Have deer friends? Maybe Perennial Onions Can Help!

Lucia Kearney

Why Use Perennial Onions?

I manage the vegetable garden at Pendle Hill, a half-acre space tucked into a corner of campus that produces fruits, vegetables, and culinary herbs for the kitchen. Pendle Hill’s campus is beautiful and wooded and, much to my chagrin, heavily populated with white-tailed deer. Last season they flocked to the garden like a free buffet, helping themselves to Swiss chard and my young tomato plants. This winter, in addition to making plans for a deer fence, I’ve also come across several deer-deterrent strategies. The one that I’m most excited about is the use of perennial onions.

Why? Well, it turns out that deer cannot stand the smell of plants in the Allium genus, which includes onions. This year I’ve chosen to focus my attention on perennial onions for a few reasons. First, annual onions require a great deal of time and attention to grow; perennial varieties, on the other hand, require much less labor and maintenance once established, and will continue to produce for years. Perennial onions actually used to be much more widely cultivated than they are now, but fell out of favor with the advent of mechanical harvesting (perennial onions tend to grow in patches, whereas annual onions can be grow in uniform rows). Perennial onions also have a variety of flowers and flavors, adding forage for pollinators and flavors to your kitchen.

In my research I came across a variety of different perennial onions. The following is a selection of my favorites. Enjoy! And may your garden flourish.

Allium fistulosum (Welsh Onion)

Sometimes called bunching onion, scallion, or spring onion, Allium fistulosum will be a welcome addition to my garden this year. (I’ll be planting ‘White Spear,’ a heat-tolerant cultivar, and ‘Evergreen Hardy White,’ a cold-hardy cultivar to see which does best.)

Robert Pavlis, http://www.gardenfundamentals.com/allium-fistulosum/ 

Welsh onions have hollow, edible leaves and produce scapes. Large varieties resemble leeks, while smaller varieties look more like chives. They are similar in taste to the common onion (Allium cepa). The flowers of Allium fistulosum come in a variety of colors, and some are used as ornamentals. They form perennial, evergreen clumps, and can be propagated by division. They can also be started from seed in the early spring for transplant outdoors. They typically need about 7-10 days for germination, and about a month to reach transplant size.

Originally from China, Welsh onions have been naturalized across Eurasia and North America. They are often used in East and Southeast Asian cuisine. Miso soup in Japan often contains Allium fistulosum. My Welsh onions are doing well! I’ve got a nice patch started in my herb bed, and am excited to see how they’ll look next season.

Thin “silpa” type.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Silpa_%28Allium_fistulosum%29.jpg 

Allium tricoccum (Ramps)

A favorite amongst foragers and foodies, ramps (also known as spring onion, ramson, wild leek, wood leek, and wild garlic) have been dangerously overharvested in recent years. In Quebec, people are limited to harvesting 50 plants per year, and restaurants are forbidden to use them. The good news is that, if you have the right conditions in or around your garden, it is possible to start your own patch of ramps. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Wild_leeks_%28Whitefish_I%29_1.JPG

Ramps are a bulb-forming perennial; they spread clonally by division, and grow in close groups just below the soil. The whole plant is edible and has a flavor that’s a combination of onion and strong garlic. One of the earliest spring vegetables, ramps were used as a spring tonic and culinary herb by Native American tribes including the Iroquois, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa. They provide much needed vitamins and minerals after long winter months. New leaves emerge in March and April, and die back in June as the flower stalk emerges. Seeds develop in late summer. 

Ramps like growing under forest canopies, especially canopies composed of beech, birch, sugar maple, and/or poplar. They’ll also grow under buckeyes, lindens, hickories, and oaks. They like well-drained soil high in organic matter and leaf mold. If you don’t have a wooded area nearby, you can build a shade structure for your ramps. Ramps can be grown from seed, though it will take some time for a patch to grow in this way as seeds could take years to germinate based on conditions. Direct seed in the spring or fall. If it’s possible to find seedlings, transplant out in March and April. Allow your ramps a few years to establish themselves into a patch, and then harvest by thinning in order to assure a lasting supply.

Allium tuberosum (Garlic Chives)

Native to southwestern parts of the Chinese province of Shanxi, garlic chives have been cultivated around the world.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/FullImageDisplay.aspx?documentid=3882 

Garlic chives grow from a small, elongated bulb that originates from a stout rhizome beneath the soil. Its leaves are flat, and somewhat fleshy, tasting more like garlic than chives. In the late summer/early fall, it produces white flowers on umbels on stalks 10-24 inches in height. These flowers are quite beautiful, and attract butterflies.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/FullImageDisplay.aspx?documentid=23658 

In warmer areas, the garlic chive is evergreen. In colder areas (zone 7 and below) it dies back to the ground in the winter and resprouts from rhizomes in the spring. It grows in slowly expanding, perennial clumps, and will also sprout from seed. It’s worthwhile to note that in some states garlic chives are considered a noxious weed (in Arkansas, for example), and will require some work to keep it within a certain space. Deadhead flowers before they set seed in order to control spread.

Garlic chives can be grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in part shade or full sun. Direct seeding is preferable – sow seeds ¼” deep when the soil warms in the spring. Seeds can also be started 6-8 weeks before transplant indoors.

Allium proliferum (Egyptian Walking Onions)

Egyptian Walking Onions are one of my favorite plants. I have a small patch started in the garden, and I’m hopeful they’ll spread. Allium proliferum have long, hollow leaves like Welsh Onions. Rather than producing flowers, however, they produce a cluster of bulblets. When the cluster gets heavy enough, the stalk falls over, and the bulblets sprout up from the soil, and so the onion “walks.”

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Allium_fistulosum_bulbifera0.jpg 

A hybrid of Allium fistulosum (Welsh Onions) and Allium cepa (the common onion), it’s postulated that this onion was brought to Europe from the Indian subcontinent by the Romani people. The entire plant is edible, from the shallot-like bulbs to the leaves and stalks. The bulbs are tougher and more pungent than the rest of the plant. Young plants can be used much like scallions in the spring. Most cultivars are quite strong-flavored, but there are more mild and sweet cultivars available as well. While Egyptian Walking Onions can grow in tropical conditions, they are also quite winter hardy.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Allium_cepa2.jpg 

Walking Onions prefer full sun, and slightly moist but well-draining soil. Topsets (the clusters of bulblets produced by the plant, also called ‘bulbils’) can be planted any time of the year, though fall is the optimal time to plant. Plant each topset in soil about two inches deep with one foot spacing in rows two feet apart. Plants will most likely not produce a topset until their second year after planting.

Allium cepa var. aggregatum (Potato Onions, Shallots)

I haven’t grown either of these before, but I’m excited to try! Potato onions and shallots are closely related enough that they are considered to be the same species and variety. The exact line between the two is hard to pinpoint, but potato onions are said to be larger, divide into fewer bulbs, store longer, and have a stronger flavor than shallots. They are comparable in flavor to common onions, and can be used as a substitute in recipes that call for them. Potato onions are also known as multiplier onions, pregnant onions, or mother onions.

http://edibleupcountry.ediblecommunities.com/eat/potato-onion-any-other-name 

Potato onion plants produce a cluster of bulbs attached at the base each year. To keep a patch going, you can harvest the larger bulbs while leaving the smaller ones behind to produce more bulbs the following year. Some people harvest all of their onions and replant the smallest ones the following year just like potatoes (hence the name). Potato onions are smaller than common onions, typically between 1 and 3 inches in diameter, and store very well once cured.

https://www.southernexposure.com/images/large/yellow-potato-onion_LRG.jpg 

Potato onions are quite winter hardy, surviving up to USDA zone 4. They require long summer days, and so typically do best above latitude 37 (in Philadelphia, we’re at latitude 38, so we’re good!). Potato onions are typically propagated via division. Bulbs are planted in the spring or fall, just below the soil in the fall to give them a bit of protection during the winter, and about one half to two-thirds of the way down into the ground in the spring. Potato onions typically grow mostly out of the ground. They can also be grown from seed, though this route is more difficult. Start seeds indoors about 2 months before the last frost, scattering them and pressing them lightly into the surface of the soil. They require strong light. Germination can take as long as three weeks, and germination rates are around 60%. Plants can be transplanted once they reach about 3 inches in height.

Potato onions are heavy feeders, so they do well with a nitrogen boost in the spring. They don’t put up well with weeds either and thus also require weeding.

Shallot classification, it turns out, is a bit tricky. Most shallots are the same variety as potato onions – Allium cepa var. aggregatum – but were previously classified as Allium ascalonicum. The French gray shallot (or griselle), however, is actually a different species: Allium oschaninii; as is the Persian shallot, which refers to three species: Allium stipitatum, Allium altissimum, and Allium hirtifolium. The former is often referred to as the “true” shallot, and grows wild from central to southwest Asia. The latter is also native to central and southwestern Asia, grows on rocky slopes and in fields, and is often harvested in the wild. It has large flowers on tall slender stalks and as a result is often used as an ornamental.

Allium oschaninii, “true” shallots
http://www.paridon.com/plant/Allium-oschaninii-Dutch-Yellow 

Persian Shallot, Allium altissimum
http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=893 

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll primarily be talking about Allium cepa var. agreggatum.

Originally from central/southwest Asia, shallots can range in skin color from golden brown to gray and rose red, while their flesh is typically off-white and tinged with green or magenta. Like garlic, they’re formed in clusters of offsets with a head composed of multiple cloves. As you probably know, they are widely cultivated and treasured for culinary use. They have a milder flavor than common onions, and can often be substituted for them in recipes. Finely sliced and deep-fried shallots are often used as a condiment in Asian cuisine. They can also be pickled.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Shallot_%28Sambar_Onion%29_%282%29.JPG 

Shallots get their name from the ancient Canaanite city of Ashkelon; people in classical Greek times believed that shallots originated from there.

While you can start shallots from seed, most are propagated via offsets. Much like garlic, they can be planted in the fall (zones 3-10) or spring, 4 to 6 inches apart with the pointed end facing up just below the soil surface. They prefer rich, loose soil, with a slightly acidic pH of around 6-6.8, though they will grow in more neutral soil. During the growing season, they need plenty of water. Green tops can be cut and used like chives as long as you’re careful to leave enough leaves to nurture the bulb. Flower stalks should be cut to in order to redirect energy towards the bulbs. Left in the ground, they’ll resprout the following season.

Allium schoenoprasum (Chives)

 

Chives grow wild across much of Europe, Asia, and North America. They’re commonly used as a culinary herb – all parts of the plant, including the flowers, are edible. They grow to be around 12-30 inches tall, and have small, slender, conical bulbs that grow in dense clusters. Stems and leaves are hollow and tubular, distinguishing them from garlic chives which, as we saw earlier, have flat leaves.

They are also used in gardens as pest-control – they produce sulfur compounds, which repulse many insects. At the same time, they are also great pollinator plants, producing large amounts of nectar. In a UK survey conducted by the AgriLand project, they were ranked in the top 10 for nectar production.

Grown from seed, plants will mature in the summer or early the following spring. They can also be propagated via division. In colder regions, chives die back to the ground in the wintertime, with new leaves sprouting from the bulbs in early spring. They thrive in well-drained soil high in organic matter with a pH of 6-7 and full sun. When harvesting, make sure to cut stalks down to the base. Continuously harvesting plants during the season will help to keep stalks tender for cooking.

I could go on – Allium is a large genus, comprised of hundreds of species, all of which, according to Peterson’s Field Guide, are edible. I’m sure there are plenty more perennial onions to explore!

Works Cited

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_fistulosum

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ALFI4

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200027477

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200027477

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/onion/growing-welsh-onions.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=altr3

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/cultivation-of-ramps-allium-tricoccum-and-a-burdickii

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=u770

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tuberosum#CITEREFUSDA2015

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Allium+tuberosum

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ALTU3

https://garden.org/learn/articles/view/1727/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_onion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_onion

http://www.egyptianwalkingonion.com/

http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/October-2015/Potato-Onions/

https://www.thespruce.com/growing-shallots-in-the-vegetable-garden-1403464

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chives

http://extension.illinois.edu/herbs/chives.cfm

Canning for the Uninitiated: A Step by Step Guide

Lauren McEwen

I'm not a huge fan of traditional cucumber relishes, but I loved this onion relish when I first sampled it at a canning lecture given by Lois Fischer (who has over 40 year of canning experience!). I got the recipe from Lois and decided that, since I loved it so much, it was time to learn the Boiling Water Bath Canning method so I could make some of my own.

I convinced my sister, who was also a canning newbie, and my mother, who hadn't done any canning since the 1970's, to spend a Saturday helping me out. We all had a good time and, since we doubled the recipe, there was lots of relish to go around. I wanted to share this delicious recipe with you as well as my documented experience.

Relish right out of the canner.

A Quick Note:

Canning recipes read like those from any other cookbook, up until the actual canning process begins. In fact, you can make this recipe and skip the canning entirely, but then you'd have to eat it all pretty quickly. That's the beauty of canning, it allows you to make a bunch of one thing, right when the produce is in season, and then enjoy it jar-by-jar throughout the year.

Recipe: Onion Relish  Makes about 4 Pint Jars

8 c finely chopped sweet onions

1 tbsp. pickling salt or kosher salt

1 3/4 c white wine vinegar

1 c sugar

1 tbsp.  minced fresh tarragon or 3/4 tsp crushed dried tarragon

2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced

• In a large bowl, layer the onions and salt. Gently stir until well combined. Let stand for 4 hours.

• Drain the onions thoroughly. Press out the excess liquid.

•  In a 6- to 8-quart stainless steel pan, combine the vinegar, sugar, tarragon and garlic. Over medium-low heat, gradually heat the mixture, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the syrup to a boil. Add the drained onions to the syrup, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat.

• Ladle the hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Using a bubble freer or plastic knife, remove any air bubbles. If necessary, add more relish to maintain the headspace. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth. Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings. Process pint jars in a 212F (100C) water bath for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, layer the onions and salt. Gently stir until well combined. Let stand for 4 hours.

First Things First: preparing the onions

We used a food processor to chop all of the onions. Even so, my eyes were watering like crazy until I put some bread in my mouth. Although perhaps just an old wives tale, I find it helps. After you combine the chopped onions and salt, you have 4 hours to kill. This long waiting period was an unexpected step for me, and why caning can take up your whole day. 

The oldfashioned way to heat up your empty canning jars is to boil them in a large pot of water. Today, you can use the convenience of your dishwasher. Keep in mind, hot relish needs to be poured into hot jars, so you do need to finesse your timing a bit. My dishwasher takes about an hour to run a full cycle, so we started it up after the onions had been sitting for 3 hours.

Time to Get Active

While we waited on the onions, we measured and prepped the other ingredients. We decided to mince the garlic and used dried tarragon, because that's what I had on hand. When the onions where done, we poured them into a colander placed in my kitchen sink to drain. We then started heating the ingredients for the syrup mixture over medium-low heat.

In a 6- to 8-quart stainless steel pan, combine the vinegar, sugar, tarragon and garlic.

After we let the syrup slowly heat up, we added the drained onions. Helpful hint: all of the pots, pans, and utensils used to make the relish need to be stainless steel or plastic.

Add the drained onions to the syrup, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Ten minutes later and it's time to take the jars out of the dishwasher using canning tongs or oven mitts. To keep your jars from cracking, you need to add the hot relish to hot jars. I found that using a canning funnel made transferring the relish into the pint jars much less messy.

It is important to leave 1/2 inch of headspace when filling the jars. Headspace is the distance between the top of the jar and the top of the food. If too little headspace is left, food may boil up and out of the jar, preventing a seal. If too much headspace is left, the processing time may be inadequate to force out all of the oxygen in the jar, preventing a seal from forming.

Ladle the hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

One jar at a time, use a bubble freer or plastic knife to release any air bubbles. This is an important step for your jars to seal properly. Next, wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel. 

Lids are one time use only, but the metal lid rings can be reused unless they are rusty. (Undamaged jars may be used indefinitely.) Lids must prepared according to the manufacturer's directions. Most kinds need to be brought to a simmer and then left in hot water until use. Using the magnet tool, tongs, or your clean fingers, grab a warm lid and center it on a jar.

Gently screw a lid ring onto the jar just until its fingertip-tight. Gases need to escape the jar during the canning process, so use a light touch with just your fingertips to turn the ring, and when the jar begins to spin on the tea towel, you know it's tight enough.

Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings.

Yes We Can

 Fill your canner (giant enamel pot) with water and place the canning rack inside. I filled my canner so that there were three inches of space left from the rim. Remember that when you add the jars, the displaced water will rise up. Use canning tongs to lift the (hot) filled jars and lower them into the canner, making sure that they are covered by 2 inches of water when the rack is lowered. This recipe as is, only makes four pint jars. That means your canner will not be entirely full. Load empty jars to keep your relish from tipping over during processing.

Starting to load the canner.

Cover the canner and bring the water to a rolling boil. Lower the heat a bit, so the water doesn't boil over but there is still a lot of rolling action. Start your 15 minute timer only after the full rolling boil is reached.

It can take the canner a long time to start boiling, so you can actually start heating the water before you're done cooking the relish. If your canner comes to a boil before you are ready, just turn it down and then return it to a boil when you're ready to fill and begin processing your jars.

When your timer goes off, turn off the burner and remove the lid from the canner.

Let the jars cool in the canner for 5 minutes. The onion relish will still be simmering, and removing them prematurely can cause them to spurt.

After 5 minutes, use the canning tongs to lift the jars straight up out of the canner and set them on a dish-towel-covered counter. There will be a small pool of water on top of each jar. Resist the urge to tip the jars. They have yet to seal and you might spill some of the contents if you tip them. Then you will never get a proper seal!

The process was as hot and steamy as it looks.

As you lift the jars, you may hear the lids popping. This is good! That means they are vacum sealed shut. The jars need to sit out on your counter overnight to cool. The next day you can wipe the jars off with a damp cloth and label them with the contents and date. 

After your jars have cooled, remove the jar rings and press gently on the lid. If it doesn't budge, you have a good seal. If it pops or gives under your finger pressure, refrigerate it and use within a week. If they sealed properly and remain unopened, these jars will last up to 1 year in a cool, dark place. 

I particularly like putting this onion relish on Field Roast Sausages, but its great on sandwiches and burgers too. Yum!

For more information on Boiling Water Bath Canning, check out Virginia Cooperative Extension's website.