Onion Scraps in Water (The Fast Track)
The easiest and fastest way to start regrowing green onions is in a small glass or jar of water.
Fill the container with just enough water to submerge the roots, don’t let the whole bulb sit underwater, or it may rot. Then line them up root-side down and place the jar on a sunny windowsill or countertop.
Within just a few days, you’ll see new green shoots sprouting up. You may also notice the roots thickening and lengthening.
Change the water every 2-3 days to prevent sliminess or bacterial buildup. The greens will grow quickly, sometimes reaching usable height (5-6 inches) in less than a week.
You can snip and use the tops directly from the jar, but if you want endless harvests, this is just the first stage.
For more stable and long-term growth, it’s best to move them into soil after they regrow a bit.
Step 3: Transplant to Soil for Endless Green Onions
Once your green onions have grown 4-6 inches of fresh shoots, it’s time to transplant them into soil.
This allows the plant to absorb more nutrients, grow thicker stalks, and continue regenerating multiple times. You can plant them in a pot, window box or directly in your garden.
Choose well-draining soil and plant each green onion about 1-2 inches apart, burying the white bulb fully and leaving the green part exposed.
Press the soil gently around the base to keep them upright. Then water thoroughly after planting, and keep the soil evenly moist as they settle in.
Next, place your pot or garden patch in a sunny location. Green onions love at least 6 hours of sunlight per day, but they’ll also grow in partial shade.
How to Harvest Green Onions Without Killing the Plant
To enjoy green onions again and again, don’t pull them out of the soil. Instead, use clean scissors or a knife to snip the green tops when they’re about 6-8 inches tall.
Always leave at least 1 inch of the green stem above the white base. This ensures the plant can photosynthesize and continue growing.
After harvesting, keep watering and feeding lightly, and you’ll get multiple rounds of growth from the same plant.
Most green onions can regrow 3-5 times before the base weakens. To keep your supply going endlessly, simply plant new ones every few weeks from fresh kitchen scraps.
Optional: Grow Green Onions from Seed or Sets
While regrowing from scraps is the easiest method, starting green onions from seed or onion sets offers more control and longer harvest potential.
Sow seeds in a shallow pot or tray, keep them moist, and thin seedlings once they sprout. Within a few weeks, you’ll have baby green onions that can be transplanted to larger containers.
This method takes more time but results in stronger, longer-living plants that can be maintained as part of a rotating onion bed or container system.
Care Tips for Thriving, Endless Green Onions
1. Give Onions Plenty of Bright Light
Green onions love the sun. They grow best with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. If you’re growing them outdoors, place the pot in a sunny spot on a porch, balcony, or windowsill.
Indoors, a south- or east-facing window is ideal. If natural sunlight is limited, you can also use a small grow light to keep them thriving.
2. Keep Soil Moist, Not Soggy
Green onions need consistent moisture to grow quickly, but they don’t like sitting in water. So you check the soil every couple of days.
If the top inch feels dry, it’s time to water. Pour slowly until water drains from the bottom of the pot, then stop.
During hot weather or if grown indoors near heaters, you may need to water more often. In cooler seasons, watering once every 4-5 days is usually enough.
3. Boost Growth With Gentle Fertilizer
To keep your green onions growing strong, feed them every 2 to 3 weeks with a mild, diluted liquid fertilizer or compost tea.
If you prefer a natural approach, you can mix some well-aged compost into the soil every month. Avoid overfeeding as too much fertilizer can cause soft, weak growth and attract pests.
4. Give Each Plant Room to Regrow
Whether in a container or garden bed, plant green onions about 1 to 2 inches apart. If they’re too close together, their leaves will crowd and compete for light and nutrients.
When you harvest, leave a bit of space around each cut stalk to help it regrow freely and prevent fungal issues.
5. Replant New Green Onion Scraps Regularly
Even the healthiest green onion plants can slow down after a few regrowth cycles. To keep your harvest steady, start new green onions from fresh kitchen scraps every 2 to 3 weeks.
This rotation keeps your mini garden full and ensures you always have some ready to use while others rest and regrow.
