And So It Begins...Onions and Leeks

Not 2011, that's old news, but however strange it might seem with a fairly deep coating of snow in the yard, the Gardening Season is upon us. I've been indulging in "Seed Porn" since early December, when the Pinetree Gardens catalog, traditionally the first of the year, showed up in our mailbox. Now it's time to determine what seeds we're going to buy from which seed houses, my favorite shopping quandary of the year.

I've never ordered from the big, glossy, Jung Catalog--mostly because it reminded me of the cheap and cheesy catalogs put out by dubious Gurney's/ Henry Field's/ Ferry Morse/ Michigan Bulb/ Springhill Nursery/ Scarlet Tanager LLC. retailing cabal. An unfair connection, however subconscious . So, when my father-in-law decided he wanted onion starts from Jung I put off my initial reservations (not to mention my pride, since I've been growing my own starts from seeds for years) and added some seed packets, you know, just to "make it worth the price of shipping."

"Making it worth the price of shipping" has been, for as long as I've been gardening, the excuse to buy far more seed than I need, from a wider variety of merchants than is really necessary. It's a spiral of irresponsibility, and I can't help myself. I have a Seed Problem. I know it. I hear the whispers. I see the zip lock bags in the top drawer of the refrigerator, filled with half packets of a dozen different tomato varieties, and I don't care.

I'm starting "Ailsa Craig Exhibition" and "Copra" onions from seed--the same that I grew last year. The former, an heirloom variety from Scotland that dates back to the 1800's, has become my favorite onion, sweet but not overly so, averaging about 2lbs. It is tremendous fresh. We plant them somewhat densely and eat from the bed as soon as the bulbs start to fill out, leaving space for the rest to grow huge. I have seem descriptions that say Ailsa Craig stores well, but that has not been our experience. We count on ours going soft--and sprouting leaves--by Christmas, at the latest. That's when Copra kicks in--a medium onion, ours average around 5oz., I'd estimate--and rock hard. It's not an heirloom, but we were looking for an onion that will get us as close to summer as possible, to minimize that unfortunate window between running out of last year's stored onions and this year's harvest. So far, so good on the Copra. I'm pleased to report that the flavor is better than expected, as well. I had assumed an onion touted to store for up to nine months would have all the subtlety of a hand grenade.

My father in law is buying plants of a variety called "Red Zeppelin"--they look to be large (4"), red onions with good flavor and medium storage quality. The pictures look beautiful, almost purple, but the name alone makes it worth trying. I'll report back.

Keeping it in the allium family, Leeks are our next concern. Last year I fell ass over teacups for Blue Solaise. I was victimized by a windstorm that blew over my mini-greenhouse last year, and bought starts from Mildred's Daughters Urban Farm. They were real life-savers, since Leek starts in general are not particularly easy to find, and these French heirlooms are somewhat obscure. Usually, if one find leek starts they're of the Lancelot, Lincoln, or King Richard. Nothing wrong with those, but I like these. Supposedly, Blue Solaise can hold through even a hard winter, but I can't say for sure. I ate them already. We've got some Lincoln in the deep freeze, but it's not the same. I'll leave some to overwinter this year. I get my leek seed--and most of my vegetable seed, from independent Fedco Seeds.