Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Walking Onions Galore, A Love Affair

It's been another amazing year with these heirloom North American native perennial onions. They're easy to propagate, don't need fertilizer, and are pest resistant. They're super easy to grow organically. I'm getting very creative with them; we haven't bought onions for a couple of years and that's a small locovore triumph for us!


In late July I harvested the top set bulbs. There are plenty for fall planting and for sharing with friends. 

At the end of July the 'parent' onions were cut back and the bed was cleaned up. Already, they're sprouting green tops again - our first salad onions of early fall. 



Here are my favorite ways to use these onions in garden and kitchen, plus a recap of our year with Thomas Jefferson's "Tree Onions."

USES
1. Inter-plant top sets with cucumber and squash vines to help hold off the squash bugs. Their strong scent confuses the bugs; marigolds make great companion planting partners with the onions. As the cuc season winds down, harvest and enjoy eating the tender green onions. If you leave a few in the bed, no worries - they'll come back next spring for an early season harvest. 

2. Mix the top sets into the fall lettuce planting in late summer for delicious and tender fall green onions. This companion planting can help deter flea beetles. 

3. Pickle the top sets! 
Look for the recipe in my previous blog post. 

4. Make a modern version of Grandma's Creamed Potatoes: Peel and steam the top sets with new potatoes until just tender, then gently stir them into a cream sauce. Top with shredded cheese and fresh parsley. YUM - A hearty and different side dish for your next barbecue.

5. Plant the top sets around the edges of your fall/winter greens bed, cover the bed with 6 mm greenhouse plastic over PVC pipe hoops and enjoy green onions all winter. 



6. Continuing from #5: In spring, allow bulbs to grow larger.

Harvest in May and use the bulbs as slicing onions; chop and freeze the green tops in ziploc bags for adding to stock. 




THE ONION YEAR
Winter: 
If your bed is set up as a low hoop house, harvest and enjoy onions from the established parent group.  If not, dream and plan how you'll change it up for next winter!
This was my harvest on Jan. 19:

They cleaned up beautifully!

Spring: 
In late February or early March, check for signs of new growth; trim and remove dead stalks.  To jump-start a dormant onion bed, put greenhouse plastic over PVC  hoops to warm the soil quicker. You'll have onions a month earlier this way. 

The winter of 2013-14 we left the bed uncovered, then added plastic in March. Our walking onions are just coming out of winter dormancy in this photo. A week later, we were harvesting fresh green onions!


SUMMER
Top sets start forming in late May, and continue to grow until late July. The stalks bend over, and the whole bed looks wild and a bit unruly! Keep them watered for larger sets.

I'm amazed I don't have a photo of this stage, but here's one from Dave Whitinger posted to Wikimedia Commons.

Summer is also the time to use top sets for companion plantings (see #1 and 2 in USES). Poke the little bulbs into the soil just to cover, and keep watered. 

In late July, when stalks in the parent bed have bent over and are drying out, harvest all top sets (or leave where they dropped in the bed if you're trying to 
increase the density of your bed). Trim back all mature stalks to 4". Water the bed if weather is dry. New sprouts will start in a week or two. Top sets can be stored in a single layer on trays in a cool dry location indoors for several weeks until ready to plant. If using for cooking, store in a closed container in refrigerator. 

FALL
Harvest newly sprouted green tops for salads and stir frys. Interplant top sets with fall greens. As winter approaches, cover parent bed with plastic over PVC hoops or simply leave the bed as is until spring. Harvest a few bulbs from mature parent bed for Creamed Onions at Thanksgiving. 

Enjoy your Walking Onions with gratitude for all of Nature's bounty. 

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Pickled Walking Onions

Yesterday I harvested our walking onion tops, and there were lots! I took out the largest 100 or so for fall planting, and here's what was left: 


There are plenty to share with friends, and to make pickles. My favorite recipe is a refrigerator pickle that we slice and use as salad topping. 


I admit, the hardest thing about this recipe is peeling those tiny onions, but it's worth the effort!

Sweet-Hot Walking Onions
Onion topsets to fill 8 oz jar, blanched and peeled
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1tbsp honey
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/4 tsp turmeric powder 
1bay leaf
1 dried whole cayenne pepper, cut in half

Mix vinegar, honey, salt, herbs and spices; heat to simmer. Pour over onions in 8 oz canning jar. Cap with plastic lid; let stand on counter until cooled. Store in refrigerator, shaking occasionally. Ready to enjoy in 1week.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Let's Make Lotion

With all the chemicals in commercial lotions these days, I'm truly grateful for this method I adapted from Rosemary Gladstar's lovely book, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health. My skin loves this herbal lotion, and I love knowing exactly what's in it.

My Comfrey-Calendula Lotion starts with herb-infused olive oil.  Pick fresh comfrey leaves and flowers and calendula blossoms on a sunny day, chop and pack lightly into a canning jar. 


Add olive oil to cover. Place jar in crock pot, add hot water around jar and let slowly heat for 12-24 hours. Here's a pic of that set-up in my blog entry, "Plantain, the First-Aid Weed:"

Place 4 oz. infused oil, 1/2 oz. beeswax and the contents of a few vitamin E capsules in a Mason jar in a small saucepan; add water around jar. Stir over low heat until beeswax melts. Pour into blender; let cool slightly. Add a few drops essential oils and flower essences if you like. Stir together rose water and aloe vera gel to make 1/4 cup and pour slowly into blender with motor running.  Blend until just thickened. Pour into clean jar and store in refrigerator. 


Still not sure how to make lotion, or just want to watch the process your first time? Message me or post a comment here to sign up for my Herbal Intensive. It's a fun and jam-packed afternoon of life skills and learning in my garden with the plants.