Kitchen Window Hydroponics

The celery after 4 days.

The scallions after 4 days.

Remember setting a stalk of celery in a glass with some water and a little food coloring and watching the daily progress of the color rising up the stalk?  How about putting the very top of a carrot in a little pan (usually from a frozen pot pie!) of shallow water and growing feathery carrot tops?  Or growing the seeds from lemons, oranges, and grapefruit in little paper cups of dirt?  Or suspending an avocado seed in a glass of water and seeing it sprout?  Those were some of the fun things Mom used to allow us to do in "her" kitchen!

Well, while I was waiting for the weather to dry out and warm up so I could dig up the garden and start planting my little seeds, I indulged in what I like to call "kitchen window hydroponics."

I've seen some pictures people have posted online of celery and scallions (green onions) growing on their kitchen counters and I decided to give it a try.  I had celery and scallions, so when I cut up the celery (I'd made Buffalo wings and needed celery and bleu cheese dressing, natch!), I saved the bottom, stuck in some toothpicks, and suspended it in some water in a tiny bowl.  When I needed some scallions for a recipe, I cut off all the green and some of the white, left them bundled in their rubber band, and put them in a coffee cup with a little water.  I change the container and water at least every other day to keep things from getting slimy and gross.

The celery, 3 days later!

The scallions, 3 days later!

It's amazing how quickly growth starts.  I mean, I could see things starting the very next day!  It's kind of exciting, watching these vegetables regenerate.  When the scallions get a few inches taller, I'll cut them off again and use those new tops.  I'm reserving plans for the celery, but it actually has stalks already.  We'll see how big it gets and what I'll be able to use it for.  FUN!!!