{"id":4296,"date":"2012-03-15T18:42:55","date_gmt":"2012-03-15T18:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/?page_id=4296"},"modified":"2012-03-17T05:16:02","modified_gmt":"2012-03-17T05:16:02","slug":"garden-news-issue-21","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/library\/garden-news-issue-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden News Issue 21"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Garden
\n\"divider\"
\nIssue 21 • Seasonal tips and featured varieties coming to a retailer near you<\/a> • April 2, 2009<\/span>
\n\"divider\"<\/p>\n

\"Allium\"PLANT YOUR VEGETABLES!<\/strong><\/p>\n

YEAR ROUND ALLIUMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nearly every good home-cooked meal begins with a handful of chopped alliums saut\u00e9ing in a little butter or olive oil.\u00a0 Allium is the onion genus, a large family of plants whose bulbs and greens share a characteristic pungent aroma and flavor \u2013 familiar culinary varieties include all types of onions, scallions, leeks, garlic, shallots, and chives.\u00a0 Cooks and foodies know that the savory taste of alliums, whose flavors range from spicy to sweet, hot to mild, enhances every dish from the most extravagant creation to the simplest salad.<\/p>\n

Luckily, the mild winters and dry summers of the Pacific Northwest enable northwest gardeners to grow and eat an abundant supply of these essential veggies all year \u2013 even in February and March, the lean cold months of late winter! \u00a0It takes some planning and garden space, but as the nutritional, environmental, and cultural benefits of fresh, local or homegrown produce become more apparent, more gardeners\u00a0 can see that planting and harvesting a year round supply of alliums from the garden is well worth the effort.<\/p>\n

A general schedule of when northwest gardeners in mild areas can expect to sow, harvest, and eat the different varieties of alliums looks something like this:<\/p>\n

Spring<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sow<\/em> \u2013 scallions; storage onions and cipollinis for fall; leeks for winter<\/p>\n

Harvest and eat<\/em> \u2013 the end of winter leeks (sowed last spring!); overwintering scallions and mini\/pearl onions; baby garlic<\/p>\n

Eat<\/em> \u2013 the end of well-stored fall onions; shallots and garlic; chives<\/p>\n

Summer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sow<\/em> \u2013 overwintering sweet onions and mini\/pearl onions; scallions<\/p>\n

Harvest and eat<\/em> \u2013 overwintering sweet onions and mini\/pearl onions; cipollinis; overwintering garlic and shallots; scallions and chives; summer or baby leeks<\/p>\n

Fall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sow<\/em>: garlic and shallots<\/p>\n

Harvest and eat<\/em>: storage onions, scallions, leeks, chives<\/p>\n

Eat<\/em> \u2013 garlic, the end of the overwintering sweet onions<\/p>\n

Winter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sow<\/em> \u2013 scallions (late winter)<\/p>\n

Harvest and eat<\/em> \u2013 leeks; scallions; overwintering mini\/pearl onions; chives<\/p>\n

Eat<\/em> \u2013 storage onions harvested in fall; garlic, shallots and cipollini harvested in summer<\/p>\n

VARIETIES TO LOOK FOR NOW<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d sown leeks last May or scallions in July, you could be harvesting and eating them now; September-sown sweet onions would be preparing to bulb for harvest this June and July.\u00a0 If, however, you didn\u2019t get any sowings done last year, you can start now with transplants and still have fresh homegrown alliums this season.\u00a0 Sweet onions, scallions, cipollini onions, mini onions, shallots, and summer leeks can all be transplanted into the garden in spring.\u00a0 Watch your local nurseries \u2013 this year we\u2019re offering a full range of alliums in colors, sizes, shapes, and flavors to suit every gardener (and cook).\u00a0 A few favorites we\u2019re shipping out ready to plant this week are:<\/p>\n

\u2018Walla Walla\u2019 Sweet Onion<\/strong><\/p>\n

The jumbo sweet onion from Washington famous for its huge, juicy rings. Slightly flattened bulbs have light brown skin and mild, white flesh. Transplant them now and you\u2019ll be pulling sweet fat onions by June or July.\u00a0 Walla Wallas can reach 5 to 6 inches in diameter and are superb for slicing fresh onto burgers or sandwiches, chopping into potato or pasta salads, or for making a delectable, light, summery onion soup.\u00a0 Eat them fast, though \u2013 they are too juicy to keep as well as the more pungent fall storage onions.<\/p>\n

Plant \u2018Walla Walla\u2019 onions 4-5 inches apart in rows 12-18 inches apart in sun. Stop watering when bulbing starts, and harvest when stalks begin to brown and fall over. \u00a090-100 days from transplant.<\/p>\n

\"Onion\"\u2018Purplette\u2019 Mini Onion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Glossy, purple-skinned mini-onions with delicate, mild flavor are perfect for bunching or pickling and can be harvested early, starting in late spring and early summer.\u00a0 Pull them very small as a baby pearl onion or let them reach golf ball size.\u00a0 Either way they have excellent fresh eating qualities and their deep burgundy skins will add colorful appeal to a salad or vegetable tray.\u00a0 When cooked or pickled, \u2018Purplette\u2019 will turn a rosy pale pink<\/p>\n

Plant 1-2 inches apart in rows 12-18 inches apart in sun. \u00a040-50 days from transplant.\u00a0 Open-pollinated.<\/p>\n

\"Onion\"\u2018Gold Coin\u2019 Cipollini Onion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cipollinis (\u201ccheep-o-LEE-nees\u201d) are small, flattened onions with sweeter flavor than regular white or yellow onions and a delicious creamy texture when braised or roasted.\u00a0 They can be hard to find outside of specialty markets (and expensive when you do find them) but are as easy to grow as other onions, so they\u2019re an ideal crop for the home gardener.\u00a0 \u2018Gold Coin\u2019 produces little button-shaped bulbs just 1\u00bd to 3 inches wide by 1 inch tall.\u00a0 They keep well and can be braided for storing, to display in your kitchen throughout autumn (if you can resist eating them right away).\u00a0 Try roasting cipollinis with balsamic vinegar, to further concentrate their sweetness, or serve them creamed with wild mushrooms.<\/p>\n

Plant 3-6 inches apart in rows 12-18 inches apart in sun. Stop watering when bulbing starts. Harvest when stalks begin to brown and fall over. \u00a060-80 days from transplant.\u00a0 Open-pollinated.<\/p>\n

\u2018White Spear\u2019 Scallion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Very large, quick-growing green onions with thick, straight, 5-6 inch white stalks topped by 6 inches of blue-green leaves. You can increase the blanched white part by transplanting them deeply or hilling up extra soil around the stems as they grow.\u00a0 Chop the white and green parts to add fresh, mild oniony flavor to salads, stirfry, omelets.<\/p>\n

Plant 1-2″ apart in rows 12-18″ apart in sun.\u00a0 Harvest as needed.\u00a0 30-40 days from transplant.\u00a0 Open-pollinated.<\/p>\n

TRANSPLANTING ONIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Onion starts are fairly tough and can be easily transplanted, but there are a few things you can do to ensure the biggest, tastiest harvest.\u00a0 Before transplanting work the soil with a spade to loosen up the top 6-8 inches.\u00a0 This is especially important for full-size onions, because if the soil is hard and compacted they will have trouble expanding to form large bulbs.\u00a0 Work some complete organic fertilizer into the ground where you will plant the onions.\u00a0 With a hoe, small spade, or your hand, form a shallow (about 2 inch deep) trough in the loose soil.<\/p>\n

Before removing the starts from their pot, trim off about the top third of the greens (to reduce the amount of moisture the transplanted starts will need to take up, so they can concentrate on rooting well). \u00a0Dump them carefully out of the pot, shaking off the soil and separating the roots gently with your fingers.\u00a0 If it\u2019s a warm, dry day or you think transplanting will take more than a few minutes, set the transplants in a dish of water in the shade to keep their roots cool and wet while they wait for their turn to go in the ground.\u00a0 Take a handful of transplants (10 or 12, maybe), and lay the root end into the trench you made, with the tops leaning against the side and sticking out the top (see individual varieties for how far apart to space them).\u00a0 One by one, grab the top of a start, pulling it upright as you push soil in around the root end to hold it up.\u00a0 Try to plant them about as deep as they were in their pot.\u00a0 When the first batch has been tucked snugly into the soil, take another handful and do it again, until you\u2019ve filled up the row or used all the seedlings.\u00a0 Transplant even the smallest seedlings if you have room \u2013 they should grow and catch up to the rest.\u00a0 (Even if you don\u2019t have room to space them out properly, you can plant any leftovers very tightly together in a small space \u2013 they won\u2019t bulb but you can just harvest them as scallions in a month or so.)\u00a0 Water well after planting.<\/p>\n

\"Onion<\/a>For a complete list of the alliums we\u2019re growing this year, see our Vegetable List<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cooking with Onions<\/a> has some mouth-watering recipes for inspiration or check out these Mediterranean recipe cards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Onion 594, pictured to the right, is a Walla Walla onion sculpture created by Travis Reiff for Sweet Onions on Parade in Walla Walla, Washington.<\/p>\n

You can read previous issues of Garden News in the Log House Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Issue 21 • Seasonal tips and featured varieties coming to a retailer near you • April 2, 2009 PLANT YOUR VEGETABLES! YEAR ROUND ALLIUMS Nearly every good home-cooked meal begins with a handful of chopped alliums saut\u00e9ing in a little butter or olive oil.\u00a0 Allium is the onion genus, a large family of plants whose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3109,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4296"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4296"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4513,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4296\/revisions\/4513"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loghouseplants.com\/plants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}