Shortest day gone .......sow seeds..

Share your growing tips
AE-NMidlands
Posts: 2132
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:10 pm

Re: Shortest day gone .......sow seeds..

#11

Post by AE-NMidlands »

I think we have grown them in the past but the yield was so low that it wasn't worth the bother.

Lawrence Hills said that in Elizabethan times onions were the best storable source of vitamin C for seafarers, so we always use a lot in our cooking. Hence our reliance on sets, plus a few seed varieties for fun. We have even given up on shallots and garlic for similar reasons: low yield, (garlic anyway) and always available in the shops.

An unusual recipe nowadays is poached /simmered whole onion. An elderly neighbour introduced us to it - said it helped reduce his cholesterol level... I don't care about that, but it makes a very nice vegetable and gives useful stock.
Haggis in a real skin simmered gently with onions and carrots is one of my favourites too... I would think it would go well at an up-market restaurant: Haggis served in a scooped-out boiled onion. You read it here first...
A
2.0 kW/4.62 MWh pa in Ripples, 4.5 kWp W-facing pv, 9.5 kWh batt
30 solar thermal tubes, 2MWh pa in Stockport, plus Congleton and Kinlochbervie Hydros,
Most travel by bike, walking or bus/train. Veg, fruit - and Bees!
Moxi
Posts: 2471
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2021 3:46 pm

Re: Shortest day gone .......sow seeds..

#12

Post by Moxi »

My wife hails from Herefordshire and when we are in the area we generally pop in to one or other pub for a meal and they invariably serve whole baked / poached onion and they are delicious.

I will see how I get on with the Egyptian onions they are reportedly more like shallots and prone to be tough unless cooked well but have - as many perennial veg- a full flavour. Their rambling nature will suit my veg patch too and our local climate hopefully.

Moxi
AE-NMidlands
Posts: 2132
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:10 pm

Re: Shortest day gone .......sow seeds..

#13

Post by AE-NMidlands »

Heads up: good value seeds in Lidl now. 25p or 5 packets of basics for £1 (I think). We bought Dill, cucumber (Gherkins,) flat-leaf parsley, a different lettuce and some nasturtiums.
A
2.0 kW/4.62 MWh pa in Ripples, 4.5 kWp W-facing pv, 9.5 kWh batt
30 solar thermal tubes, 2MWh pa in Stockport, plus Congleton and Kinlochbervie Hydros,
Most travel by bike, walking or bus/train. Veg, fruit - and Bees!
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