Monday, January 23, 2012

Onion Project for Kids. .Young AND Old!

This winter has been amazingly mild! And I'm not complaining after the biting cold from last winter. It makes me hopeful that our summer will not turn out to be so hot!! I have found several gardening projects to keep me out of trouble, and my gardening passion fueled through the dormant months. I have repotted many houseplants, tried some winter sowing projects, and tended to my beloved greenhouse. But. .we tried a couple of other horticultural experiments. .if you will. .that I want to share with you! They are both easy. .and anyone can do them. .even if you don't have a greenhouse. They've also been interesting to my kids. .a fun learning project for everyone. .come on!
I'm gonna show you that it is possible to grow green onions in your own window! Start with a bunch of green onions. This one came from an appetizer that I was making for New Year's Eve.
Chop off the root end. I left about 1 1/2 inches. Leaving them shorter works too, just takes less water in your container.
I had a little pimiento cheese jar sitting there left from the cheeseball I made. .it worked great. .cause I could get enough roots in there to easily hold the green onions upright as they grow.
Add a little water to them. .and you'll want to replace the water every day or few. This photo was taken after about a week. You can see a little bit of fresh growth on the leaves.
After about a week, because the project was clearly working, I bought another bunch of green onions and added them to the jar.
                                                 
After 2 weeks, the green onion has already grown out of the top of the jar. There are also new leaves forming in the center of the onion.
After about 3 weeks. .they are looking good!!
The onions grow pretty rapidly, and by using small jars like this, you can keep several in the window. You just snip off the amount you  need from the top, and put it back in the window. We snipped some of the onion into our omelets the other night. .EASY!

Our lives have been V-E-R-Y slow the last week. .which isn't always bad. My motivation was low this past weekend. .which is hard to believe to many people who know me well enough. I couldn't think of a thing that sounded like something I wanted to do. .which was depressing to me. .so I did nothing!!
And quite enjoyed it!
After cleaning out a closet a few weeks ago, and finding several books that grandma had given me that I had never read. .I decided to read them. .A-L-L weekend long!! I mean. .sat in bed with Cami while she napped and read. .T-W-O days in a row. .moved from the bed to the recliner and read while the kids watched movies. .Read after supper until I finished the first book at 11:30 Saturday evening. .and thankfully the book yesterday was shorter. .and I finished, sitting on the toilet lid, while Dev and Cami took a bath last night.
At one point on Saturday afternoon, Cami says. .not taking her eyes from the TV "too much TV is bad for your brain."  I said. .not looking up from my book "Yeah, but it doesn't hurt us for one day, besides. .who told you that." (I've never quite said it in those words!) Her. .still not looking from the TV "Becky." Me, still absentmindedly reading "Yeah, she's right."

While Jeremy didn't say much about my laziness. .I'm pretty sure he was glad to come home last night from his Bible study group to find children quietly in their rooms. .the dishes clean. .and the house picked up!!
Here's to wishing for a little more motivation in the week ahead!!
This coming weekend, 5 other adults and myself are taking 25 kids. .aged 7th grade to seniors in high school. .on a 3 hour adventure to Salina to take part in a Christian based purity retreat promoting abstinance. .a concept that is quickly and unfortunately becoming antiquated!! So keep us in your prayers please!!

Wishing you all a quiet, mid-winter week!

5 comments:

  1. HAHAHAHAHA They DO listen to me!!! We had a lazy weekend too. Sometimes its good for the soul. I seriously didn't do ANYTHING yesterday but lay around. Napped a little, cross-stitched a little..thats about all. Felt really good, but I was in a bit of a panic looking at the 4 laundry baskets full of clothes this morning. =)

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  2. Considering what's on your schedule for next weekend. It's probably a good idea you got some rest and relaxation this past weekend. I have never seen that onion trick before. I'm going to try it. Cool. I spent a lot of time putting way too many plants and seeds on my shopping list to order. :-) Otherwise, we had a low key weekend too.

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  3. I was thinking the same thing. Ha ha. You need to rest up before you have a weekend with 25 teenagers. Thanks for the tip on the onions. I'll have to try it. Have a great week!
    Peggy

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  4. It's nice to just have some "low-key" time sometimes. Hope the retreat goes well! We may have to try the onion thing.

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  5. Two days just reading sounds great! I love doing that sometimes! And once I start and it's a good book, it's all I can think of. You deserve to chill out sometimes...you busy lady, you! :)

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