Think Spring -2021

High Mowing Organic Seeds is kicking off Think Spring with their e-letter titled, "Get Ready for Seed Starting Season", which links to an on-line article that offers a lot of good tips.

Check out the article here: Start Your Season with Early Spring Crops

Thanks!  I need hope, very cold!

You need this from Kim Roman.

Here are a few of my jugs...this is my first attempt at winter sowing and it will be interesting to see what happens!

Started the onion seeds under the lights today. The seedlings should be ready to transplant into the gardens by mid- to late-March.

Spring is just around the corner according to the Daffodils.  Snow, or no show, the Daffodils are ready to grow. 

Planted 200+ onion seeds five days ago, and it appears that almost all of them have germinated. These are Nebuka Bunching Onions. Normally I plant the seeds directly in the raised bed in the fall and let them over-winter so that I have green onions in the spring, but I didn't get that done this past fall. So, I'm starting them indoors and will have them ready to transplant in mid-March.

Question: Can this type of bunching onion be grown like walking onions? I just harvest my walking onions and stick back in a few separated plants to regrow.

sanderson wrote:Question:  Can this type of bunching onion be grown like walking onions?  I just harvest my walking onions and stick back in a few separated plants to regrow.

No. If they are left in the ground for the 2nd year they will go to seed, and the seeds can be collected for planting a new bunch. But, they will not divide or multiply.

I do raise Red Welsh Bunch Onions which are perennials, and they do multiply. They will also bloom and try to set seed, but to keep them multiplying the bloom stalks need to be cut off. The Welsh onions will multiply with the new onions forming bunching of 6 or 8 plants in the ground. When a bunch is pulled out, one is separated out and stuck back in the ground where it will begin the multiplying again, while the other 5 or 7 are kept for eating.  The ones I have I started from seed and transplanted them in a section of the raised beds, and they have been perennials since.  There is a good description of them on Baker Creek's site:

https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/onions/red-welsh-bunching-onion

OG,

I checked the Baker site, and it claims that these onions are rather powerful. That's great, but I do a lot of Chinese and especially Sichuan cooking and I was wondering how suitable these might be. I go through a grocery-store-size bunch almost every day, and often uncooked as a garnish. 

Either way, I'm going to try them. Sounds great!

Brian

I wouldn't classify them as strong, Brian, but they are a little stronger than the very mild ones found in grocery stores. They are mild enough that I eat them right out of the garden as well as using them in salads and cooking. I have enough of them growing that I can pull bunches right through the summer, up until late August, and they are still good eating. I have to leave them after mid- to late-August to form the clusters over the winter for the next year.  That said, I let a few plants go to seed as an experiment, and the onions from those bunches were too strong to eat raw.

Starting mine tomorrow.  Can’t wait!  Brian, I’d think these would be ideal for you!  But I have yet to grow them....but with the style of your cooking, I would think these would be great!

sanderson wrote:

This analogy is all too true -- I have more plants started than I have squares for!