SPRING
Is Here!
Well at least I think it is! It hard to know with the weather!
So with the festive period over and the New Year’s resolutions well and truly broken, it time to get back to work. There’s not much to do at the moment, but it’s a good opportunity to turn the soil to make things easier in a few weeks. And also it can be worth getting your onions and garlic into the ground under cover of plastic. Now the garlic doesn’t need it but it helps get it started as it’s best to plant it in November.
Onions and Garlic!
About onions
Various types of onion, including spring onions, pickling onion and shallots can be successfully grown from sets or from seed, some from both.
Onion sets:
Onion sets are small, immature onions, planted in spring or late summer. The sets increase in size and each forms one full-sized bulb when ready to harvest. Where possible, choose onion sets that have been heat-treated. This means their flower embryos have been killed, so they're less likely to run to seed or bolt. Generally, growing onions from sets is easier and more reliable than from seed and in cooler, damper areas, the sets should give a better yield of larger bulbs than if grown from seed. However the range of varieties available is far greater if growing onions from seed.
What to do:
Soil preparation
•A sunny, well-drained site is essential for growing good crops of onion and garlic. It's possible to grow good onions on heavy soil, but the drainage should be improved prior to planting with grit and bulky organic matter, and the cloves planted in ridges of soil 10cm (4in) high to help reduce soil moisture.
•Onions and garlic both like fertile soil, but neither require much nitrogen and so shouldn't be grown on freshly manured soil. Instead, dig over and manure the ground several months before planting. If the soil is acid it's worth liming it so its pH level becomes neutral or even slightly alkaline.
Growing onions from sets (I always use sets less hassle)
•The easiest way to grow onions is from sets, available from garden centres.
•Prepare the soil a couple of months before planting by digging over and adding manure.
•Plant the sets in spring in shallow drills and cover them so the necks are just protruding from the soil.
•Weed regularly and water sparingly.
•Harvest as soon as the foliage starts to yellow.
Growing tips
•Regular weeding is essential - because of the way their leaves are held upright, onions aren't good at supressing weed growth and, if left for too long, weeds will soon swamp the crop and cause damaging competition.
•Bolting, or running to flower, can be a common problem with onions, especially if there's a late cold spell or they suffer hot, dry conditions. Choosing heat-treated sets or late-maturing varieties will reduce the likelihood of bolting.
Harvesting and storage
•As soon as the leaves start to yellow and die back, onions and garlic are ready for harvesting. Don't bend over the leaves to speed this up.
•Lay the bulbs complete with foliage, in a warm, dry place for a couple of weeks to dry out. If onions develop thick necks use these straight away as they don't store well and are prone to neck rot.
•Make sure the foliage is completely dry before storing the crop in a dark, cool, dry place, either by hanging in nets or plaits, or packing carefully in layers in boxes. Storage life depends on the cultivar but is usually 3-6 months.
Pests and diseases
Onions can be prone to various fungus-borne diseases which makes it worthwhile to rotate the position of your onions each year. It's also worth always buying fresh sets each year from a reputable supplier to avoid the viral diseases that garlic in particular is prone to.
•Onion neck rot - fluffy grey fungal growth around the neck leads to softening of the tissues. Infected areas turn transparent and may start to dry out. Avoid by always purchasing sets from a reputable source and not growing onions on the same site more than two years running. Onions with red or yellow bulbs are less affected than white ones.
•Onion white rot - a dense fluffy fungal white growth around the roots and base of the bulb. If you find it, remove and burn infected plants promptly, and don't grow onions on the same site for at least eight years. There's no chemical control or resistant varieties.
•Onion fly - onions are particularly prone to this larval fly but shallots, leeks and garlic may also be attacked. The larvae eat the roots of the bulbs and may burrow into them in late summer. Growing onions from sets reduces the problem, as does interplanting with carrots to mask the smell. If you discover an infestation, remove infested bulbs promptly before the larvae move into the soil to pupate.
•Onion thrips - a fine white mottling on the foliage indicates an attack on onions or leeks. They're tiny yellow or black bodied insects about 2mm long and are particularly troublesome in hot, dry weather. The damage to leaves can result in smaller crops.
Garlic
It’s as above with the onions just split the bulb into cloves and they are your seeds simple!!
So with all this talk of onions I think it’s time to raid the stored onions for last year and warm the body after that cold out there
GGG’s French Onion Soup:
Ingredients:
50.0g butter 1.0kg brown onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. thyme, picked leaves
3 tbsp. dry sherry 2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
Beef stock fresh, cube or concentrate made up to 1.2 litres
CROUTONS
1 baguette, sliced
1 garlic clove, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil 100.0g Gruyère or Emmental, grated
Method:
1. Heat the butter in a large pan and gently cook the onion and thyme until the onion is softened but not browned - about 20 minutes. Increase the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes, until the onion becomes dark golden, sticky and caramelised, stirring now and again to stop it catching. Add the sherry and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add the stock and bring to the boil. Season. Simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toast the +bread; rub each slice with garlic, then drizzle with a little oil. Sprinkle with the cheese and grill until golden and bubbling. Serve the soup with the cheese croutons on the side.
Here is something a little different to use up your onions tasty mmmm!
Caramelized Chocolate Onion Cake:
Ingredients:
180g of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup of finely-diced sweet onion
1 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. of vanilla
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 cup of milk
1 tbsp. of vinegar
Method:
The first step in creating your chocolate onion cake is to sour the milk by adding the tablespoon of vinegar to it. Then melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring it often to keep it from burning. While you're doing that, caramelize your onions in two tablespoons of oil, using medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes.
Beat together the remaining oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until the mixture has a fluffy consistency (this should take 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer). Then fold in the meltedchocolate and the onions, and add the baking soda and salt, stirring them in alternately with the sour milk.
Grease two round, nine-inch cake pans with butter before pouring in your batter. Bake for 25-35 minutes at 180 degrees. When the cake passes the toothpick test, it's done. Let the components cool for ten minutes outside the oven, then stack 'em and frost 'em with the icing of your choice.(which will be chocolate of course) And there you have your deceptively delicious chocolate onion cake, ready to please the palates of unsuspecting guinea pigs everywhere !
So the first veg of the year are in the ground, and I’m enjoying the last of the spoils from last year, with a nice warm cider in front of the fire looking forward to the treats of the year ahead, I have some interesting projects coming up so I hope ye will all follow me on this year’s adventure and get inspired to get cracking yourself !!! till next time
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