Back to the basics

There’s something really gratifying about growing your own vegetables. They taste infinitely better then store bought vegetables. There’s a sense of accomplishment that your hard work paid off and you can enjoy the spoils of your labour. The knowledge of where it came from (5 metres from the kitchen) and what chemicals are in it – none – 100% water and 40% sunshine (the courtyard doesn’t get much).

It’s going back to the basics, back in time when things were much simpler – growing your own food, being self-sufficient. Sticking it to the man (big corporations with inflated prices and inferior products).

My most recent pet project – spring onions.
Most dishes require very little but it’s sold in the biggest bunch that doesn’t fit inside a plastic bag and takes up half a shelf in the fridge. Wouldn’t it be great if I could walk 5 metres and trim of a stalk or two? And now I can! It’s absurdly easy to grow.

Buy a bunch of spring onions with roots intact and chop it off 4-5cm from the bottom. Place in a container of water with 3-4cm of the stem above the water mark and leave it on a sunny window sill for a week till green shoots sprout. Transplant into pot. Sit back and relax – the little guys are going to make you proud.

Its brilliant – works regardless of how long it takes for the spring onions to reach your grocer and even if you leave the spring onions in the fridge for a week before beginning.

Is it just me or does it creep you out that they’re self-regenerative?