Blooming Onions

The bag of onions in the kitchen has started growing. I can't blame them. They don't get much use, and if I were an onion I'd want to start growing in spring time, too.

One had such a massive green shoot coming out of it that I've decided to "plant" it. I don't have any soil, so I'm growing it in a cup with water on my desk. I rigged up a support system for it using rubber bands and paper clips (it's WAY cool) because the cup is too wide and the onion would sit in the bottom otherwise, and that's just no fun at all.

Anyway, I put this thing in water little more than 24 hours ago, and it's already showing signs of life (aside from the giant green sprout). It's got more than a dozen roots, one of which is a good 3/4 of an inch long. That's a lot of growth for such a short period of time.

Frankly, I'm amazed. Always am when I see this kind of thing happen. At home in the summer when I plant my vegetable garden I watch in awe as tiny sprouts turn into massive leaves and then into edible vegetables. I plant foods that I don't eat simply because I enjoy watching things grow. I often ponder the universe as I relish in watching the simplest things grow and form and develope in front of me. It blows my mind.

I'm really going to miss not having a real garden to tend to this summer. I liked getting my hands dirty and taking care of my plants. It was worth the sunburn, dirty fingernails, and occasional ninja attack by mutant sized spiders. I was so devoted to my garden that every day (without fail) I would hand pick the little caterpillars that would (also without fail) infest my brocolli plants every year. I didn't feel like using pesticides and I didn't really mind getting covered in dead caterpillar (see, I'd squash them with my fingers instead of just tossing them across the yard). I also liked how this little toad always moved in and lived in my cucumbers every summer. My sister named him Sanchez, and he not only befriended she and I, but the little girl down the street asks about him now and then, too.

I should look into whether there's a community garden space near my house here. I doubt there is.

I'm also going to apply for summer jobs related to gardening. It'd be good for my resume` and I need something to do and it could be a good surrogate for my garden back home. My professor told me that I should look into being in charge of watering the plants around the capitol building. God would I love that.