Comments for Tangled Branches: Cultivated

Comment on California Dreamin’ by Xeriscapes

Xeriscapes — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:48:57 +0000

I love the use of succulents in the bouquet – very different. Your garden pictures from Northern Virginia have me feeling nostalgic for our time there. These days I’m in Southern California looking for interesting drought tolerant plants.

Comment on Kitchen Garden 2011 by entangled

entangled — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 13:55:44 +0000

Thanks for the motivation! I was kind of burned out on the blog and the garden both, but just needed a jump-start. I’ll try to get something posted soon.

Comment on Kitchen Garden 2011 by Colleen Browning

Colleen Browning — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:41:12 +0000

I’m a Northern Virginia 6b gardener too. I am writing to pursuade you to add to your kitchen garden 2011 page. I am thinking of having a kitchen garden in 2012 and I’m interested in how yours developed.

Comment on Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello by John Humphrey

John Humphrey — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:27:40 +0000

I have replied to your Email regarding subject line potato onions I have tried to find more info on the subject but there is very little available.

I hope you have success with your other varieties and of course when my onions have multiplied more I may be able to send some in return. I am going to see if any of them do set seed but this may have to be next year as I have limited stocks of all these save one where I have fifty bulbs planted. This was one called a potato onion from Tennessee but is so unlike the ones listed by other suppliers it can be seen on E bay but is being supplied by someone in England and is a whitish colour. Many thanks for your generous offer with your limited stocks

Comment on Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello by entangled

entangled — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:28:49 +0000

Thanks again for pointing me to some interesting information – I just checked out Bega: Alliums webpage describing the difference between potato onions and shallots. Next spring I’m going to examine the way they sprout to see if I can spot the difference.

I sent you an email with the subject line “Potato Onions”, but since then I have good news and bad news. I’ve been looking at my cache of potato onions, which has been in storage in our garage all summer and fall. We ate a few when I harvested them, a few more started to go soft and were discarded, and now I’m down to exactly 13 bulbs of various sizes. So….I’m still willing to share, but the quantity will be small. That’s the bad news. The good news is that I’ve decided to order a few more types from sellers here in the US and see what I get. Maybe next fall I’ll have more to share. More good news, maybe, is that although my onioins were described as “yellow” by the seller (Southern Exposure Seed Exchange), they’re really more of a pale purple with amber skins. Almost red?

Comment on Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello by John Humphrey

John Humphrey — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:28:52 +0000

Thank you for the info on the seller in England offering potato onions but I am sure that what he is offering are similar to my multipliers and are in fact shallots. I would not want to spend that much money buying five bulbs as potato onions when I could buy a hundred and twenty shallots for the same price.
I have found the whole subject very confusing but from your photo of your potato onions. I think they may be the true potato onions.
There is so little information on a definitive description that anybody can call a shallot an onion and then charge very high amounts saying they are a rarity. Some sellers say they are bigger than a shallot, some say smaller.
The only description I have come across that says there is a difference between potato onions and Shallots was from “Bega Alliums” and their description fits your onions.
Sorry if I have started you off on this subject but I have found the whole thing very intriguing and have at times thought there was no such thing as a potato onion.
Incidentally the I’itoi onion from some of the photos I have seen appears to set seed and as multiplier onions and shallots are said to be sterile could be useful in breeding new varieties.
Good luck with growing the red Asian shallots and I might try to seek out these myself next time I go to London where there are many of these shops selling oriental herbs Etc. It looks to me like your going to end up with a collection of multiplier onions as well.
There is someone out there blissfully growing the real red potato onion without knowing the rarity that He/She has
I must start planting other vegetables or all I will have to eat are going to be onions and I am not going to start researching them.

Comment on Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello by entangled

entangled — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:39:05 +0000

Now you've got me going on this topic, John. I don't have a lot of experience growing these onions but I appreciate the history behind them, so I looked up the I'itoi onion. I knew of Gary Paul Nabhan, but wasn't aware that he was the one who rescued the I'itoi onion (well actually I wasn't even aware of the I'itoi onion/shallot). I've been wondering if the Asian red shallot commonly used in Thai cooking is similar to the red potato onion you're seeking. Although it's usually called a shallot, it seems to have the same round shape as a large unsplit potato onion. I may try to plant some from the Asian supermarket and see what I get. For what it's worth, I was browsing the Seed Savers Exchange forums this evening and found a thread about red potato onions that pointed me to eBay where I discovered a listing from a seller in England offering red potato onions.

Comment on Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello by John Humphrey

John Humphrey — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:27:40 +0000

hi entangled
I do believe there are restrictions on sending out plant material from your Country but it seems to differ form state to state as I have ordered a couple of varieties of heritage onions one of which is now planted in my garden. and another on its way to me.
I have been putting together a small collection of onion varieties and have nine multiplier varieties obtained from Garden Organic in England. Two varieties of everlasting onions one of which is the so called welsh onion that do not form bulbs. I have three varieties of the Egyptian or walking onions and the ones which have or are being shipped from the US.
Now I will give you the reason why this has developed into a collection. Many years ago my mother grew an everlasting onion variety and after she had died after a long illness I thought as she was such an avid gardener I would try to maintain her onions in a way to remember her by. Unfortunately her garden had long overgrown and they had died out. Six months ago or so I decided to try to find these by use of the internet. By entering various versions of onions I have ended up where I am now with a collection of heritage onions nearly all of which are quite rare. One which is on its way to me is called I’itoi purple onion form Tucson AZ which is a multiplier onion that may pre-date the development of the shallot. This may have been given to the native american people by Jesuit priests in the 1700 th Century and the last remaining clump cultivated by just one person before it was saved. I believe that this onion is used to the dry conditions where it is grown so to maintain it I intend to hill this up when I plant it to ensure its survival in my garden Using the the method I described to you. I will however make sure that I have small trench below soil level so run off water will not ruin these bulbs. This onion will take pride of place amongst my collection but it will be difficult to grow as it is intolerant of wet conditions. I have found it very difficult to ascertain what is the true potato onion will the I’itoi onion now become a potato onion for me as it is not where it is currently grown as the conditions there mean it does not need any special treatment. I assume that it probably originated from Spain as they had an influence in that area of the US I think. My reason for purchasing bulbs from America is that my Multiplier onions may in fact be old shallot varieties and without having material to compare I will never know. Maybe the west was not won by the colt 45 but by sustainable crops that allowed the early settlers to survive in those early days. There is a wealth of history behind the different peoples and different crops that made your country what it is today. How sad it is that with modern farming methods and modern crops many of these old varieties are no longer in existence.
“There is a book that needs writing by someone to trace those origins for posterity” and save these as a vital part of the heritage of America.
I must go now as my wife thinks I am quite mad and I do not want to be the first person in history to be cited in a divorce court as an onion as the third party
thanks John

Comment on Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello by entangled

entangled — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:29:48 +0000

Thanks for the info, John. That’s the most convincing explanation for the term “potato onion” I’ve heard. I think Kalmia Farm is out of business, but some of their stock may have found its way to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, from where I got my potato onions. I suspect these types of onions fell out of favor because they’re smaller than the big seed-grown onions we’re now accustomed to, but I think they generally have better flavor than the seed-grown onions.

I’m not sure what regulations there are for international shipments of plant material, but I’ll see what I can do.

Comment on Roasted Okra with Chimayo Pepper by entangled

entangled — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:56:09 +0000

I’m drying all the Chimayo peppers, but so far haven’t used them much. Besides sprinkling it on roasted okra, I made a pretty good (if I do say so myself) chili powder for the first batch of chili this year. We’ve been out of town – still trying to catch up.