Post by Glen Carman aka Delmonico on Apr 7, 2019 13:20:51 GMT -6
Spring Onions
Scallions aka Green Onions: This is in reality a catch all term for any immature onion species that is dug or cut in the immature stage and leaves as well as the root are eaten raw or used in cooking. Today most of the green onions seen in stores and home gardens are just the common onion that has been harvested early while the leaves are tender and the bulbs small and immature.
In the past scallions were often harvested from two types of perennial onions often grown by settlers and towns folks in beds in a spot that is sunny in the early spring. This allowed an early harvest of a fresh vegetable with in a very short time after the frost was out of the ground. Today with shipped in out of season produce this has lost its importance, but at the time it often helped cure scurvy which is a lack of vitamin C caused by the very lack of fresh vegetables, a big problem in a lot of areas in the 19th Century.
One of the types of perennial onions grown in beds for scallions was often called the Welsh Onion or in modern times it is often called the Japanese Bunching Onion(Allium fistulosum), despite the names, this type of onion which came to the United States through Europe is thought to have it’s origins in Northwestern China.
This onion species does not form bulbs underground, it does form clumps and these clumps can be separated to start new patches or it can be started from seed. There are different cultivators of this species and they range from fairly small to fairly big sized, the larger types were the ones seen a lot in home gardens in the 19th Century.
The other species of onion that was often grown for scallions is often known as Egyptian Walking Onion, Tree Onion or Top Setting Onion (Allium ×proliferum). Thought to have its origins somewhere in Asia, perhaps India, recent genetic testing has shown this is a cross between the common onion and the so called Welsh onion, it also made its way to gardens in America by way of the early settlers.
This onion is also a perennial, but it is a bit unusual because it does not flower like most other types of onion to form seed, but instead form true bulbs on the tops of the stems. These bulbs will fall to the ground and grow on there own, spreading the bed, or they can be picked and then planted where another bed is desired. This type onion does form an underground bulb that is smaller than the common onion and is more pungent than most of the cultivators of that type onion.
Both of these onions are best harvested for scallions by taking a knife and cutting them off below ground when they appear in the spring, this allows the root to send up more shoots and allows harvest till hot weather makes them hot and tough using the same plants in the bed.
A while back I spotted what looks like a spring picture in the Solomon Butcher Collection showing a well established bed of one of these types growing along a garden fence. Typically the beds were put somewhere in the garden out of the way because once established all they need is weeded. My Walking Onions are tucked in a south west corner along the garage in open sun light; here in south east Nebraska a south facing bed will often produce usable scallions by middle or late March depending on the weather.
Scallions aka Green Onions: This is in reality a catch all term for any immature onion species that is dug or cut in the immature stage and leaves as well as the root are eaten raw or used in cooking. Today most of the green onions seen in stores and home gardens are just the common onion that has been harvested early while the leaves are tender and the bulbs small and immature.
In the past scallions were often harvested from two types of perennial onions often grown by settlers and towns folks in beds in a spot that is sunny in the early spring. This allowed an early harvest of a fresh vegetable with in a very short time after the frost was out of the ground. Today with shipped in out of season produce this has lost its importance, but at the time it often helped cure scurvy which is a lack of vitamin C caused by the very lack of fresh vegetables, a big problem in a lot of areas in the 19th Century.
One of the types of perennial onions grown in beds for scallions was often called the Welsh Onion or in modern times it is often called the Japanese Bunching Onion(Allium fistulosum), despite the names, this type of onion which came to the United States through Europe is thought to have it’s origins in Northwestern China.
This onion species does not form bulbs underground, it does form clumps and these clumps can be separated to start new patches or it can be started from seed. There are different cultivators of this species and they range from fairly small to fairly big sized, the larger types were the ones seen a lot in home gardens in the 19th Century.
The other species of onion that was often grown for scallions is often known as Egyptian Walking Onion, Tree Onion or Top Setting Onion (Allium ×proliferum). Thought to have its origins somewhere in Asia, perhaps India, recent genetic testing has shown this is a cross between the common onion and the so called Welsh onion, it also made its way to gardens in America by way of the early settlers.
This onion is also a perennial, but it is a bit unusual because it does not flower like most other types of onion to form seed, but instead form true bulbs on the tops of the stems. These bulbs will fall to the ground and grow on there own, spreading the bed, or they can be picked and then planted where another bed is desired. This type onion does form an underground bulb that is smaller than the common onion and is more pungent than most of the cultivators of that type onion.
Both of these onions are best harvested for scallions by taking a knife and cutting them off below ground when they appear in the spring, this allows the root to send up more shoots and allows harvest till hot weather makes them hot and tough using the same plants in the bed.
A while back I spotted what looks like a spring picture in the Solomon Butcher Collection showing a well established bed of one of these types growing along a garden fence. Typically the beds were put somewhere in the garden out of the way because once established all they need is weeded. My Walking Onions are tucked in a south west corner along the garage in open sun light; here in south east Nebraska a south facing bed will often produce usable scallions by middle or late March depending on the weather.