The Value of an Onion
I am exploring the lessons learned in propagation. Value is one that strongly announces itself through understanding that you can idealistically turn one plant into many. Sowing seeds often feels tedious and existentially hopeful, but propagation is quickly fruitful. Today we literally and metaphorically pulled back the layers of an onion to find it had 4 bulbs sprouting from within. As our fingers gingerly separated the crispy skins back one piece at a time, we realized how simply you can turn one onion into 4. With some care, we’re trying our hand at growing some onions from a few leftover purchased at the super market. And in that, we formed an understanding of value. It’s something you learn often while farming because every moment is an opportunity, but your seizing said opportunities have to be strategically timed.
Value as a homesteader becomes less about the monetary economy and more about the necessity to complete a task. We are born and bred consumers and a few things I’d like to share with my children(more than Target trips) are the ingenuity and creativity behind building something from scratch. Whether it’s a sweater, a business, a farm, a song, or something more meaningful to them, they deserve the example of courage and perseverance that is demonstrated through our newly adopted lifestyle. An idea is a seed. And when you grow it into actuality you create the opportunity to sow more seeds or perhaps propagate more ideas and things. When you’re acting out of necessity, as opposed to desire, you can find yourself behaving much more deliberately. Planning and consideration come into play and intention is somewhere there too. Those all seem like quality traits to me. Practicality is brought to light through thought and solutions are quick to follow. This process builds a much different processing system than attending your favorite superstore and adding things to a push cart. Where do these things come from? Who benefits from my purchase? What will happen to this item when I am done with it? Does the production of this product positively effect the planet? These are all things we think about more lately than ever. All because of a sprouting onion.
