Vertical kitchen garden / Growing green onions

I'm going to show you how to grow at least 60 green onions using a space of
just 30 squash centimeters/ 4.65 square inches in a simple way without a lot of maintenance.
Different vegetables are difficult to grow during winter on the window sill, because in order to have a decent production (to feed at least 2 people periodically) we need a big space to grow them. Another difficultie we encounter is that green vegetables that we can grow in the house need a long, long time to grow.
The lack of direct sunlight is another issue we might encounter.
I use a square 5 little water bottle with a diameter of 22 cm/ 8,66 inches, that has a height of 32cm/ 12,59 inch and I grew 63 green onions using just 30 squash centimeters/ 4.65 square inches (the dimensions of the bottle + the dimensions of the exterior onions).

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The costs were:

• onion starts ( approximative 300) 1,07 euro/ 1.31 USD
• the water bottle was free
• the soil was free but 5 liters of soil costs around 1.29 euro/1.58 USD

Let's do some calculations to see if it is worth the efforts:

• 63 onions X 0.43 euro/ 0.52 USD = 27,09 euro / 32,76 USD
• green onions from the window sill costs 2,36 euro / 2,89 USD
  Financial speaking the difference is big.

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Positive parts:

• minimal costs
• after harvesting an onion you can put another start in its place and keep the production constant
• small space needed for growing
• low maintenance
• it doesn't need a lot of light
• it doesn't need a lot of heat
• it is a ecological product
• it doesn't look that bad
• there is no need to pick it periodically, you can just leave it there till you need it
• it's a possible discussion subject with guests
• the satisfaction of your labor

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Negative parts:

• depending on the shape and size of the hole, while growing the onions ,they can throw pieces of soil on the window sill
• the onions on the exterior parts of the water bottle will have a J shape

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The time necessary to grow them varies because of these factors:

• Temperature. In my case the kitchen is heated by a very small radiator. The day time temperature is about 21C / 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit and the nighttime temperature is around 15 C / 59 degrees Fahrenheit. this is the reason why it took 10 days to get them at this dimension.
• Soil humidity. Because of the low temperatures extra watering wasn't needed.
• Direct sunlight. Because the house is located between 2 rows of 11 stors apartment buildings, I do not have direct sunlight from November to April. So the onions adapted an grow long thin leaves hoping they will eventually reach sunlight (not happening in March).

The difference between onion seeds and onion starts is big. The onion bulb has a lot of stored energy that helps it grow, while the onion seed will grow only if it has optimal conditions. The bulb will grow even on the,, North” side of the bottle while the seedling will die quickly.

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Let's begin!
I chose a square water bottle because it uses the window sill space efficiently.

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I choose to make the hole triangle shaped because it was easier.
In the last 4 centimeters i didn't poke holes in order to keep everything dry and clean.

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Now just fill the bottle with soil and put the bulbs in the holes and in the top part. While planting the bulb, plant them with the tip in a slightly upward position.

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The last step is to put your project on the window sill, admire you’re work and go on with you’re life.
After some days you will be amazed how fast they will grow.

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If you are interested in joining me in my adventures follow my blog, were we are going to experiment with different styles of urban agriculture, propagate different plants from the wilderness , build orchards, create tools, understand ecosystems and create communities.

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,, Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. "Hippocrates