Garlic, Onions, and Leeks... Oh my! =]

Todays research is on bulb-y things! Mainly onions and garlic but also chives(yes I know chives are onions too) and leeks...

Garlic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic
Apparently planting time for Garlic is October but from what I understand these can grow all year when other things can't and they can grow for years... So maybe if I started some when I start my garden I can leave them to grow for the next year.... I may have to experiment with this.. =]

This is my friend Sandra Merrill's garlic from last year! I think it is so pretty!

 I believe these one are Sandra's shoots of this year...

 Thank You for letting me post these!


Onions
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion
Onions I am told are good to plant in early spring like now and you wait till the tops wither to dig them up and cut off any flowers so the bulb gets big unless you want some for seeds...

"It was Elizabeth Robbins Pennell, American columnist who said “Banish it (the onion) from the kitchen and the pleasure flies with it. Its presence lends color and enchantment to the most modest dish; its absence reduces the rarest delicacy to hopeless insipidity, and dinner to despair.” This is the sentiment many gardeners have regarding onions. So easy to grow, yet really good onions are so very elusive for so many. Find out more about growing onions here:

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=286016284808467 " -Onlyone Hillbilly Gardener

Thank you Onlyone for the gobs and gobs of good info!!!

 "Onions (Allium cepa) belong to the lily family, the same family as garlic, leeks, chives, scallions and shallots."  - vegetarian nutrition info

I got this link from Pam Wood Kimsey.. Thank you!
She did warn me to overlook the chemical fertilizer stuff and I will in fact be ignoring it!!! I want to try to stay away from as many chemicals as I can!
This link has some interesting info on picking onions to grow for where you live.
http://www.dixondalefarms.com/

This is OnlyOne Hillbilly Gardener's Note on storing onions...
Harvesting and Storing Onions
 
This inscrutables about growing onions from the roots leftover is really cool...!
Grow Onions from Discarded Bottoms!

I found some red onions I want am curious about on etsy..
heirloom long red florence onion seeds
rare organic heirlooom red onion of florence
organic tropea red onion seeds
I also found a giant onion...
organic giant onion seeds
I wonder if this is genetically modified... =\

Onion Recipe's -
German Onion Cake
French Onion Soup

My holiday cheese log is full of green onions...
It's sort of a as you like it sort of thing...
Two bags of different or mixed shredded cheese
1-2 big bunches of green onions
1-2 packages of cream cheese grated
1-2 small cans minced olives or 1 can olives chopped
Couple of tablespoons mayo
Mix and put into loaf pan lined with plastic wrap
Chill at least for an hour and then serve  


Leeks
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeks

 "To plant your leaks, dig in a good dose of 10-10-10 fertilizer and compost where you want to grow them. Leaks, like onions are heavy feeders. Dig a trench 6-8 deep and plant your leaks in the bottom of the trench. As they grow, continue to pull soil up around the stalk to blanch it until you have a slightly raised ridge. Keep them consistently moist, as they like constant moisture. At 4-6 weeks, give them a side-dressing of more fertilizer. High nitrogen is fine for the first application, but cut back on the nitrogen after that and provide more phosphorous and potash for bulb growth. Bulb fertilizer works very well for all of the alliums." -Onlyone Hillbilly Gardener

I love leeks in potato and ham soup and caramelized with white fish like my mom makes it... This is how my mom cleans them... Pictures from the instuctables site.
Clean Leeks

here are some pages from a book that My friend Jennifer Lawrence sent me while we were talking about it! Thank you! Very helpful!

Recipe:
Well, my ham, potato, leek soup is kinda one of those I kinda don't measure anything but it turns out good every time... I kinda go with what I feel in the mood for with how much of stuff... I always used my moms big stock pt but didn't always fill it up when making this like I did with my chowders. I start with 3-5 leeks depending on size and clean and chop them the way mom taught me... I also mince up 1-2 big carrot and finely chop 2-4 Stalks celery. I heat up butter in the stock pot and cook these veggies till the leeks look sort of golden and are kinda mushy then I add a good deal of bite sized potato chucks then I add chicken broth to cover the veggies or water and 1-2 chicken bullion cubes, plus this is where I add a bunch of dried dill. I bring it to a boil for a few minutes and then simmer till the potatoes are cooked and then I add small chucks of cooked ham and Rice flour and Heavy whipping cream and occasionally salt and pepper but generally doesn't need it with all the flavors going on.. It's a pretty rich soup and I usually only make it once a year...


Chives
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chives
I fondly remember pots of chives at my Gramma Doe's on the deck... I love the bloom seeds thingies.... SO pretty! I was told you can basically just toss these seeds and they will grow...

Here are some seeds for them I found on Etsy... Oh! I bet Wendy has all this stuff in here shop!!! I am so going to have to go look!!! <3
organic chives seeds

info-  An herb which resembles hollow blades of grass, and the smallest member of the onion family. Chives have a mild onion flavor. Their distinctive smell and taste is derived from a volatile oil, rich in sulphur and common to the onion family, but milder and more subtle in chives. Referred to only in the plural, because they grow in clumps rather than alone.

Read more: food.com library entry for chives

Chive Plant Care Guide
Chive Storage

Recipes:
Food Network Chives Section
Green Goddess Dip
Summer Cucumber Salad

  
Fun and Odd Facts and Myths -found this at
http://whatscookingamerica.net/onion.htm

-To keep your automobile windshield from frosting at night, slice an onion and rub the windshield with the onion. The juice will keep it frost-free.

  -To select your husband-to-be from among suitors, it is said that if the name of each suitor is written on an onion and then placed in a cool dark storeroom, the first onion that sprouts will be the man she should marry!

     - Some onions are supposed to be so sweet that you can eat them like apples. 

           Such as: 

Vidalia from Georgia

Walla Walla from Washington

Maui from Hawaii

Imperial from California

Carzalia from New Mexico

The Texas Spring or Supersweet from Texas

OSO Sweets from Chile, South America

-To cure baldness, rub head with the onion or garlic. The onion juice was supposed to cause hair to grow "thick as thistles." Note: You may have to sleep alone, but at least you'll have hair!

Surprising Treatment
  Looks like this last one may really be true...  ^
Apparently it stimulates blood flow and growth, nourishes hair follicles being blocked by chemicals and bad diet and deters germs, fungi and virus's...



...and that's everything I have found on the bulb-y things!