Growing "Free" Green Onions

Green Onions... aka Scallions... The cute little powerhouses grace many of my family's favorite dishes. They are used often enough that when I heard a tip on one of the Food Network competitive "so you want to be a star" type shows, I gobbled it up and tried it out as soon as I could...

And I'm pleased to find that it actually mostly works.

To grow "free" green onions, you simply cut no lower than a half inch to an inch of the bottom part (the white area with the roots) and place this part in a small container with a little bit of water (I'd say no higher than 1/2 or 3/4 of the plant clipping). Place on a sunny windowsill and be sure to change the water every couple of days. The roots and the greens will begin to grow fairly quickly. By doing this, you can squeeze out a few more uses from these plants without having to by new green onions from the store.

I understand that the whites are delicious. I love them too, but I also love free food and saving money on groceries. I also know that a lot of recipes don't actually call for using the whites (to the point that one friend of mine didn't know that the white parts were edible).

I plan to take the ones I already have growing and planting them in a nice pot to see how much longer I can get them to last. If they are left in the water/rooting stage, the whites tend to shrivel and the greens will stop growing, so hopefully planting them in soil will have a different effect (and possibly a multiplying affect as well... which is a speculation of a gardening co-worker).

If, however, you must buy green onions, my best suggestion is to go to an asian market to do so. They are usually a much lower price and of a higher quality than the regular grocery stores tend to offer.

What's next? Hopefully celery, carrots, and/or radishes! We shall see. :-)


The above image was found on www.quantum-immortal.net.