A Guide To Re-Growing Celery And Other Stalked Veggies

Re-growing celery? Who knew we could do such a thing?

Do you like celery and stalked veggies? If so, you may be wondering how it is possible to re-grow them after cutting and have them available each time you need them.

To regrow celery or other stalked veggies, you can use scraps for most of them. Typically you can cut off the root end, find a shallow bowl, and submerge about an inch of the root you just cut. As soon as you see it growing, in about a week, replant it in soil.

Let’s see how easy it is to regrow celery and other stalked veggies.

What are Stalked Veggies?

Stalked veggies are plants whose stem is suitable to be eaten. You can eat the leaves of some varieties of stalked vegetables too. (1)

Common stalked veggies are:

Celery
Asparagus
Fennel
Bamboo
Fiddlehead fern
White beet
Rhubarb
Swiss chard
Bok Choi
Scallions
Onions
Garlic
Leeks
Shallots

3 Best Stalked Veggies That Regrow

While several vegetables can regrow from scraps, let’s isolate the best one to regrow. If you think of it, it is a miracle that it is possible to re-grow a vegetable from something typically going to the garbage. Yet, it is possible to get unlimited supplies of one’s favorite veggies exactly from leftovers.

Some of the benefits of growing vegetable from scraps are:

Recycles and minimize waste
Save money
It is grown naturally with no chemicals
Always available for your use

But what are the best-stalked veggies to re-grow?

1.Celery

Celery is edible in all of its parts: stalk, leaves, and seeds. Initially used for health treatments. (2)

It is now used in cooking. It is a source of vitamin C and antioxidants. It helps reduce inflammations in the digestive tract and other organs, and it is an excellent source of potassium and other minerals.

Celery can regenerate from its base and grow new stalks.

To re-grow celery at home, do the following (3):

Cut off the root at the end of the celery stem at about two inches from the root.
Procure a shallow glass bowl or jar
Place the root you just cut into the ball
Put water in it, enough to get to at least one inch of the root
Place the bowl in a place where it can get natural light ( but not be burned by it)
Change water every 2-3 days
You can see that it is growing more roots, stalk, and leaves in about a week.
Replant it in potting soil or your garden

When you plant the celery in soil, make a hole deep and wide, set the celery in the soil, fill the hole near the root, and leave a bit of the root cut above the soil level. It includes the leaves and the emerging stalks. The soil needs to be kept moist, not wet.

Celery likes cool weather. If you live in a sweltering place, you need to give it shade in the hottest part of the day. It is wise to start growing celery inside and then move it outside in the late summer.

2. Fennel

It is very much used in Italian cooking. Fennel is slightly sweet and has a pleasant flavor. It is light green and white. It has bulbs with intertwining leaves surrounding two or three stalks. On top of the stalks, there are tiny leaves. (4)

Fennel contains potassium, sodium, vitamin A, calcium, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and vitamin B6.

There are various health benefits derived from consuming fennel, such as building and maintaining bone structure, blood pressure, combat heart diseases, preventing cancer, reducing inflammation, improving digestion, weight management, and supporting the skin. (5)

The bottom of the bulb has a visible base; that is where the roots grew from and where they will again. Cut the base and leave a bit of bulb attached. From this part, usually going into the garbage, you can re-grow the fennel.

The procedure is similar to celery, and it is straightforward. The steps to re-grow fennel are:

Cut the base from the rest of the fennel, leaving a bit of the bulb
Get a shallow jar or glass
Fill it with a bit of water
Place the base you cut off in it, with the base looking down
Place it in a place where it can get sunlight
Change water every 2-3 days
After a few days, new roots should start growing from the base
Keep the plant growing in water, harvest it when you need, and let it regrow
Or plant it in soil.

Contrary to celery, you can keep the fennel in water to regrow over and over. You have to change the water every couple of days and keep it in sunlight. Or you can transplant it into the soil.

3. Bok Choy

Bok Choi was introduced to North America from China, where people used it for thousands of years. It is a type of Chinese cabbage. Bok choy tastes similar to cabbage, and it is a very healthy food. (6)

It is rich in vitamins A, C, and K. It contains a lot of potassium, which helps lower blood pressure and stroke risk. It also has calcium, which helps to maintain healthy bones.

The procedure to re-grow bok choy is similar to the other stalked veggies:

Cut the base off the leaves, leaving around 2-3 inches of the base
Fill a container, shallow glass, or jar with an inch of water
Change water every few days
Place it in a spot where it can get sun
As soon as it grows some leaves ( 7-10 days ), plant them in the soil.

You can use a potting soil mix. Plant the bok choy in a way to almost completely bury it, with the new leaves pointing up. The soil is to be kept moist, not thoroughly wet, even though you should water the bok choy a lot right after planting ( if you are growing it into a container, make sure the container has drainage holes).

It takes around 2 to 3 months for the whole plant to grow. Harvest it by removing the outer part so that the rest of the plant can keep growing.

Lettuce and cabbage can be regrown from scrap as bok choy, following the same instructions.

Other Stalked Veggies

Other veggies like scallion, onion, garlic, leeks, and shallots, re-grow from scraps in the same way of celery, fennel, or bok choy. The procedure is always the same: cut the vegetable’s base, leave a bit of the stem, place it in water, and wait for it to grow.

It is essential to mention that you can regrow lettuce, bok choy, and other leafy plants from individual leaves. Rhubarb instead can be re-grown, re-planting a leaf from the original plant directly in the soil.

But besides a few exceptions, the re-growing of stalked vegetables is very easy and requires you to cut the base with a bit of stem attached, place it in water and wait for it to grow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and related answers:

Are vegetable scraps helpful or harmful?

Re-growing vegetables from scraps are providing a better quality of veggies. Since you are growing them yourself, you will not use any harmful chemical, pesticide, or other unhealthy product.
You have complete control over the quality of your veggies. Besides, you are recycling what would go to waste, helping the environment.

Can you just put vegetable scraps in my garden?

It is possible to use vegetable scraps to provide more nutrients to the soil. Instead of disposing of them with the garbage, one can dig a ditch between your garden plants or in a current unused bed, dump the scraps and cover it up. The scraps will decompose, providing nutrients to the soil.

The Final Harvest

Re-growing celery and other stalked veggies are simple. Anyone can do it. It requires only a few steps and a bit of patience. It is an excellent way to have an unlimited supply of new veggies from scraps.

Re-growing stalked veggies is an excellent method to recycle and improve your vegetable quality since they grow organically. Not to mention the nutritional values and the money saved in purchasing them from a store.

Following the steps in this guide, you can do just that!

Sources (Accessed March 21, 2021)

Featured image courtesy of Jeremy Shantz of Farm 6 Media.