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Date: 22 July 2018. Scallions - Second Life.

© janice142
 

I enjoy the crunch and flavor scallions add to my simple meals. Growing scallions aboard Seaweed helps keep my food costs low. This trick I read about quite some time ago on Pinterest. There are a couple of caveats for those of us in tropical areas. Here's how I have successfully kept the same bunch of scallions alive and producing for a couple of months.
 


Scallions growing in a bowl above my dinette.


I start out with the fattest scallions I can find at the grocery store:

These are the supplies, including ↑ scallions, used in the Fancy Egg Salad article.
 

As I am using the scallions I cut them down from the top. Finally when I am about 1" from the base I stop.


 Everything has a second life aboard Seaweed.


As you may remember from previous articles my old shirts are cut into work rags. Holiday dish towels later become work rags.

I am "old school" in that everything is used up rather than thrown out. Unless it is clutter that is! Clutter creates chaos. That has to be eliminated rapidly. Otherwise I get VERY grumpy.


This is chaos. You can imagine how unhappy I was during the project. It is cleared now, thank goodness!

 

But I digress...
It is necessary to get the scallion roots growing a bit before transferring the plant to soil. The problem is that scallions are skinny. Simply dropping them in a cup will not work. They fall over.
 

While thrift store shopping with my friend Cheryl I found some cute little containers. Initially I intended to put a wild flower in each, using them as bud vases.
 

My small vases work perfectly to hold the scallions upright→


I enjoy having pretty things aboard Seaweed.


Cheryl is fun. She and I visit thrift stores often making a day of it. We even stop for lunch which is always nice.


I found three miniature vases over two different thrift store outings with Cheryl:


I put about a 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of the containers. The roots need to be kept wet. For the first two or three days change/replace the water morning and night. The roots will grow a bit longer. It is then time to plant in dirt.
 

Side Note: When it is cooler the need to transplant quickly is not so critical. During the summertime my roots get mushy if I do not transplant fast enough.



Scallions grow in my clay flowerpot during the summertime.
 

The planter is kept in the front window or in the cockpit. A couple years back I also grew basil.

I bought a package of basil seeds at the store. The spice grew in a pot with my scallions.


Basil is not a spice flavor I grew up eating. I discovered after growing it that my taste buds were not impressed. I passed along a basil plant to my friend Lori on Anja. You met her in the
(Joshua Slocum's) Spray replica Anja article.
 

Years later I still have the rock Lori painted for me when she shared a lemon scented plant. That plant is gone
(I loved it too!!) however I still think of her when I water my moss. The rock is tucked into the moss garden.

This is my ↑ moss garden. A baby scallion is in the rose bud vase.
 

In answer to a question I have received more than once: Yes, I grow moss aboard Seaweed. This is your standard "grows on the north side of a tree trunk" moss. I like it.
 

Maybe because I now like growing things I seem to meet a lot of women who share the same interest.  

Spray replica Anja was coming up to visit one day. Lori (of Anja) and I swapped plants while chatting.


This is the plant Lori gifted me. It smells like lemons.

One of my regrets is that I allowed this plant to die. If I knew what it was I'd buy another.

Ladies and gents: The plant had tiny round leaves and smelled like fresh lemons. If you know what the name of this plant is, please tell me. Thank you. My email is:  janice@janice142.com 


The lemon scent from Lori's plant was wonderful. What was odd though were the leaves. When they brushed under the oil lantern they made a tinkling sound like bells in the distance. For months I searched for the origination of the sound. Finally I located it. The leaves made the noise!

Then shortly thereafter the plant died. I would LOVE to have another plant just like it.


For me, sharing plants is a way of continuing lines of friendship.


When I shop for scallions I look for the package with the fattest ones. Aboard Seaweed I do not simply use them and then toss the roots into the garbage. Everything has a second life.

 

 

To begin, get the largest scallions you can find at the
grocery store.
Scallions get smaller with each re-growth.

 
 

They grow out from the center, so are skinnier with each new stalk.

 


Growing plants aboard boats is not a new thing. Just like Kim (you know her from the Sharing Plants article), Kim's friend Kelly also is a plant-a-holic.
 

On Kelly Shea's sailboat her iguana poked it's head in the portlight by her
galley garden. Kelly grows chives, basil and lemongrass. How cool is that?!?


I have also tried re-growing celery and romaine lettuce. Those two are frequently mentioned along with scallions as being easy to re-grow. Aboard Seaweed I have not had success however.

The celery comes out leafy. It tastes bitter. As for the Romaine lettuce, that went icky before roots formed.
 

For my galley, I will stick with scallions. They are easy to grow and taste delicious too. Having a bit of fresh greens takes an ordinary meal up a notch. It is more flavorful.
 

I have developed a real fondness for texture in
my food. Scallions have become a favorite of late.

Fresh cut scallions are a welcome addition to egg salad.


When I shop for scallions I look for the package with the fattest ones. With the larger diameter scallions I can get at least a couple more crops out of each stalk.
 

Years ago I bought some Vidalia onions and tried the same method. It worked well.

This is the second growth from my Vidalia onions.

Simply place the onions in water. They grow. As the stalks get taller, cut off the tops.
 

Growing onions from those available at the grocery
store is a great way of extending my food budget.


During the wintertime you do not have to transplant into dirt. Scallions will continue to grow in a water glass. The roots grow too. My roots have grown to over an inch deep at the bottom of the glass.

The roots have a stronger flavor. I use them in stews and chili.
 

Speaking of chili, I have still not recovered from the chili pepper episode. Details for those that are curious can be found in the *Rat Traps (securing mouse traps too) article. Suffice it to say, that particular chili innovation was not one of my better efforts.

*Regarding Rat Traps... I do wander off topic occasionally. I promise you an article about rodents can contain chili information too.


That is life from beautiful, breezy St. Petersburg, FL.


Thank you for reading.
 

Addendum: The consensus seems to be Golden Lemon Thyme or Lemon Thyme. Although I have not yet located any, I hope to find some for the garden aboard Seaweed. It surprises me how much pleasure I derive from the few plants I grow.

Thank you to Pam, Gary and Cap'n Kim for your replies. I appreciate the info.


Do you grow vegetables aboard your boat?
What are you growing?

COMMENTS:
 

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