The Crafty Cultivator

I wrote about these onions last year, but I never ended up hitting “Publish” on it, so I wanted to share it now. Last year I got a late start to the seed sowing, and I had started these on April 4, BUT they didn’t get much of a chance to really take off. They grew, and I left them in the ground to see if they survive the winter.  So because of last year’s slow start, I started these on January 24th this year. This should give them enough of a head start that I can get something worth harvesting this year.

There isn’t a big  write-up about them on the seed packet (which, as you can see in the photo above is from McKenzie seeds. This is what the packet write-up says: “This easy-to-grow bunching onion produces tender and flavourful red stalks. Plants produce stalks 12cm x 1.5cm (4.7″ x 0.5″) in diameter.”

Because I have been so intrigued by this variety, I did a bit of googleing. Originally from wild alliums from China and Kazakhstan, it was brought to Europe around the middle ages, and to England in the 1600’s. Like other bunching or spring onions, they are perennial, but are typically grown as an annual. And of course, the reason why I wanted to try them, is that they have red-purple stalks combined with bright green foliage.

While Onions are not my most favourite veg. I quite likegrowing them. They stand up to a bit of cold, which is an ideal thing around here, where mother nature has a habit of bipolar mood swings. Also the flowers. Bees love them, and they are different compared to most of the flowers I grow.