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Grow awesome alliums all year long By Rhonda Nowak Oct 16, 2022 12:30 AM A A 3 View all photos Red and yellow onion, leeks and shallots are all members of the allium family. They are easy to grow, if given plenty of sunshine and well-draining soil that is slightly acidic (pH 5.5-6.5) and rich in organic matter. [Photo by Rhonda Nowak] Shown are yellow onions, leeks and garlic from the garden of Rhonda Nowak. With a litle planning, gardeners can grow and harvest alliums all year long. [Photo by Rhonda Nowak] Chives can be harvested before or after they bloom. The flower is edible, too, although it tastes best soon after it opens. [Photo by Rhonda Nowak] “The onion in its satin wrappings is among the most beautiful of vegetables, and it is the only one that represents the essence of things. It can almost be said to have a soul.” – Charles Dudley Warner, “My Summer in a Garden,” 1870 After reading “My Summer in a Garden,” it’s evident Charles Dudley Warner thought hoeing weeds in his garden was very much like going into battle. His most indomitable foe was “pusley,” or common purslane (Portulaca oleracea), an exceptionally vigorous weed that he railed against from the dedication to his wife, Polly, at the beginning of the book all the way through the 15th week in late September. In July, he recorded, “I doubt if anyone has raised more ‘pusley’ this year than I have, and my warfare with it has been continual.” In August, Warner expressed reluctant admiration for purslane when he wrote it “grows with all the confidence of youth and the skill of old age. It beats the serpent as an emblem of immortality. While all the others of us in the garden rest and sit in comfort a moment upon the summit of the summer, it is as rampant and vicious as ever. It accepts no armistice.” In early September, he recorded this hopeful thought: “I have no doubt that if we turn our attention to ‘pusley,’ we can beat the world.” However, by the end of the month his weariness is evident when he wrote, “I take up my hoe and begin, but I feel that I am warring against something whose roots take hold in H[ell].” That is the last time Warner mentions “pusley,” and one can assume his combative relationship with this weed continued the following growing season. As much as Warner made his disgust for purslane obvious, with equal intensity he proclaimed his enthusiasm for onions. Of purslane, Warner had plenty in the garden; unfortunately, of onions, he had none. Why is it that we humans disdain what is common and prize most that which we do not have? In October, he wrote, “I am quite ashamed to take people into my garden and have them notice the absence of onions. It is very marked. In onion is strength, and a garden without it lacks flavor.” Warner did not end his praise for the onion there. After (almost) attributing a soul to it, he wrote, “You take off coat after coat, and the onion is still there; and when the last one is removed, who dare say that the onion itself is destroyed, though you can weep over its departed spirit? “If there is any one thing on this fallen Earth that the angels in heaven weep over more than another, it is the onion.” My goodness; such adoration for a root vegetable! Yet, I agree we must have a good cry over an onion because it shows us it’s fresh with an abundance of sulfuric compounds called thiosulfinates, which endow onions with their strong aroma and flavor. When an onion is sliced open, a compound called propyl sulfoxide is released into the air and interacts with the nerves around our eyes. These nerves, called lacrimal glands, become irritated and cause our eyes to water. Some people are more sensitive to propyl sulfoxide than others, and some onions, such as Walla Walla and ‘Siskiyou Sweet,’ have lower levels of thiosulfinates than other onion varieties. For years, breeders worked on crossing different varieties of milder onions to produce a tearless and non-pungent onion; the result of these efforts – the Sunion – first appeared in American grocery stores in 2018. I don’t understand why anyone would want to cook with a tearless and non-pungent onion – why bother with an onion at all? I grow a strong-flavored yellow onion called ‘Dakota Tears’ in my garden just so I can have a good cry whenever I want. In fact, I’ve grown all five cultivated members of the edible onion family: onions (Allium cepa), garlic (A. sativum), leeks (A. porrum), scallions (A. fistulosum) and chives (A. schoenoprasum). All are easy to grow, given plenty of sunshine and well-draining soil that is slightly acidic (pH 5.5-6.5) and rich in organic matter. Alliums are shallow-rooted plants, so they need plenty of surface moisture and soil that is free of rocks and weeds – Warner’s nemesis, the steadfast “pusley,” be damned. With a little planning, it’s possible to grow and harvest alliums all year. Here’s a planting guide adapted from Oregon State University Extension Service to get gardeners started this month: October and November: Plant garlic cloves, shallot bulbs and onion sets in prepared soil. Garlic and shallots will be ready to harvest next July-August; green tops from onion sets can be harvested throughout the winter and spring once they are pencil-length. Due to warmer temperatures, I’m experimenting with planting bulb onions in October and November to overwinter in the garden. If they survive, the bulbs should be ready to harvest by early next summer. December and January: Harvest scallions, leeks and onion set tops when mature. February: Sow leeks and bulb onions for winter storage indoors to transplant outdoors in eight weeks. Sow non-storage bulb onions and onion sets directly into prepared soil in the garden. Early spring-planted leeks will be ready to harvest in the fall, whereas early spring-planted bulb onions will be ready to harvest in late summer or fall. March: Sow leeks, bulb onions, scallions, onion sets and chives directly into the garden. Scallions are ready to harvest 60 to 80 days after planting whenever the green tops are about 6 to 8 inches tall. Chives can be harvested about 60 days after sowing seeds (30 days after transplanting starts). April: Sow/transplant leeks, bulb onions, scallions, onion sets and chives directly into the garden. May: Sow/transplant leeks, scallions and chives directly into the garden. Some gardeners like to begin hilling up soil around the base of leek plants when they are about 5 to 6 inches tall to increase their flavor. Late spring-planted leeks can be harvested in early winter. June: Sow/transplant scallions directly into the garden. Late spring- and summer-planted scallions will be ready to harvest in fall and winter. Leeks will overwinter for a spring harvest. July: Sow/transplant scallions. Bend garlic, shallots and onion tops that are starting to turn brown and fall over. Withhold water for one to two weeks before harvesting. August: Save garlic heads for seeding in the fall. Begin sowing non-storage bulb onions directly into the garden for overwintering. Germination in hot weather may be difficult. September: Sow/transplant all types of bulb onions, garlic, shallots and onion sets. Use tops of onion sets for scallions in fall and winter; bulb onions, garlic and shallots will be ready to harvest next spring and early summer. Charles Dudley Warner didn’t mention why there were no onions in his garden, despite the fact that he adored them. He did, however, say Americans in his day were prejudiced against onions, allowing themselves to eat “of the common vegetable” only behind firmly closed doors. In contrast, Warner noted the people of Italy (then under the rule of King Victor Emmanuel II) ate their onions with pride. What cowards are Americans, Warner scoffed, “we, who boast of our democracy, eat onions in secret.” Would our democracy be in better shape today if we ate more onions in public? I think it couldn’t hurt to try. Rhonda Nowak is a Rogue Valley gardener, teacher and writer. See literarygardener.com or email her at [email protected].