Lecture by Alan Chadwick in New Market, Virginia, 1979
Lecture 20.5, Plant Study: The Alliums, The Onion Family, Part 3
An Introduction to Alan Chadwick's Lectures and a Glossary of Terms
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Contents of this Segment:
More on the differences between the shalott and the onion. The uses as a companion plant. Do not plant over-deep, but close together. Bend the tops by June or so. Hang up in a net in a cool, dry place after leaving in the sun to dry for a few days outside. The Chive is a perennial. Grows better when cropped. Avoid allowing to blossom if solely used in the kitchen, but the flower is charming. Lift and divide the clumps every year. Sage and chive is a wonderful combination of flavors. Easy to grow, but sometimes hard to germinate. Chive makes lovely edgings around the garden beds. The Welsh Onion is a perennial, almost like a tree. Propagation methods. All alliums prefer a firm, compact soil, but a surface mulch can aleviate this. Garlic is propagated by the exterior bublets, as with the shalott. Elephant garlic is far less flavorful than the classic garlic. Plant in the fall. Bend the tops down so that they do not run to blossom. Questions and answers: Walnut oil to avoid the tears caused by onions. Also pumkin seeds can be used for that purpose. Consideration of other locations for gardening projects due to problems at Virginia. (22:00)