What
a beautiful early morning it was ! Ethereal mist rolling all over...
and to add to it, a lovely bout of work in the garden . And
then the best part, a bumper harvest of Ullagaddi/Onion and
Ballolli/Garlic soppu/greens and some Arishina/Turmeric !!!
Spring onion growing in 8" earthen pots. I have sown bush beans alongside in these pots.
More spring onion with bush beans in similar pots. The bush beans have just germinated a couple of days back. When they grow a bit bigger, I will take out a few onions and plant them elsewhere...
I have onions growing in my potato pots too...
These onions are growing in small square plastic containers that get fixed to a mesh. In this case, it is the mesh of my ground patch. I have planted four onions (Closely) in each container...
And here it is, the front mesh to my ground garden studded with hongone/alternanthera greens and spring onions...
Garlic growing in an individual 8" plastic pot. I have planted five whole garlic pods in this pot.
This is the kind of growth I saw in ten days...
Well folks, I couldn't resist the temptation and I ended up counting the leaves...
And guess how many ?
426 Spring onion leaves and 202 Garlic leeks !! :P :D
The
counting mostly happens because I snip the leaves one at a time, so as
not to damage the young tender leaves growing in the centre... and as I
am snip them, I subconsciously count in my mind. But this time, I
decided to consciously count them... :)
A quick peek at my very simple method of growing onions and garlic for greens...
I have planted onions and garlic as companions with many of my bigger vegetable plants. They help act as pest repellants. And I have also grown them individually in pots and containers, to place them in between my other vegetable plants. They do a great job of repelling pests and the bonus, you get some yummy, aromatic greens to add to your dishes. Growing onions and garlic for their greens is literally childs play ! You just have to find onions and garlic that show signs of sprouting (Teeny weeny green tips peeking out) and plant them (While onions and garlic pods) in the soil only half way (Mum doesn't even plant them. She just keeps them and they spring roots and shoots). If you are growing them independently, a regular potting mix of soil and compost in equal quantities will do, because both onions and garlic are pretty hardy and will grow well in any soil. Water sparing, not too much (They may get rotten). Within a few days, you will find them sending out numerous wispy roots into the soil and the teeny weeny green shoots will begin shooting skywards at a pace of their own.
You can have multiple harvest from these onions and garlic. As the greens grow, you can keep harvesting the more mature leaves and allow the inner young leaves to grow. Keep repeating this process. And in a couple of months time, either your onions and garlic will bolt (Begin to throw out central stems and bear flowers) or they may dry out/rot in the pot/ground itself. (But remember, this method will not fetch you more onions or garlic in the ground. Growing them like this, is only for the greens.If you want to grow onion bulbs, you need to sow seeds or alternately, you can plant the small sambar onions. They will produce more small onions alongside. To grow garlic pods/bulbs, you need to sow individual garlic cloves.) If they flower, you are in for a double whammy ! You get to savour the delicate beauty of the pretty pretty flowers and plus if you wait patiently, you can harvest onion and garlic seeds of your own !! Yipeeeee, isn't that great !?! And doesn't growing onion and garlic for greens sound so easy-peasy...?
I find onion and garlic greens very versatile and use them in a variety of dishes like, fried rice, omelets, daals, subzis, rolls, fresh salads, raitas, dips, chutneys and in many other innovative ways. I try my best not to cook them through, but add them to a dish at the end. I simply love the fresh aroma and zingy flavour they add to dishes.
A quick peek at my very simple method of growing onions and garlic for greens...
I have planted onions and garlic as companions with many of my bigger vegetable plants. They help act as pest repellants. And I have also grown them individually in pots and containers, to place them in between my other vegetable plants. They do a great job of repelling pests and the bonus, you get some yummy, aromatic greens to add to your dishes. Growing onions and garlic for their greens is literally childs play ! You just have to find onions and garlic that show signs of sprouting (Teeny weeny green tips peeking out) and plant them (While onions and garlic pods) in the soil only half way (Mum doesn't even plant them. She just keeps them and they spring roots and shoots). If you are growing them independently, a regular potting mix of soil and compost in equal quantities will do, because both onions and garlic are pretty hardy and will grow well in any soil. Water sparing, not too much (They may get rotten). Within a few days, you will find them sending out numerous wispy roots into the soil and the teeny weeny green shoots will begin shooting skywards at a pace of their own.
You can have multiple harvest from these onions and garlic. As the greens grow, you can keep harvesting the more mature leaves and allow the inner young leaves to grow. Keep repeating this process. And in a couple of months time, either your onions and garlic will bolt (Begin to throw out central stems and bear flowers) or they may dry out/rot in the pot/ground itself. (But remember, this method will not fetch you more onions or garlic in the ground. Growing them like this, is only for the greens.If you want to grow onion bulbs, you need to sow seeds or alternately, you can plant the small sambar onions. They will produce more small onions alongside. To grow garlic pods/bulbs, you need to sow individual garlic cloves.) If they flower, you are in for a double whammy ! You get to savour the delicate beauty of the pretty pretty flowers and plus if you wait patiently, you can harvest onion and garlic seeds of your own !! Yipeeeee, isn't that great !?! And doesn't growing onion and garlic for greens sound so easy-peasy...?
I find onion and garlic greens very versatile and use them in a variety of dishes like, fried rice, omelets, daals, subzis, rolls, fresh salads, raitas, dips, chutneys and in many other innovative ways. I try my best not to cook them through, but add them to a dish at the end. I simply love the fresh aroma and zingy flavour they add to dishes.
These onions are growing in small square plastic containers that get fixed to a mesh. In this case, it is the mesh of my ground patch. I have planted four onions (Closely) in each container... 
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