You can keep a leek by putting it in the ground. To stimulate root formation, you can first place it in a glass jar in front of the window for between 3 and 5 days. Its roots keep getting bigger. Then put it in the garden or in a pot. The leek will then continue to grow. He even gets a beautiful flower as can be seen in the photo on the right. You can also eat this flower.
Index
- Storing creative vegetables
- Lousy growing conditions of the refrigerator
- Put leeks in the ground
- Buy a rooted listing!
- Eat the green leek leaves too
- A simple vegetable garden
- Make your own spring onion
- Celery
- Give herbs roots
- An overview
Storing creative vegetables
A leek prefers to sit in the sun on your balcony among the other plants. You can also put a leek in a pot on the windowsill indoors. The same goes for the spring onion. This one also has roots if you buy a bunch from the store. First put it in a glass jar with plenty of water. It will then continue to grow. The reason you put the vegetables on the windowsill is that it gets a lot of sunlight. Sunlight is required for photosynthesis in the leaves of the plant. Due to the photosynthesis that takes place in the plant, the plant will continue to make nutrients. There is no question of that in the refrigerator; the nutritional value only decreases. The reason you put the vegetables in a glass jar is that light can reach the bottom of the roots. The plant will quickly take root in a glass jar. This is the way to propagate a plant.
Lousy growing conditions of the refrigerator
Keeping the leek in the vegetable drawer of the fridge is a shame. It turns yellow because it gets too little light. It is also too cold for the leek. In the dark and cold refrigerator, spring onions often become slimy due to the poor growing conditions. They do not keep for a long time in the refrigerator. But they have excellent roots in a glass jar. You can then put them in a flower pot or put them in the garden. This way you have a few scraps of spring onion every day for a summer. Usually a few pieces of onion are enough and you don’t want to put a whole bunch through the food. That is why this is an ideal solution.
Put leeks in the ground
Also for the leek it is nice to put a few chips through the rice. But you did buy such a huge leek. The rest will perish in the refrigerator if you don’t let it grow nicely in the ground; that’s where he actually belongs. A leek is a plant. It can also be a beautiful ornamental plant!
Buy a rooted listing!
In Amsterdam and undoubtedly also in other cities, bunches of spring onion are often on offer; three for one euro. You cannot make a meal with three bunches; or you have to eat spring onion for four days in a row and then it is no longer tasty. If you put the spring onion in the ground, you also have something for later. For example, the spring onion is an extra good purchase for the bargain hunter. Every day you can provide an omelet with a few scraps of spring onion from your own garden. Or you make a soup with some fresh scraps of spring onion on top when it is ready. Spring onion works well in any pasta or rice dish. Just like leek, of course. They belong to the same family; the garlic family, along with chives, wild garlic, garlic, mountain garlic and shallots.
Eat the green leek leaves too
Many people do not know that you can also eat the green leaves of leeks. These are actually the best. If a leek is in the ground, you can safely cut a few centimeters above, shred and add it to the meal every day. The plant continues to grow very quickly if you do not cut for a few days. Then a flower bulb can form just like that. But don’t fear; you can also eat these, including the stem. For the visual connoisseur, the spherical flower of the leek is also a pleasure to look at. It is a popular flower in some gardens because it grows so large. The leek flower is a pleasant sight to behold.
A simple vegetable garden
You can complete the vegetable garden with leek and spring onion. You can also grow chives. That is a hardy type of garlic that comes up every year. Chives are a strong plant that thrives in the garden. It rises every year, no matter how hard it has frozen. Those who love garlic can also plant garlic cloves. This plant also keeps pests away from the vegetable garden due to its strong scent. For that reason, a garlic clove is often planted next to another crop. But the vegetable sprouts that sprout from the clove are also a spicy and healthy treat. The sprigs don’t taste as strongly of garlic as the bulb itself. Moreover, this ‘spring garlic’ is not for sale in the store. By parking a few cloves in a pot or garden, you obtain a unique ingredient that is not available anywhere.
Make your own spring onion
The same goes for a large fully grown onion, both the golden onion and the red onion. You can just put an outing in the ground. Then even fresh spring onions come out. All you have to do is pay close attention while putting it in the ground and make sure the roots are at the bottom. It is a delicious, cheap, educational and fun way to grow your own vegetables.
Celery
Another plant that thrives when placed in water is celery. The roots of this plant are often completely cut off when it is in the store. But if you put the plant in a pot with water in front of the window, it will brighten up completely. For the first three days it may seem a bit limp but then it is in the rooting phase. After four or five days, the leaves will stop drooping. Celery is a traditional soup spice, but you can also remove a few leaves to season an omelet or salad. It goes well in a fresh herb mix of, for example, basil, rosemary, lemon balm, spring garlic and parsley.
Give herbs roots
In addition to vegetables, you can also store many herbs in a pot of water in front of the window. They will then keep for a long time, longer than in the refrigerator. Moreover, there is a good chance that the plant will make roots again, which means that it can last for years to come! Mint and rosemary can easily be stored and cut in this way. You can start an entire herb garden in the windowsill, supplemented with a few vegetables such as spring onion. The big advantage of herbs in the windowsill is that snails do not have a chance because they usually do not live indoors. Just make sure to use clean, unused garden soil when putting the freshly cutted herbs in a pot.
An overview
In addition, there are plenty of leafy vegetables, all of which can be stored in a glass jar with water in front of the window. broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, even lettuce all continue to grow when you put them in the water. They will not all take root, but they will keep for a week. There are also herbs such as basil that can grow for a long time. This plant does not want too much water. That is why you can put basil in a pot of soil in front of the window, just like parsley. If you put these plants in the garden, chances are that snails will eat it. Snails don’t like mint, it probably tastes too sharp and too fresh. Mint is possible in the garden, but also works well in front of the window. Mint is easy to stick in water, unlike basil and parsley.
Overview of vegetables and herbs that you better keep outside the refrigerator but in one glass jar with water on the windowsill:
Vegetable | Herbs |
---|---|
Spring onion | Celery |
Leeks | Mint |
Broccoli | Coriander |
Bok choy | Rosemary |
Cauliflower | Thyme |
Brussels sprouts | Lavender |
Head of lettuce | Lemon balm |
Iceberg lettuce |