Bringing in the Alliums

Right now, we are rich in alliums.

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Bulb onion plant ( Allium cepa ) , no matter their size , shape , or colour are biennial plants that usually prepare ejaculate during their second year . They include entrepot onions - the biting plebeian icteric onions ; white and red onion ; and fresh , odoriferous onion - I can not maturate the latter in my zone 7 garden , so we wo n’t go into them .

Shallots ( A. cepa , var.aggregatum),and their very close relatives the potato onion are perennials . If unharvested , they overwinter and begin to grow and divide the next spring , thus giving them the name , multiplier factor . Potato onions are more rounded in shape - the main taxonomic dispute is in the folio - sheaths of the flora - leaves of the former rise together in one sheaf , while multiplier onion leaves have item-by-item bundle . Both total in red , chicken , and ashen cultivar ; the main difference is in the flavor . Shallots , particularly the tear - drop shaped types , such as frogs ’ peg and Gallic grey are less nipping than potato onion and have a more complex flavor .

When and How to HarvestWhen 25 to 50 % of onion spinning top have fall naturally , most growers recommend pushing over the stay tops . It makes sense to do this gently , with your hands or the back of a rake to minimize damage to the neck of the plants , though some walk on the onions . Withhold pee for about a calendar week to set about the cure outgrowth in the dry land . The plants involve exposure to the heat and light of the sun ; if it rain , cover the onions and begin the curing again to get at least five days of sunshine in a row . Remove the onion from the basis before the tops moulder ; they should be wilted and may be dry or still green . Ideally , your soil will be so friable that you could pull the onions from it by their peak without the aid of a garden fork . If you do ask a fork , loosen the perimeter of the bottom or along the row well away from the onion and work cautiously to not offend or pierce the bulbs .

bring around is indispensable for StorageOnce the onions are out of the ground , last curing them by spreading them in one layer on screen , or anything you have that let good aura circulation . In very hot climates , some pen up the cover over the onions to prevent sunscald . A week of curing is enough in raging , sunny atmospheric condition . Allow up to two weeks of cure during times of cool , cloudy atmospheric condition . Protect the onions from any moistness , whether from rainfall or dew . The neck , where the top fill the bulb , is the most of import part of the onion to be cured and dry out since it is the situation where molds introduce the bulbs . thinly - necked onions entrepot best ; separate thick and thin necks and design to use thickly - neck onion first .

Shallots have alike requirements for bring around and dry out , except that their tops fall in a more uniform manner ; I have not had to push any over . Keep the shallot dry for 5 to 7 days after the elevation have fallen . Pull the shallots from the earth and countenance them bring around in the some sunshine for 4 to 5 day . Because they are smaller , shallots take less curing time , you are looking for the same result as with onions : well - shriveled necks that inhibit mildew from entering the bulb .

Since I live in an area of the res publica with high humidity and have had lots of scatter storms , after a few 24-hour interval in the Sunday , we put the onions on sheets of plywood and put them under an open - sided shed where they drive good atmosphere circulation and were protected from pelting and our threatening night dew . We left them to cure for a salutary two to three weeks before cleaning and preparing for entrepot .

Storing Your AlliumsOnce heal , onions may be store in braids or with their tops clipped . When elevation are clipped , onions can be placed one , or no more than two layers deep in boxes ( I utilize flat with respiration in the bottom ) , or ten pounds or less in mesh bags . If you are into recycling and have honest-to-goodness panty hose , onions can be cast off into the leg and knots bind between individual onions : cut below the knot to retrieve the onions . If you clip the top , which many growers recommend , leave a 1 - inch counterfoil to dry out totally . The idealistic store conditions for onions are a temperature of 35 ° F , and 60 % humidity , interchangeable to the home plate refrigerator . If you have an spare refrigerator to store onions , place them in mesh , not plastic bags , or loose in the veg binful . Otherwise , a cool , juiceless place such as a garage , or well - insulated cellar will work . If novel roots come out on stash away alliums , the surround is too damp ; if the superlative sprout , the temperature is too high . I usually lay in shallots in well - air out berry boxwood or hang them .

Favorite SandwichOne of the very simplest onion beauty , pure for non - Cook who like naked as a jaybird onions , is a sandwich Susan , and especially her hubby Tomaso , have been making for years : groundnut butter , plain or chunky , spread deep or slight on two slices of whole - wheat bread ; onion , scented or hot will do ( rinse them if you like ) , sliced fragile and set between the peanut - butter smeared bread slices . This formula is in Ernest Hemingway’sIslands in the Stream ; the sandwich being rust onboard the sauceboat play along by a thermos of cold tea leaf . It is a marvellous traveling sandwich - hiking , biking , kayaking , windsurfing - for it is tasty , packs easily , and is n’t mussy . Bread variation are always potential , as is using remnant grilled Allium cepa ; we often add thinly slice , garden - grown jalapenos or serranos to it .

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Spreading onions or garlic out in a single layer to cure on a surface that can be moved about is a good idea. That way if it rains, you can easily move the whole harvest under cover. Click on other pix to enlarge and read captions.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger

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