I know, I know… when I first heard about this concept it totally blew my mind too. I mean WHAT? Growing lettuce with just water? How have I never known about this before???
Well, I have news for you. It is true, and it works, and it is SO cool.
The best part is that ANYONE can do it. It is incredibly simple, and there are so many benefits in doing so…
So what are these benefits??
Well first off…
1. IT’S FREE – I mean, does it get any better than that? I’m not sure it does. All it takes is your old head of lettuce that you already paid for, some water, and a small bowl or glass.
If you still need convincing, you are crazy town, but I’ll give you some more reasons anyways!
2. SAVINGS – It will save you moneyyyy! Who doesn’t like that? Especially if you buy organic, this can be a great way to cut down on your costs. It all adds up!! Plus, if you have animals that eat veggies like I do (Goats, Chickens, and Guinea Pigs… Oh my!) Then you are well aware of how they bleed you dry when you have to BUY organic veggies for them. 🙄 So you will GREATLY appreciate this awesome trick.
3. TIME – Oh ya, beyond the money, it also saves you time! If you have been considering growing some of your own food anyway, but the idea of planting a garden overwhelms you right now because of time, start with this!! It will get you going and there is no tilling, no planting, no fertilizing, no weeding… Just watch it grow and enjoy your harvest.
4. FUN FOR KIDS – This is such a neat little growing experience and lesson for kids. Which brings me to my last benefit which I already mentioned above…
5. EASY – Guys. Its so easy, even your 6 month old could have fun helping you do it. Seriously!
How does one create this awesomeness?
So now that I have convinced you to give this a try, I will give you the crazy easy instructions on how to do this!
First – Cut the bottom off of your lettuce. Wash and save all the yummy top leafy parts you just chopped off for a delicious salad later on or to feed to your goaties and guinea pigs like I do. 😄🐐
Second – Get a bowl or glass that fits the bottom of the lettuce appropriately. You can see the bowls I use in the picture below, and you can find bowls just like them HERE, and HERE if you need some. I already had these, but I ended up buying more just so I could grow more veggies in water!
*Note – If you like the geometric style and want the bowls to match more with your decor, these are super cute.
Third – Fill the bowl or glass with about 1/4 – 1/2 inch of water. You don’t want too much or it could make the remaining leaves moldy and stinky.
Fourth – Place the bottom of your lettuce into the water.
Fifth – Change water out every other day or sooner if it is stinky or slimy or if it simply needs more.
Sixth – Watch and be amazed as your new lettuce grows right from the center!! It should start within the first few days, and within 2 – 3 weeks you should have a new small harvest of lettuce to collect for your sandwich or your goat’s dessert. 😉
*TIP* Fertilizer may help you yeild more from your little crop if you want to give it a shot! Here are some fertilizers that I would recommend:
- Jobe’s Organic Vegetable and Tomato Fertilizer
- General Hydroponics Flora Grow, Bloom, Micro Combo Fertilizer set
I have a secret… Lettuce isn’t the only vegetable you can do this with.
Ya I know, I had you all excited just about lettuce, but SURPRISE! You can do this with many more veggies too!
Here are some others you can try:
- Cabbage – Place the root end in a small bowl of water
- Carrot Greens (just the greens, not the carrot itself) Place ends in water, and add new growth to your favorite dish of greens!
- Fennel – Cut off 1 inch from bottom with roots still intact and place in shallow water.
- Green Onion – Place the white part of the onion with roots still attached into water.
- Bok choy – Cut off bottom of stalk and place in water – Bok Choy grows very quickly!
- Celery – Cut off bottom 2 in and place in shallow water.
- Leeks – Cut off bottom 3 in and place in water.
*Note – For taller stock veggies, try using taller glasses like these instead of the bowls.
Make it part of your Decor!
You don’t have to sacrifice style to grow your veggies inside either. Use pretty bowls that match your decor like the ones I listed above, or get a trendy tray and planter set! I included some cute options below that I think would make fun “grow veggies from water” dishes and vases. 😊
That’s it for now folks!! I hope you enjoy re-growing your veggies, and eating home grown healthy foods. ❤️
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If you have a full blown homestead, or you’re thinking of starting one, check out these posts on some of my favorite homestead livestock!
Best Dual-Purpose chicken breeds!
Why you need Nigerian Dwarf Goats in your life like, yesterday…
I have been doing this with lettuce for many years, but I didn’t know you could do it with other vegetables. Thanks for the tips.
Glad you learned something new too! 🙂
Hi Sarae,
OMG! I loved your Blog. I’m going to put it in my Favorites to show my Sister, the Vegetarian, when she comes by tomorrow. You were right in that it blew me away that Lettuce, or any vegetable, could be grown this way. I also loved the simple instructions you gave to do it and with today’s economy, Free is always good. I also liked how you tied all the necessary products needed in order to be successful with the project. My only problem is that I live in a neighborhood full of mischievous and hungry children who would either eat or destroy any garden of veggies I’d try to grow on my porch. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of them. I just know what they are capable of. LOL! Well, it is what it is. Perhaps the window will do. Thank you for your beautiful Blog and have a great day.
PEACE,
Deatrice
Aw thank you so very much for your kind words!! Haha, I am sorry about the mischievous children! But yes, hopefully inside on a window sill would work ok for you. 🙂
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Hi I really liked this post. My kids like gardening and growing cress etc so this will be really cool for them to try. Thanks again
Thank you Russ! I am sure your kids would love to give this a go!
Hey Sarae,
This is a great article and definitely is a way of saving money. Especially with food being scarce at the moment when we go to the shops, we are going to need all the help we can get. We also have a bit more time on our hands to do this kind of thing, so thank you very much for sharing such a great article.
Keep up the amazing work on your site.
All the best,
Tom
For sure! With everything going on, there needs to be an easier way to have food available to us and be more self sustainable. Even if you don’t own a bunch of land out in the country, there are still fun and easy ways to obtain a more self sustaining lifestyle. 🙂
Hey Sarae,
Thanks for this article. It was great to find your blog and I just showed this to my wife as well and saved the article. I will definitely try this as I like to grow things.
Good luck with your website.
Great! I am glad it was useful to you guys, and happy growing! 🙂
Excellent post on re growing always wanted to see the results of re grow vs first grow. Interesting stuff it can be.
It is interesting! Re-growth is definitely not as big and full as the first time around, but it is just as tasty!
Hello Sarae – I had no idea whatsoever that such magic could be performed. Does the taste vary in a big way from when you buy a lettuce in a supermarket?
It does not! In fact it tastes exactly the same because it was grown from the base of lettuce that was originally purchased in the store. 🙂
Very cool! I’ve been wanting to start a garden this Spring but with the quarantine going on now, I can’t buy the top soil or fertilizers I need to prep the soil. This sounds like a very easy option. I should still be able to plant them in the soil if I choose to later on, right? Also, adding fertilizers kind of makes me a little nervous. I worry that those chemicals will be stored in my food and then in my body afterward. Any insight into this?
The vegetables that have roots I believe would do well in soil afterwards, but honestly, I am not sure if it would work for the lettuce bases or not, I have never tried that with the lettuce! Now I have another experiment to try!! 😄 And I feel you on the garden thing. Covid 19 has really put a damper on my gardening this year as well.
As far as the chemicals from fertilizers, I know what you mean. The first fertilizer that I recommended in the post is an organic fertilizer, which means it is not made from any synthetic chemicals. There are still chemicals, yes, but they are supposed to be safer! It really comes down to what you are comfortable with. 🙂
Hi Sarae,
Thank you so much for the tips. I live in a small apartment but luckily we have a front porch that we can use as a space to grow our plants. I love this re-growing in the water idea. In fact, I am regrowing bok choy and carrots in water. So far, they’re doing great but I haven’t gotten a success once I moved them to the soil. Do you have any fail-proof tips for moving plants once they have healthy looking roots?
Thats awesome!! Good for you! Honestly, oh man… I do not have the greenest thumb in the world! Which is why I usually try to find simpler food growing options. hahaha. Sometimes I have had success moving rooted plants into soil, and typically I just have to be on top of watering it often. Typically the plants that can be grown in water thrive on lots of water in the soil as well, and dry out and die quickly without enough moisture. I am not very good on keeping up with watering so I have definitely lost plants that way. An organic fertilizer could really help to to feed the plant and give it a boost when it is moved as well.
I wish I could say I had a fail-proof way, maybe after some experimenting I will be able to write about a method I found to work very well some day! 🙂
Hello Sarae,
I live in a house but we have a small back yard. I try to grow my lature last year and It didn’t grow. So I’m going to take your good advice for trying again this years and celeri. I realy like your website and the content.
LyneP
That’s great! I hope it works out well for you. 🙂
Thank you so much for stopping by.