“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
– Numbers (11:5-6)
Onions and their relatives have played an important role throughout history. Even after escaping the bonds of slavery, the Israelites threatened Moses with mutiny and longed to return to their slave masters if it meant once again having foods such as leeks, onions, and garlic.
“I will not move my army without onions!”
– General Ulysses S. Grant
General Grant, one of the most influential generals in the Civil War, knew that without onions, his army was going to be less than cooperative.
Whenever there’s a break in the rain, my neighbors and I are out working in our yards. It’s time for planting two of my favorites: onions and leaks. They are easy to grow, attract hummingbirds, and add flavor to my kitchen all year round.
I find that the two most important considerations in choosing onions are whether they are good keepers or not – and how hot or sweet they are.
You can eat some onions right out of the hand, but others will knock you off your feet. The Washington Walla Walla and the Vidalia are the former – so sweet you can eat them raw like an apple. The problem is that they are not good keepers; they will spoil very quickly.
The Spanish Sweet and the Rip Van Winkle are known as keepers. The aptly named Rip Van Winkle is a long-storage onion that will keep for weeks without seeming to lose any flavor.
“Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time; And sometimes you weep.”
– Carl Sandburg, American poet
If you want to be sure to get the sweet ones in life, just look for the flat onions in any bin. The shorter the distance from top to bottom (sort of a flattened globe effect), the sweeter the onion, no matter what the color.
In growing your own, it is important to check on whether you are planting the right ones for your region: long-day onions, which need 13 to 16 hours of daylight, do best in the north; short-day onions do best in the south. Day-neutral ones grow well anywhere.
“It was for bringing the cook tulip-roots instead of onions.”
– The reason the Queen of Hearts wants to behead the Seven-of-Spades in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
This week lilies are all around us in preparation for Easter, and guess what? Lily bulbs are part of the onion family.
“It’s toughest to forgive ourselves. So it’s probably best to start with other people. It’s almost like peeling an onion. Layer by layer, forgiving others, you really do get to the point where you can forgive yourself.”
– Patty Duke
During the Winter, when the leaves dry up, all the sap in the plant goes back down to the root to protect the plant from freezing. The plant looks dead, but it will make a comeback.
In this Easter week with its theme of renewal and rebirth, you can take the leeks you buy in the store and cut off the bottom inch or two which still has roots on it.
Stick that bottom inch into a hole in the ground and water it once in a while. Whole new leek plants will grow from that little segment of roots.
Sometimes something very special occurs. Little miniature plants sprout on the main stem instead of seeds. Dozens of these form, and if you cut them off and plant them, each one will grow into a full-size leek plant. You can have leeks forever without buying another plant.
