Onions. They get a bad rep for being too pungent and causing tears, but even an amateur chef knows that onions are a kitchen necessity. Minced, diced, chopped, sliced, or whole, these versatile bulbs are roasted, boiled, sautéed, grilled, caramelized, or used raw in just about any recipe you can think of. And, they are one of the first crops we tend to as we prepare for spring on the farm.
Next week we will begin seeding the thousands of onion seeds that we need for our bunching, bulb, and storage onions in 2014. This is an arduous process, as we hand seed all of our crops and the onion seeds are particularly small. We plant them on a grid, making sure that every seed has the optimum soil, moisture and light that it needs to be a healthy seedling, thereby giving it the best opportunity to grow into a healthy plant that can resist drought, pests, and disease.
Once the onions sprout, we wait for them to grow to 5-6 inches, and then give them “haircuts” to encourage the onions to “bulb out,” or force their growing energy into making large, strong bulbs. After two or three haircuts, we place the trays of baby onions outside on the cold frame, covered with plastic sheeting and row cover, and harden them off before planting them in the fields, one by one.
It is a labor of love, and one that is well worth the effort, as there is nothing so gratifying as pulling a gorgeous spring onion out of the ground and tasting that fresh, sweet flavor that signifies summer.
There are still Summer CSA shares available for 2014 – sign up online or email CSA Manager Lana at [email protected] with questions!