The Crafty Cultivator

Its been a hot minute since I last posted anything here, but the season is slowly starting again now that we are in January.

I have never really had successful onions growing from sets. They are small and not really suited to storing. (…and I never get many decent sized onions)… Which is fine if you just want a few onions for fresh eating, but my goals have shifted more to developing my skills in putting up food for the winter. Last year, I was able to braid up about 20 of my Zebrune Shallots last year and it has been fun using my own produce while its -20 and snowing outside. So this year, I decided to step up my onion game (or at least attempt to). I bought a few different varieties that are more suited to storage. Before I keep rambling on though, I’ll get to the varieties I will be (attempting) to grow this year.

• Zebrune Shallots
  • 110 days to Maturity
  • Sowed January 17
  • Description from West Coast Seeds: “This french heirloom combines the ease and texture of an onion with the delicate gourmet flavour of a shallot. The long lasting bulbs have pinkish brown skins over crisp white interiors. The flesh is sweet and mild for gourmet cooking.”
  • Goals: to have 30-40 shallots to put up this winter.

• Rossa di Milano
  • 110 days to Maturity
  • Sowed January 17
  • Description from West Coast Seeds: “This is an unusual Italian heirloom onion with a barrel-like shape, flat bottoms, and thin purple/red skins. Sweet and pungent in flavour, with very good storage. These onions look marvellous when braided for winter use.”
  • Goals: to have 15-20 of these braided to put up for the winter.

• Rossa D’Inverno Rubino
  • 110 Days to Maturity
  • Sowed January 17
  • Description from West Coast Seeds: “This long day storage onion has a globe shape with deep red skins streaked with even deeper red longitudinal lines. Rossa d’Inverno is perfect for the home gardener or fresh market, its an excellent choice for late summer harvests.”
  • Goals: to have 15-20 of these braided to put up for the winter.

• Ailsa Craig
  • 95 days to Maturity
  • Sowed January 17
  • Description from West Coast Seeds: “These huge, straw-yellow globes grow up to 20cm (8″) in diameter, with a firm texture and mild, sweet flesh. Ailsa Craig keeps fairly well, but is grown as a sweet, rather than a storage onion. Enjoy the fine flavour in soups and salads.”
  • Goals: to have around 10 onions for fresh use in late summer and fall.

Before I get back to the rambling, These seeds are all fresh this year, and are all Open Pollinated varieties. Also all are West Coast packets.

So Why am I trying so many different onions? Well, I want to find what works for me. I like trying new things. My goals are a stretch given my small sized garden, but I still hope that they will work out. I haven’t quite decided where they are all going to grow this year, but the top of the list right now is in containers.

How I’m starting these: I’ve put them in 4″ pots in seed starting mix to germinate and get started. The plan after they get some true leaves and a decent amount of roots is to put them into some plug trays that I have saved until its time for them to go out. Space is going to get to be an issue in April while we are waiting for warm weather to be able to put things out.

Why am I starting these in January???: They are slower growing and I want to put out some strong plants come spring time. Our average “days without frost” is only around 117 days. So the stronger plants I can have during that short amount of time, the better. I can stretch this with my micro-climate yard that is quite warm, and covering things while watching the forecasts. Second reason: I want to play in the dirt.

Other rambling: I’m covering the 4″ pots with some plastic wrap to keep the moisture/humidity up while the seeds germinate. As soon as they do germinate, the plastic wrap will come off and they’ll be able to grow on in the warm house til its warm enough for them to go outside.

One last note, I will also be growing some scallions, they just don’t need this much time to grow in the house. But to keep more organized in my notes here, I’ll throw the description here too.

• Apache Scallions
  • 65 days to Maturity
  • Description from West Coast Seeds: “Mild flavour and crisp texture make Apache a great candidate for adding colour to salads. Apache grows just like all the other scallions, but forms a small bulb with a surprising purple/red skin and intensely red core.”
  • Goals: I mainly just want a few small clumps of these dotted around. I would love if they become a perennial in my garden like the other scallions I have. I mostly bought these to add some change. We don’t use a ton of spring onions, but occasionally they are a nice addition. I’m just not a huge raw onion fan, I like them for cooking with, but I don’t like them raw. However, these are gorgeous and I cant wait to see if they do good here. I’ll likely sow some in late march or early April for putting outside in mid-late May.