How to Grow Shallots
The onion family can bring tears to your eyes, literally. Tears aside, onions
are a popular vegetable, and a favorite of the home grower. If they make
you cry, why do so many home gardeners grow them? There are lots of reasons.
Try, easy to grow, takes up little space in the home garden, and lots of
culinary and medicinal uses. Is that enough reasons!?!
Onions have a place in a tremendous number of recipes from main courses to
soups and salads, dips and hors d'oeuvres. It is used in Breakfast, Lunch,
Dinner, breads, and for snacks. Sorry, we are not aware of any dessert recipes
which use onions, have you? If so, please pass it along for us to share.
Tip: There are lots of ideas to help avoid the tears while cutting
onions. Try chewing gum. Others have suggested chewing bread, taffy, etc.
Onions are easy to grow, have a fairly short growing period, and importantly,
they take up little space. With just one square foot of garden space, you
can grow an onion or two. As a result, even the most space limited gardener
usually has a few onions in the garden.
Onions are also good for your health. They were once believed to ward off
evil spirits. (We recommend Garlic to be more effective for this use). Onions
also have medicinal value. Recent medical studies suggest onions help to
lower cholesterol and heart disease.
Did you Know? If you don't have a vegetable garden, place
a few in your flower garden. If you rent, put a few in a planting pot or
box, and set it on the deck or in a sunny window. Yes, you can grow onions
just about anywhere.
Types:
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Common Slicing Varieties: White, Yellow (or Spanish), or purple (our favorite
with it's mild taste)
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Scallions or Green Onions: Grown for it's long stem and little or no bulb.
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Pearl Onions or Pickling Onions: You guessed it, for pickling
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Shallots: A mild tasting, small bulb
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Chive: really a herb.Chop the stems and use in salads, sandwiches, dips and
much more.
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Leeks: Like a scallions, it is mild, yet distinctive tasting. The stalk is
eaten.
Growing: Home gardeners have three choices for starting onions. Seed,
seedlings and sets (or bulbs). Seeds take the longest time and should be
started indoors. Seedlings give you a jump start on growing and are hardy.
They can be bought at a garden store or bought mail order and will arrive
in good shape. Plant 3 to 4 inches apart, in double rows six to ten inches
apart. Leave enough room to get between the rows to weed.
Onions grow best in rich soft soil or loam. But they tolerate most soils,
especially if you add sufficient fertilizer. Keep the soil moist and allow
good drainage.
Nature sends a message to the onion plant to bulb when the days warm up and
daylight hours get long. Onions are biennials. They will go to seed in the
second year, sending up a tall, hard stalk with a seed pod. Many growers
do not know this as we harvest our onions in the first year. Occasionally,
the onions go to seed in the first year.
Harvest: Pull onions when after the tops have fallen over. Rinse off
dirt and allow to dry in the open air for a few days. Then, cut the tops
off the onion and cut off the roots. Allow the cuts to air dry for two or
three more days. This will help to seal the onion and avoid pre-mature spoiling.
Tip: To get a really early start, buy onion sets as early a possible.
Place a few in some moist (not wet), lose starting mix or potting soil about
two to three weeks before you can set them outdoors. They will sprout and
develop a good roots system for an early start.
Insects: Most members of the onion family are resistant to insect
problems. Root maggots can attack the bulbs.Tiny thrips are an occasional
problem. Insecticidal soap sprays or sevin are very effective.
Did you know? Onions, garlic and even chives are an ingredient in
a number of organic insect sprays.
Disease: The onion family is resistant to most disease.While they
are resistant, there are a number of potential ails. Wet, and humid weather
can increase the likelihood of disease. See
Onion
diseases.
Hardiness:
Onions are as hardy as they come. Plant bulbs or seed and a little frost,
freeze and even snow will not bother them. Extended cold below 20-25 degrees
however can kill them if they are growing when exposed.
Tip: Plant chives amidst your flower or herb garden once and grows for decades.
Plant it along the wall of a house and you extend the season. Chives can
also be grown in a sunny window all winter long.
More Information:
Buy Vegetable Seeds Finest quality Ferry Morse Seed,
America's oldest seed company with their famous "guarantee to grow". |
