I recently moved, which meant giving up my garden. I moved too late in the season to really start a garden, so that will be next year. In the mean time, green onions are a good way to scratch the gardening itch.

Simply cut the roots off green onions from the grocery and stick them in dirt. Our house came with whiskey barrels, so I’m gradually filling them with green onion roots. I’ve been at it for a couple of weeks and it’s already looking like we can start harvesting. Because I’m planting roots of established plants, I will get something edible weeks sooner than if I had started from seed.

Over the long term I’ll probably plant a different variety from seed in the garden. But over the short term, it’s nice to know they’re there. Even in small quantities they are useful as seasoning. I’m not sure what the hardiness is of grocery onions. They’re bred to be uprooted and shipped, not to overwinter. But the variety I grew in my last garden easily survives a NY winter. They are one of the first things up in the spring. If I’m lucky, these onions won’t just be for summer snacking.