I have whatever the opposite of a 'green thumb' is. Very few plants have ever survived my 'care'. I don't enjoy killing things,
so it's painful to watch something I have the responsibility of protecting die because of my incompetence. My latest victims
were seedling beefsteak tomatoes. I said I wasn't going to own another plant after that. Yet, one evening while cooking
dinner, I noticed that the spanish onions we bought in bulk were beginning to sprout. Despite sitting in a bag in a dark
cupboard, these onions decided they wanted to live, soil, light, and water be damned. I developed a strong respect for their
determination, so I sat two of them in a glass of water and figured that, hey, it was at least better than the cupboard.
Sure enough, the onions took advantage of the opportunity. They grew a root system and long, thick green spikes for leaves.
My first onion, Ian, lived in a pot in my bedroom window for a few weeks. The second, Oscar, stayed on the fireplace
mantle. Their leaves got longer and longer, some folding over and withering while new spikes took their place. At one
point I had to transplant Ian into a larger pot as he had outgrown the first. Unfortunately, I misjudged the extent of his
growth and damaged a large portion of his root system. I was so afraid that I had sentenced Ian to death, and carefully
watched him over the next few days. Thankfully, he recovered and looks healthy again.
A few weeks ago, while walking back to the car after getting some groceries at Walmart, I saw a whole green onion lying on
the asphalt. I picked it up and took it home with me, where I placed it in a glass of water beside Oscar on the mantle.
Much like the spanish onions, the green onion had a strong will to survive, and soon developed a longer stem and long
root system there in the glass.
At the end of April I decided I wanted to plant my onions in one of the planters outside. Yesterday I began the work of
cleaning out the dead previous occupants. I pulled out an extensive root system that I plan to dry, chop up, and turn into
mulch. While I dug through the dirt, I noticed a colony of isopods lived there. I hope that they will turn my mulch into
nutrients for my onions. Today I transplanted all three onions into the planter and gave them a drink of water. They have
access to indirect sunlight, and rain is forecasted this evening. I will keep my eye on them over this next week to make sure
they are adjusting to their new home.