Alliums Year-Round.pdf

Alliums
Year-Round
Alliums Year-Round
©Pam Dawling 2023
Author of Sustainable Market
Farming and
The Year-Round Hoophouse
SustainableMarketFarming.com
facebook.com/SustainableMarketFarming

I live and farm at Twin Oaks Community, in
central Virginia. We’re in US Winter hardiness zone 7a,
with an average last frost April 30 and average first frost
October 14.
Our goal is to feed
our intentional
community of 100
people with a wide
variety of organic
produce year round.
www.twinoaks.org

Land Acknowledgement
I live and work on the ancestral and traditional
territory of the Monacan Nation, who lived in what is
now Louisa County and other parts of Central Virginia
before white settlement in the 1700s. Land
Acknowledgement is a way to counter obliteration of
Indigenous history.

1. Crop requirements, Growing conditions for alliums
2. Day-length sensitivity, latitude info, growth stages
3. Cold-hardiness
4. Seeds and vegetative reproduction
5. Allium types: bulb onions, scallions, garlic, elephant
garlic, leeks, multiplier onions, other perennials
6. Year-Round Onion Flavors
7. Growing alliums, weed management, mulches
8. Pests and diseases
9. Harvest, curing and storage
10.Planting for year-round alliums
11.Resources
What’s in this presentation

1. Crop Requirements,
Growing Conditions for Alliums
• Alliums are cool-season plants.
• Because the tubular or strap-like leaves do not provide
much soil cover, alliums are sensitive to weeds. Stale
seedbeds, mulch, cultivation, flaming?
• Adequate irrigation
• Avoiding diseases
• Protection from pests
• Gentle harvesting
• Good curing conditions
• Appropriate storage conditions
Onion bed. Kathryn Simmons

2. Allium Growth Stages
Onions and garlic are biennial crops grown as annuals. They have three distinct phases
of growth — vegetative, bulbing and blooming (bolting) The switch from one phase to
the next is triggered by environmental factors. It does not work to plant onions or
garlic at a random date in the year. Leeks are not daylight sensitive.
1. Vegetative growth (roots and leaves). For large onion bulbs it is important to
produce large healthy plants before the vegetative stage gives way to the bulbing
stage. If plants are small when bulbing starts, only small bulbs are possible. Cool, but
not cold, weather and adequate irrigation encourage heavy leaf growth.
2. Bulbing is initiated when the daylight reaches the number of hours critical for that
variety. Temperature and light intensity are also triggers. It takes a daily average
temperature of 60°F -70°F (15.5°C- 21°C), to trigger bulbing (depending on the variety).
The rate of bulbing is more rapid with high light intensity and increased temperature.
The optimum temperature for rapid bulb development is 75°F–85°F (24°C–29°C).
3. Flowering (bolting). Onions go dormant when they experience an extended period
of cool temperatures, such as a spring cold snap. After this, smaller seedlings with a
diameter less than pencil thickness (⅜" or 1 cm) and fewer than six leaves will resume
growth and not usually bolt (bloom). Bolting is to be avoided because the flower stems
are tough and inedible, and the bulbs start to disappear to feed the growing flower
stems. Bolted onions will not dry down to have tight necks and so will not store.

2.Day-length Sensitivity and Latitude
Choose onion varieties suited to your latitude (distance
from the equator), because onions are daylength sensitive.
The further north you are, the more hours of daylight you
have in summer. Varieties are classified according to the
daylight length at which they start forming bulbs (assuming
suitable temperatures):
• Long-day varieties, 14-16 hours of daylight, latitudes of
38-60°
• Intermediate day varieties, 12-14 hours, latitudes of 32-
45°
• Short-day varieties, 10-12 hours, latitudes of less than 36°
• There are also a few genuinely day-neutral varieties.
• Here, (38°N) our summer solstice has 14 hours 46 minutes
of daylight. We reach 14 hours on May 6, 6 weeks earlier.
A few varieties of long-day onions can grow here, but
those requiring 15 or 16 hours of daylight will never bulb.

2. Long-Day Onions
• Long-day onions start bulbing at 14-16 hours
of daylight, with temperatures of 60°F–70°F
(15.5°C–21°C).
• In warmer long-day areas, the temperature
trigger may be reached before the day-
length trigger, so bulbing starts as soon as
the days are long enough, and finishes in the
summer.
• In cooler northern regions, the day-length
trigger is reached before the temperature
trigger. Onions bulb during the summer, once
it is warm enough, and are harvested in the
fall.
• South of their ideal growing region, long
enough days don’t happen until much closer
to the summer solstice. Long-day onions
then start bulbing, and are exposed to hot
conditions as they mature. Soils dry out fast,
and if irrigation is insufficient, growth will be
stunted. The bulbs may get sun-scald in July
as they mature. Kathryn Simmons

2. Short-Day Onions
• Short-Day onions start to bulb at 10–12 hours of daylight, provided
the temperatures are warm enough.
• In the South, below 35° N, they are sown in September or October,
grown through the winter, and are harvested in May.
• If short-day onions are started in spring too far north (where it is too
cold to overwinter them) they will bulb before much leaf growth has
occurred, and so the bulbs will be small.
• At our latitude (38°N) bulbing initiation for short-day onions gets
delayed beyond the day-length trigger, until temperatures are higher
than 60°F–70°F (15.5°C–21°C), which is early April. It’s a waste of time
to sow short-day onions here in spring, as they have an impossibly
brief time (January to early April) to grow a decent-sized plant before
bulbing starts.
• One way to work around this is to start short-day onion seedlings in
the late fall/early winter, let them make some vegetative growth, and
keep them alive indoors over the winter, to continue growth in the
spring.

2. Avoiding Bolting Onions
The trigger for the transition from bulbing to flowering (bolt-
ing) is temperatures below 50°F (10°C) for 3-4 weeks, after the
plants have six leaves or more (pencil size). Especially when rapid
growth is followed by a long cold spell in spring before you plant them
out. The chilling effect appears to be cumulative over time. To avoid
bolting it’s important your seedlings don’t get too big too early in the
winter. Give them extra protection in cold spells. Daylength does not
affect bolting.
To succeed with bulbing onions, we produce transplants the thickness of
thin pencils (⅜" or 1 cm) on March 1, our earliest possible date for
planting outdoors. This gives the plants time to grow large before
bulbing is triggered. Starting from seed in January didn’t give us time to
grow big vegetative plants, therefore not big bulbs either. Starting plants
in the fall and keeping them in coldframes or outdoors under rowcover
gave us too much winter-kill. Using our hoophouse to keep little onions
alive over the winter was the answer.

2. Growth Stages of Garlic
Garlic bulb initiation (and the end of leaf growth) is triggered by
daylight increasing above 13 hours in length (April 10 here at 38°N). Soil
temperatures over 60°F (15.5°C) and air temperatures above 68°F
(20°C) are secondary triggers.
Garlic scapes: Scapes are the hard central flower stems of hardneck
garlic. Removing the scapes can increase the bulb size 25%.
What triggers garlic scapes? In general, plant flowering is triggered by
some combination of enough vernalization (chilling hours – maybe 10
weeks below 40°F/4.5°C), plant maturity, daylength and temperature .
In cold weather the plants suppress the flowering signal. When the
daylength and the temperature are both right, they trigger flowering.
Fattening up: Garlic can double in size in its last month of growth.
Drying down: Hot weather above 91°F (33°C) ends bulb growth and
starts the drying down process.

3. Cold-Hardiness of Alliums
Alliums are more cold-tolerant than most people believe. Here are my
observations of killing temperatures for outdoor crops. Crops often survive
night-time lows in the hoophouse that would have killed them outdoors.
• 20°F (–7°C): the coldest that onion seedlings can survive. We have tried
overwintering onions outdoors, but even with rowcover, we lost too many.
• 12°F (−11°C): garlic tops if fairly large, most fall or summer varieties of leeks
(Lincoln, King Richard), large tops of potato onions
• 10°F (−12°C) some leeks (American Flag aka Musselburgh and Scottish Flag)
• 5°F (−15°C): garlic tops if still small, some leeks (Bulgarian Giant, Laura,
Tadorna, Bandit), some bulb onions, potato onions and other multiplier onions
• 0°F (−18°C): chives, garlic, a few leeks (Alaska, Durabel); some bulb onions,
yellow potato onions, some onion scallions (Evergreen Hardy White, White
Lisbon), Walla Walla onions sown in late summer (with rowcover for winter)
Walla Walla
onions in July

4. Seeds and Vegetative Reproduction
Some alliums are usually grown from seeds:
bulb onions, onion scallions, leeks, mini-onions
(cippolini), ramps.
Some can be grown from seeds, and then you
can establish a planting to divide and replant:
shallots, ramps, Japanese bunching onions,
Welsh onions.
Others are generally grown by planting a
vegetative part (bulb, clove, bulbil or divided
plants): garlic, garlic scallions, elephant garlic,
potato onions, perennial leeks, Egyptian topset
onions, most of the unusual perennial alliums.
Also bulb onions from sets.
In this presentation, I’ll first describe the allium
types, then consider harvesting and end with
planting details
Potato onions, grown from small bulbs. Raddysh Acorn

5. Allium Types – Bulb Onions
Varieties come and go.
• Hard storing long-day onions cannot be grown in the south.
• At 38°N, some that worked well for 6 month storage for us: Gunnison
(Osborne), Frontier (Johnny’s, Osborne), Patterson (Johnny’s, 38°–55°
latitude) Australian Brown (Southern Exposure Seed Exchange,
Intermediate to Long-Day type, shown above) is one that sounds
good, but I have not tried it.
• We had only 50% success with Red Wethersfield (Baker Creek) and
Cabernet (Osborne). Red Long of Florence, Red Long of Tropea and
Rossa di Milano didn’t store well for us.
• Some non-storing good ones for us include Ailsa Craig (Johnny’s,
Osborne, OP aka Exhibition 33°–40°), Walla Walla (Johnny’s, Osborne
35°–55°), Bridger (Johnny’s, 35°–50°), Expression (Johnny’s, 32°-45 °).
• White onions can get sun-scald, if grown to maturity in a hot place,
such as a hoophouse.
• See Johnny’s Full Size Onion Comparison Chart

5. Allium Types – Bulb Onions
• If you can sow onions in the fall and plant the seedlings out in the
early spring, you will get more vegetative growth and therefore the
chance of bigger bulbs. Don’t sow too early–if the seedlings have
made stems thicker than a pencil when winter closes in, the plants are
likely to bloom in the spring rather than forming big bulbs.
Sowing Bulb Onions in the Hoophouse in November works well for us
• We have grown onion starts in our hoophouse over the winter and
transplanted them bare-root outdoors in very early March. To grow
big onions we need to have large transplants on March 1, so we can
have big vegetative plants before bulbing is triggered by the daylength
and temperature.
• The plants are protected from very cold temperatures and can be
easily seen and cared for. They grow faster in the hoophouse than
outdoors, so we can start them later. Outdoor sowings tend to suffer
from winter killing and mold. The colder the temperatures the plants
experience, the more likely it is for the larger ones to bolt before
growing large bulbs. A more moderate microclimate, such as a
hoophouse, reduces the rate of bolting. In colder zones, a slightly
heated greenhouse might work better for overwintering.

5. Allium Types – Growing Onion Sets
Onion sets are often sold in feed stores. They are dried small onions (which
come out of dormancy when replanted the next spring).
William Shoemaker, former senior research specialist in agriculture at the
University of Illinois, wrote about growing your own onion sets:
Sets won't make as high quality bulbs as plants will, because they are older,
biennial plants that have shifted into the reproductive stage. . . . But they can
be useful for growing early bunching bulb onions.
Onion sets you buy are mostly about 1/2" in diameter, and are best planted
close together and harvested early as scallions, because they will bolt. Bulbs
1/4" or smaller can grow into small, early bulbs.
To grow your own sets for next year, plant seed early in the season, in shallow
furrows, 12-24 seeds per inch. You are getting them started, but not letting
them thrive. Grow them thickly and they stay small, eventually forming small
bulbs. They will go into dormancy in the hot, dry days of July and August.
After the tops dry down, put them in trays to finish drying. Then store cool
(35F) and dry till planting time next spring. Select the smallest ones to grow
into onions next spring.

5. Allium Types – Garlic
How Much Garlic to Plant
A yield ratio of 1:6 or 7 seems
typical, and makes complete
sense when you consider you
are planting one clove to get a
bulb of 6–7 cloves. Divide the
amount you intend to produce
by six to figure out how much
to plant. For single rows, 8 lbs
(3.6 kg) of hardneck or 4 lbs
(1.8 kg) of softneck plants
about 100' (30 m). In the US,
one person eats 3–9 lbs (1.4–
4.2 kg) per year.
Garlic planting. Twin Oaks Community

5. Allium Types – Garlic
• Garlic scallions. We plant small cloves for garlic scallions in early
November immediately after planting our maincrop garlic. Some
growers have experimented with replanting small whole cull bulbs.
This could be a good way to salvage value from a poorly-sized garlic
harvest. Softneck garlic varieties can make worthwhile growth for
scallions even if planted after the start of January. By planting later
it is possible to stretch the harvest period out later. Some growers
find they can get a better income from garlic scallions than from
bulb garlic, and so they are working to extend the garlic scallion
season.
Garlic scallions
by cbf.typepad

5. Allium Types – Leeks
Sowing leeks
• Calculate how many leeks of each variety you want to
harvest, add a margin. Allow for plants 6" (15 cm) apart.
Sow 3 seeds per inch (<1 cm apart) in the flats.
• You don't need heat to start the leek seedlings, only time, so
we put the flats directly into the coldframe. The minimum
temperature for leek germination is 35°F (1.7°C), the
optimum 65°-85°F (18°-29°C) and they take 8-16 days just to
germinate, even at the ideal temperature. Alliums are so
slow!
Flats of leek
seedlings in our
coldframe.
Pam Dawling

5. Allium Types – Leeks
Transplanting leeks
Leeks take 10-12 weeks to grow to transplant size. We sow
ours March 21 for June 1 transplanting, which is only 10
weeks. We like Lincoln and King Richard for leeks to eat in
October and November and Tadorna for over-wintering, to
eat December-February.
Dibbling holes for
leek transplants.
Wren Vile
Diagram of
leek transplant
in a dibbled
hole.
Pam Dawling

5. Allium Types – Potato Onions
• Potato onions are hardy, perennial multiplier onions–once you
have them you select the best bulbs from the ones you grew to
replant. Aka Hill Onions, Mother Onions and Pregnant Onions,
they produce a cluster of tasty (not too pungent) bulbs from a
single planted bulb, or a large bulb from a small one.
• Potato onions have good drought resistance, pink root
resistance, onion fly resistance and are widely adapted for
different growing regions (not Florida or southern Texas).
• Potato onions can withstand subfreezing temperatures in every
area of the continental U.S. when properly planted.
• You can order potato onions from Southern Exposure Seed
Exchange and other suppliers to be shipped in the fall. See SESE's
Perennial Onion Growing Guide and Garlic and Perennial Onion
Growing Guide for growing information.
• Some types of multiplier onions are in demand as
gourmet items in restaurants.
Yellow potato onions SESE

5. Allium Types – Shallots
• Shallots have been recorded in use for centuries and date back to
Roman times.
• Plant shallot bulbs in October and November, if your winters aren't
too cold (Zone 7 is too cold). Mulch them well.
• To save bulbs for replanting in early spring, refrigerate them.
• You can alternatively start shallots from seed in late January in zone 7
and plant in spring.
French Red shallots.
Raddysh Acorn

5. Allium Types – Cippolini
• Cippolini, also known as mini-onions,
cocktail onions, pearl or boiling onions,
are varieties of short day onions sown in
spring, planted at high density, which
form small bulbs and mature in a couple
of months.
• The larger ones can be used as fresh
bunching onions. Depending on your
latitude and the variety’s adaptation,
these will provide bulbs from the size of
large cherries to ping-pong balls.
• Smaller cippolini are used whole for
kebabs, pickles, casseroles, and stews.
• Some varieties may be cured and store
well (Red Marble). Others (the flat Gold
Coin) do not at our latitude, as the necks
don't dry tight, so those should be used
soon or pickled. White varieties get
sunburn here.
Red Marble Cippolini (mini-onions)
Johnny’s Seeds

5. Allium Types – Ramps
• Ramps, (Allium tricoccum) (also known as Wood Leeks or Wild Leeks)
are a native woodland perennial, and can be found throughout the
eastern-half of the United States, as far west as Oklahoma and as far
north as the central and eastern provinces of Canada.
• Ramps are a spring ephemeral of deciduous forests. By late May, the
leaves die back and a flower stem emerges. Wild ramps are being
over-harvested, and it is important to make sure that they do not
vanish.
• They have some of the flavor components of leeks, onions, and garlic.
There are projects to re-establish ramps in a number of regions in the
Eastern United States.
2022 4-29 group of ramps Adam
Bahar Jeanine Davis program,
2022

5. Allium Types – Egyptian Top-set Onions
• Egyptian onions, aka Top-setting onions, tree onions, walking
onions, produce tiny red-purple bulbs in the umbel instead of
flowers. The fresh green leaves can be cut and eaten, and the
small bulbs when dry. Photo courtesy of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
• In June, July and early August some people use larger bulbils of
Egyptian onions to make mixed pickles.
• Divide clumps of green plants of Egyptian onions in March- April
or late September to November

5. Allium Types –Perennial Leeks
Harvest the larger perennial leeks
September to February, replant the rest.
Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed
Exchange says: "If divided and left to
grow for 9-12 months, perennial leeks
really make decent-sized leeks you
harvest in October [or so]. This gives you
something more like the early
traditional leeks plus an assortment of
smaller leeks to divide and let grow. [If
you are] starting with only a few it’s best
to just divide and grow larger for at least
a year to get up to a decent quantity
and size."
Perennial leeks. Photo Edible Acres

5. Allium Types – Unusual Alliums
• Pearl onions (Allium ampeloprasum var. sectivum), also known as
button or baby onions in the UK, or creamers in the US, are a close
relative of leeks, with thin skins and a mild, sweet flavor. They grow up
to 1”(2.5 cm) in diameter. They are especially popular in the
Netherlands and Germany. Unlike bulb onions, they do not have layers
of storage leaves but only a single storage leaf, like the non-layered
cloves of garlic. The onions are ready to harvest 90 days from sowing.
They are mostly used for pickling. Most onions grown for pickling
today are simply small crowded bulb onions, with layers.
• Perennial Rakkyo (aka as true pearl onions, Japanese
scallions, Vietnamese leeks) are Allium Chinense.
These small onion bulbs are generally pickled.
• Canada onion (aka Wild onion) (Allium canadense) is a perennial
sounding very like what we call onion grass or wild garlic in Virginia,
although that is Allium vineale (crow garlic). The leaves of onion grass
are hollow and round, while those of Canada onion are more flat.

5. Allium Types – More Unusual Alliums
• Kurrat (A. kurrat), is a Middle-Eastern cultivated leek, used mainly for the
greens, which may be cut from the plant repeatedly.
• Field garlic Allium oleraceum is native to most of Europe, where it is a
wild perennial, growing tall leaves (the part that is used).
• Ramsons Allium ursinum, buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic,
wood garlic, bear leek, or bear's garlic, common in Europe. Looks like
Ramps, (Allium tricoccum) but is not the same. The broad flat leaves are
the part used.
• Japanese bunching onion and Welsh onion (native to Siberia or China,
not Wales) are Allium fistulosum. They are sometimes used as scallions,
as are some A. cepa. Young plants of A. fistulosum and A. cepa look very
similar, but may be distinguished by their leaves, which
are circular in cross-section in A. fistulosum rather than
flattened on one side. A. fistulosum has hollow leaves
(fistulosum means "hollow"), scapes and does not
develop bulbs – the leaves are the part which is eaten.
Welsh onions

Our main June harvests have
usually occurred in this order:
• 5/31-6/14 hardneck garlic,
• 6/10-6/25 Jan-Feb-planted potato
onions
• 6/11-6/18 softneck garlic
• 6/4-7/26 bulb onions
When most of the onion tops have fallen
over, pull them, cure in partial shade until
the necks have thoroughly dried.
Breaking over the tops by hand to
accelerate harvest harms the keeping
quality of some varieties and helps the
keeping quality of other varieties.
Onion bed with variety trials.
Kathryn Simmons

Other June/July allium
harvests include
• June: scallions, garlic scapes,
shallots, cippolini, elephant
garlic (we stopped growing
that when too much winter-
killed)
• July: cippolini, shallots,
perennial leeks, Egyptian
onions.
Trimmed scallions. Pam Dawling

• August: leaves of perennial leeks,
Egyptian onions, stored alliums
• September-November: fall leeks
• Sept-Feb: large perennial leeks as leeks
• September-April: leaves of smaller
perennial leeks, Egyptian onions,
Japanese onions, Welsh onions, other
perennial onions; onions and garlic from
storage, including bulbils from Egyptian
onions.
• October-February: hoophouse scallions,
stored alliums
• Dec-Mar: Winter leeks, hoophouse
scallions
• February: Early Feb, hoophouse scallions
sowed 9/6; late Feb, the 10/20 sowing.
• Trimmed Tadorna leek in December. Pam Dawling

March-April
• Mid-March to late May, the 11/18 sown
hoophouse scallions;
• 3/10 to 4/30 in central Virginia, garlic
scallions;
• leaves of Egyptian onions & perennial
leeks, Japanese and Welsh onion tops;
• The last winter leeks
• Harvest ramps, sustainably for one
month, from when tree buds appear
(late March or early April in the
Appalachians).
• Bulb onions from storage, including
bulbils from Egyptian onions if any;
• Use Softneck garlic from storage once
all the hardneck has been used
(softneck stores longer);
•
Abundant scallions (Evergreen Hardy
White). Pam Dawling

May: Harvest garlic scapes. Garlic scapes are the firm, edible
flower stems of hardneck garlic. We harvest scapes two or three
times a week for about three weeks, until no more appear.
Garlic scapes are one of the first outdoor crops of the year, apart
from rhubarb and asparagus, and their flavor is refreshingly
different from leafy greens and stored winter roots.
Pulling garlic
scapes. Wren Vile
Garlic scapes.
Pam Dawling

7. Allium Weed Management
• Because of their vertical tubular or
strap-like leaves, alliums do not
compete well with weeds and can easily
become stunted by big weeds.
• All overwintered alliums will need
weeding in March and once a month
until harvest. Mulched crops can be
weeded during wet weather, if
necessary, and the pulled weeds can be
discarded on top of the mulch, where
they stand a much better chance of
dying then weeds discarded on bare
soil!
• Newly planted alliums in bare soil will
benefit from hoeing during dry weather
before the weeds get very big at all. Hoe
every 1-4 weeks as needed until harvest. Leeks hoed soon after planting.
Pam Dawling

7. Allium Weed Management
• Particularly bulb onions and garlic in May–
only a few weeks until harvest. Remove
weeds and mulch to let in fresh air to help
the bulbs dry down (rather than get fungal
diseases!)
• Weeding leeks is really, really important–it
can be worthwhile to side-dress leeks part-
way through their very long growing
season. Weeds pull nutrients from the soil.
• We made the mistake one year of letting
weeds get big in a wet year, (not conducive
to successful hoeing). We got miserable
leeks that year.
• We decided to grow fewer leeks and take
care of them better.
• Sad weedy leeks. Bridget Aleshire

7. Allium Mulch Management
Free trapped garlic shoots
• Monitor your mulched garlic beds starting 2 weeks after planting, and
when most shoots have emerged, free any trapped shoots. Usually,
most of them emerge at the same time. We do this task in mid-
December
• Work along the rows, investigating each spot where you expect a garlic
plant to be, but see nothing.
• Simply let the shoot see the daylight. Then it will right itself. Don't
reveal any bare soil, as that will grow weeds (and let colder winter air
at the garlic.) As soon as any part of a shoot is visible, leave that plant
alone, and move on to the others.
Garlic shoots.
Pam Dawling

8. Pests and
Diseases
Nematode damage (top);
Onion maggot damage
(bottom)
Photos by University of
California IPM
Weekly scouting is a good practice. Use pre-
planting treatments against nematodes, mites.
Caterpillars can be killed with Bt.
Nematode infestations show up as distorted,
bloated, spongy leaves and bulbs, perhaps
with brown or yellow spots. Top growth
yellows and may separate from the roots.
Thrips are eaten by lady bugs and minute
pirate bugs. Farmscaping (planting flowers to
attract beneficial insects) can work.
Onion maggots: Ground & rove beetles, birds,
braconid wasps are all good predators.
Beneficial nematodes can be effective.
ProtekNet or row cover can exclude them
Mites eat the skins of the cloves, survive the
winter and multiply all spring long, seriously
damaging or even killing your crop.

8. Pre-plant Clove Treatments
To prevent some pests or diseases
Stem and bulb (bloat) nematode:
1. Soak the separated cloves for 30 minutes in 100°F (37.7°C) water
containing 0.1% surfactant (soap).
2. Or soak for 20 mins in the same solution at 120°F (48.5°C).
3. Then cool in plain water for 10-20 mins.
4. Or soak in 10% bleach water for 10 mins, warm water rinse.
5. Allow to dry for 2 hours at 100°F (37.7°C) or plant immediately.
Fusarium:
1. Soak the cloves in a 10% bleach solution, then roll them in wood ash
(wear gloves). The wood ash soaks up the dampness of the bleach
and provides a source of potassium.
2. Add wood ashes when planting, or possibly dust the beds with more
ashes over the winter. (Use moderation - don’t add so much that
you make the soil alkaline.)

8. More Pre-Plant Clove Treatments
Mites:
1, Separate the cloves and soak them overnight (up to 16
hours) in water. The long soaking loosens the clove skins so the
alcohol can penetrate and reach the hidden mites.
2. Optional additions to the water: 1 heaping tablespoon of
baking soda and 1 tablespoon of liquid seaweed per gallon
(around 8 ml baking soda and 4 ml liquid seaweed per liter).
3. Just before planting, drain the cloves and cover them in
rubbing alcohol for 3-5 minutes, so the alcohol penetrates the
clove covers and kills any mites inside. Then plant immediately.
Various fungal infections:
The solution used to kill mites can also be used to kill various
fungal infections. The cloves need only fifteen to thirty
minutes soaking for that.
Just before planting, drain the cloves and cover them in
rubbing alcohol for 3-5 minutes.

9. Harvesting Garlic Scallions
We harvest garlic scallions from early March until May.
• Some people cut the greens at 10" (25 cm) tall and bunch them, allowing
cuts to be made every two or three weeks.
• We prefer to simply lift the whole plant once it reaches about 7"–8" (18–20
cm). You may need to loosen the plants rather than just pulling. The leaves
keep in better condition if still attached to the clove.
• Trim the roots, rinse, bundle, set in a small bucket with a little water, and
you’re done!
• Scallions can be sold in bunches of three to six depending on size.
Garlic scallions in late
March. Pam Dawling

9. Harvesting Garlic Scapes
• We love this crop! We pull our garlic scapes, to get the
most length.
• When scapes arrive, plan some late morning or early
afternoon harvest time two or three times a week. We
appreciate a late-morning task that's done standing up!
• As soon as the pointed cap of the scape has emerged
above the plant center, firmly grasp the stem just below
the cap and pull slowly and steadily straight up. The scape
pops as it leaves the plant and you have the whole length
of the scape, including the tender lower part.
• Gather them into buckets, with the scapes upright, so
they are easy to bunch or cut up.
• Put a little water in the bucket. They store well in a
refrigerator for months if you don't use them sooner.
• In a few days, more scapes will have grown tall enough to
pull, and you can have a second chance on any that broke
at your earlier attempt.
Pulling garlic
scapes. Wren
Vile
Pickled scapes.
Bridget Aleshire

9. Harvesting Scallions
• Around May 10, our hoophouse scallions finish up and our outdoor
ones start. Outdoors, we use transplants, started in Jan-Feb,
transplanted Mar-April. We use plug flats, and transplant the
undivided plugs of 4-6 scallions.
• Deal with scallions in bunches as much as possible (digging up,
trimming), rather than singly. Loosen the soil and lift out a clump.
Shake the bunch, trim off the roots and ragged tops. Holding the
bunch in one hand, pass the scallions one at a time to the other hand,
pulling off a single outer leaf. Set the scallions in a small bucket in
water. When the bucket is full, dunk the scallions up and down, and
transfer them to a clean bucket with a small amount of fresh water.
• To band them, start out with a bunch of rubber bands around three
fingers on the hand that holds the bunches (leaving the forefinger free
for tasks demanding dexterity). Use the other hand to band them.
• Roxbury Farm has a wonderful Harvest Manual. It says they harvest
50 bunches of scallions an hour, including trimming tops, but not
roots. They wash 100 bunches/hour, in bunches, with a power spray.

• May: Potato onions planted in September are ready to harvest late-
May to early June in central Virginia. Once the tops start to fall over,
stop watering and let them dry down. Harvest when the tops die.
• Not all will be ready at once. Harvest mature ones every few days,
because onions easily get sunscald if left exposed to the sun. Don't
break over the tops in hopes of a single harvest–it really reduces
the storage life. Potato onions sit on the surface and are easily
picked up without tools. Handle them gently, to prevent bruising.
• September-planted potato onions were the largest
bulbs when planted, and they will usually have
divided and produced clusters of small onions. Do
not break up the clusters as you harvest, because this
triggers sprouting.
• June: Harvest the January-planted potato onions in the same way.
9. Harvesting Potato Onions
Yellow Potato Onions, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

9. Curing Potato Onions
• Giants do not store well, any bulbs larger than 2-2.5" (5-6 cm), need
using right away or refrigerating till September for replanting.
• Set the potato onions, including intact clusters, on an airy bench or
horizontal rack in a barn. The tops break easily, so you cannot hang
them as you might hang garlic.
• Curing is important for quality and long-term storage. Provide good
air circulation. If humidity is high, use fans, dehumidifiers or an air
conditioned room.
Yellow potato
onions.
Southern Exposure
Seed Exchange

9. Sorting Potato Onions
• Potato onions need sorting about once a month to remove any
that are rotting. Timely sorting will minimize waste.
• Small and medium-sized bulbs keep 8-12 months under good
conditions, and are the best to replant.
• Early July could be the second sorting for fall-planted potato
onions, the first sorting for January-planted ones.
• Early August: at the third sorting, I separate the clusters, trim the
tops and sort by size. Sorting by size is not essential, but I do it to
help me figure out what to save for planting and what to sell. We
sort smalls (<1.5”), mediums (1.5-2.0”) and eaters (>2.0”). And
compost material. The rack space required after trimming is only
a third of what it was before that.
• At the end of August I sort through again.
• And again in September before planting the larges.
Potato onions Raddysh Acorn

9. Sorting Seed Stock Potato Onions
• Seed saving is a natural part of growing potato
onions. We plant in a large:small ratio of 1:3 by
area (i.e. 180’ large, 540’ small). This gives us
enough smalls to plant for the next year, and
plenty of larges and eaters. Someone growing for maximum
seed-stock would probably want to plant a higher ratio of large
ones, in order to get more smalls.
• Potato onions store very well through the winter so long as they
are well-cured, dry, well-ventilated, and not packed over 4"
deep. Ideal conditions are a temperature between either 32–
41°F (0–5°C) or 50–70°F (10–21°C) with 60-70% humidity.
• In late September I decide how much to keep for replanting. The
small ones stay on the racks till late January, through alternating
freezing and thawing conditions. They can appear to be frozen
solid, but are in fine condition.

9. Harvesting Garlic
Signs of garlic maturity
• As harvest time nears, the leaves start to
yellow, and the leaf tips turn brown. Probably
about half the leaves on each plant will be
browning. Watch the color of your garlic patch
for a general "fading“.
• Count the fully green inner leaves on a dozen
random sample plants. Green leaves represent
intact "wrappers" on the bulb, that help your
bulbs store well. Having 4-6 is good. If you wait
too long, the wrappers rot in the soil.
• Another test we use with our hardneck garlic is
to dig a few bulbs, and cut them in half
horizontally. If there are small air spaces
between the remains of the stem and the
cloves, the bulbs are ready.
• If the cloves have not even differentiated, and
you are viewing a single mass of garlic, you are
too early by quite a bit.
• Harvest before the bulbs start to open up like a
flower, with the cloves springing apart from
each other. Such garlic will not store long.
Softneck garlic ready to harvest.
Pam Dawling

9. Harvesting Garlic
• Hot weather above 91°F (33°C) ends bulb growth and starts the drying
down process.
• Dig the garlic up gently, but don’t leave it lying in the sun, or it will
cook. Take it to an airy shaded place protected from rain. Either spread
the garlic plants out on racks or thread them into vertical nets of some
kind.

9. Curing Garlic
Left: garlic
hanging in net.
Marilyn Rayne
Squier.
Right: trimming
cured garlic.
Brittany Lewis
• Hang garlic to cure for 3-6 weeks or even longer, with fans if the
humidity is high. Don't set the fans too close to the garlic, your goal is
to improve the air flow, not blast the bulbs and shrivel them up.
• When the leaves and neck are completely dry, trim or braid them. The
key is dry necks. Rub the necks between finger and thumb to
determine if they are dry and papery. The necks should not feel
slippery or moist.
• At this stage, set aside big bulbs 2-2.5” (5-6 cm) across with nice big
cloves, to be your replanting stock.

• Garlic sprouts in a temperature range of 40–56°F (4.4–13°C), or if it is
allowed to get cold then warm. So long as temperatures remain over
56°F (13°C) you can store garlic almost anywhere. You can use an
unheated room in your house, a root cellar, garage, etc. Maintain good
air circulation. Most varieties store reasonably well in a cool room if
hung from the ceiling in mesh bags, or spread on shelves in a layer less
than 4" deep.
• In our climate, with a long period in the sprouting temperatures, we
keep alliums in the warmer storage range (60-70°F (15.5-21°C) or
hotter) in a basement until late September or
sometime in October when ambient temp-
eratures in the basement drop close to 56°F
(13°C). We then move our garlic to the refrig-
erator at 32–41°F (0–5°C), 95–100% humidity.
• Ideally ripe fruits and garlic would never be in
the same storage space, because ethylene
emitted by fruit causes garlic to sprout.
• Measuring garlic for seed stock. Brittany Lewis
9. Garlic Storage

9. Garlic Storage
Hardneck and Softneck Garlic Storage
• Most hardnecks store 4-6 months, although Music and Chesnok Red can keep 7
months or more in central Virginia.
• We grow Polish White softneck. Softneck garlics tend to store for longer than
hardnecks, so we always save ours till we've used the hardneck garlic. The big
reason we don’t grow only or mostly softneck garlic is that the bulbs have lots of
tiny cloves in the center, and these are tedious to peel. See the photos below.
• Softnecks such as Italian Softneck, Inchelium Red and Silverskins can store for up
to 12 months under good conditions.
Storage of Seed Garlic
• We store our seed garlic on a high shelf in a shed, at quite variable ambient
temperatures, where it does fine until late October or early November when we
plant it. Seed garlic does not require long-term storage conditions! The ideal
storage conditions for seed garlic are 50-65°F (10-18°C) and 65-70% relative
humidity. Storing in a refrigerator is not a good option for seed garlic, as
prolonged cool storage results in “witches-brooming” (strange growth shapes),
and early maturity (along with lower yields). Storage above 65°F (18°C) results in
delayed sprouting and late maturity.
Right Italian softneck
garlic SESE
Left: Siberian
hardneck garlic SESE

9. Harvesting Bulb Onions
• If the variety is not a storing type, simply
lift the onions gently out of the soil when
you want to use them, or when the tops
fall over. Most kinds will keep for a few
weeks, but some not much longer.
• Onion tops start flopping over here in
mid- to late-June, showing they are ready
to harvest. Start lifting them when about
50% or more of the tops have fallen.
Harvest only the onions with floppy tops,
leaving the upright ones for another day.
• Harvest each bed twice—once to get just
the floppy ones, and then the second
time to get all the rest. It’s best to harvest
during drier weather, but sometimes you
have to harvest wet just to get them in.
Hot, wet weather is the worst. Onions curing on a wire rack. Kathryn Simmons

9. Curing Bulb Onions
• Some books recommend curing in the outdoor sun. This doesn’t work in
our climate, where we need to provide partial shade, moderate
temperatures, good air flow, and no rain.
• Further north, temperatures are lower, and onions do not bake during
outdoor curing. Further south (in Georgia for instance) onions mature
much earlier in the year (they have been growing over the winter). The
sun is not yet too intense or the humidity too high, and they can cure
onions in the field.
• Handle onions gently – many rots result from poor handling post-harvest.
• Spread storable varieties in a single layer on racks in a warm dry place, and
check every few days. The ideal conditions are 80°F-90°F (27°C-32°C) with
constant air movement, no direct strong sunlight. We use a barn, with
fans.
• Cure until the necks are dry – about two weeks after hanging them. Rub
the necks between finger and thumb to determine if they are dry and
strawy. The necks should not feel slippery or moist. Trim the dry
bulbs: Trim the necks about ½” (1 cm) from the bulb, and trim all the roots
off.
• In our climate, we do not wait more than 3 weeks after harvest to clear a
rack and get the onions in storage. After 3 weeks they get worse, not
better.

9. Sorting and Storing Bulb Onions
• Bulbs that are firm with dry necks can be stored
in mesh bags, lying flat on slatted shelves. Most
onions store reasonably well if spread in a layer
less than 4″ deep or hung from the ceiling in
small mesh bags. Avoid large bags where the
weight of the onions will crush the ones at the
bottom. Ensure good air circulation.
• Bulbs that aren’t obviously culls, but for some
reason might not store for months, need moving
soon. Maybe the necks have a spongy feeling, or
the skin is split, or the necks slip a little bit.
• The third category is for onions with wet necks
or soft spots are for immediate use at home.
Onion curing racks. UACC
Onions can be stored at 60°F-90°F (16°C-32°C) if they have never been
refrigerated. It is important to avoid the 45°F-55°F (7°C-13°C) range, because
that’s when they sprout. We have limited refrigerated storage, so we keep
alliums in the warmer storage range until room temperatures drop into the
danger zone, by which time there is space in the cooler. For storage, onions
and garlic do best with a humidity of 60%-70%.

9. Harvest of Minor Alliums
• July: Harvest minor alliums
• Cippolini will be ready to harvest from spring transplants
here in the first half of July, if not late June.
• Shallots grown from seed started in late January and
transplanted in March will mature here 7/4 -7/30, 4-8 weeks
later than those grown from replanted bulbs (planted in
October). To save bulbs for replanting in early spring,
refrigerate them, and harvest later than the 6/10 of fall-
planted bulbs. Grey Griselle shallots. SESE
• Egyptian onions (akaTop-setting onions ,
tree onions, walking onions) produce tiny
red-purple bulbs in the umbel instead of
flowers. The larger bulbils can be harvested in July or
August, and used to make mixed pickles.

9. Harvest of Minor Alliums
• September: Egyptian walking onions bulbils mostly mature in
September and are used for pickling;
• September-April for cutting leaves of Egyptian onions and perennial
leeks
• Japanese bunching onion and Welsh onion are sometimes used as
scallions, as are some bulbing onions. They do not develop bulbs – the
leaves are the part that is eaten.
• Perennial leeks: Divide clumps (green plants) of perennial leeks in late
September to November or March- April
Egyptian Walking
Onions. Southern
Exposure Seed
Exchange

9. Harvesting Leeks
• Leeks come in two main types: the less cold-hardy, faster-growing fall
varieties, often with lighter green leaves, which are not winter-hardy north
of Zone 8, and the blue-green hardier winter leeks. For fall leeks, we like
Lincoln and King Richard (both 75d) and Giant Bulgarian. We harvest those in
October and November. For winter leeks we like Tadorna (100d), and harvest
those December to March.
• Leeks can be harvested whenever they are big enough. People can eat about
10 leeks each, each month. Remember how deep you planted the leeks and
try to avoid spearing them. Remove one leek, chop off the roots, invert the
plant and cut the leaves in a V shape, so that the tougher outer leaves are
shortest and the younger inner leaves are longest. Clean up any obviously
inedible outer layers, then put the leek in a bucket. We put an inch (2.5 cm)
of water in the bottom of the bucket (to keep the leeks hydrated) before
taking to the cooler.
Blue-green winter-
hardy leeks on the left,
yellower-green fall
leeks on the right.
Pam Dawling

9. Storing Leeks
• In zone 7 we leave our leeks in the ground
till we need them, being sure to harvest
the less hardy Lincoln and King Richard
first.
• Leeks are best stored at 33°F (0.5°C) and
65% relative humidity. We use a walk-in
cooler for storage up to a week, and keep
the root ends in water. Leeks can be
refrigerated in plastic bags for two to three
months.
• In colder zones, where the ground freezes
solid for weeks on end, leeks can be
harvested and stored in a root cellar or
basement. You can store leeks with the
roots packed in soil, shoulder to shoulder
in a crate or box in a root cellar, where
they will keep for six weeks.
Overwintered leeks.
Twin Oaks Community

10. Planting for Year-Round Alliums:
January
• Sow scallions for transplant. We sow
in 200-cell plug flats, aiming to get 4-
6 seeds per cell. We transplant these
clumps on March 21, with 3" (7 cm)
space between plugs. This grows us
scallions already in bunches. We
make a second sowing of the same
size on February 17 and transplant
April 14. We also grow scallions in
the hoophouse in winter.
• Plant shallot bulbs January-February.
• Late January-mid-February, sow
shallot seeds. Transplant in late
March. Shallots from seed will be
ready for harvest a month later than
harvests from replanted bulbs.
Speedling flat of scallions. Pam Dawling

January: Cippolini, Mini-onions,
Pickling Onions
• Cippolini are varieties of short day
onions sown in spring, planted at
high density, which form small
bulbs and mature in a couple of
months.
• We can grow these outdoors from
seed sown 1/17-1/25,
transplanting 3/10-3/21, leading to
harvest 7/1-7/17.
Red Marble Cippolini (mini-onions)
Johnny’s Seeds

January: Small Potato Onions
• Late January, plant small potato onions (smaller than 1.5"/4
cm) or as soon as the ground can be worked.
• In order to make January planting possible, we prepare the
bed in the late fall and cover it with mulch for the winter.
• To plant, remove the mulch, make 4 deep furrows, plant the
small onions (smaller than 1.5"/4 cm) on 4" (10 cm) centers,
cover with ½"-1" (1-3 cm) soil, tamp down, and replace 4"-
8" (10-20 cm) of mulch. 1lb (500 gm) =20-33 bulbs.
Potato onions
planted in the fall
(left) and January
(right), April
photo, Kathryn
Simmons

February
• Plant small potato onions
(less than 1.5" (4 cm)
diameter) in early Feb, if
not Jan.
• Sow shallot seed.
• Sow scallions for
transplant
• Transplant fall-sown bulb
onions late in the month.
• Plant shallot bulbs Jan-
Feb.
• Plant soft neck garlic
cloves or bulbs for garlic
scallions.
Bed of young onion plants.
Kathryn Simmons

• Divide and replant Egyptian onions
and perennial leeks, during March-
April or late September to November
• Sow leeks in flats or coldframes.
• Transplant fall-sown bulb onions
early in the month.
• Transplant cippolini seedlings.
• Plant shallots.
• Plant softneck garlic cloves or bulbs
for garlic scallions.
March
Garlic scallions. Kathryn Simmons

March
Transplanting onions (very early March, for us)
• Transplant fall-sown onions as early in spring as possible, and those sown
after New Year once they have 3-5 leaves. The final bulb size is affected
by the size of the transplant as well as the maturity date of that variety.
The ideal transplant is slightly slimmer than a pencil, but bigger than a
pencil lead. Overly large transplants will bolt. If seedlings are becoming
thicker than a pencil before you can set them out, undercut two inches (5
cm) below the surface to reduce the growth rate. Or use them as
scallions.
• Some books recommend trimming the tops at transplanting time. I found
I got the same yield from trimmed and untrimmed onions. Trimmed ones
are easier to plant. Transplant 4" (10 cm) apart for single seedlings or 12"
(30 cm) for clumps of 3 or 4 (not more). Set plants with the base (stem
plate) 1/2"–1" (1.3–2.5 cm) below the soil surface. Some books
recommend as deep as two inches (5 cm). Don’t plant too shallowly.
• Give plenty of water to the young transplants: keep the top 3"–4" (8–10
cm) of the soil damp for the first few weeks to prevent the stem plate
from drying out.

April
• Divide and replant Egyptian onions and perennial leeks, during March
or April
• Transplant more scallions (These will be the second outdoor ones)
• Sow seed for onion sets 4/1
Scallions from
April planting,
in July.
Pam Dawling

June (Leeks)
• Transplant leeks: photo shows newly transplanted leeks
with dibble holes still visible

August (Ramps)
• Collect ramps seed to grow in woodlands.
• In zones 3-7, sow ramp seeds in woodlands during August/September:
they will take 6-24 months to germinate. Plants take 2-7 years to grow
to harvestable size.
Ramps research
NC State ramps
harvest study
Jeanine Davis
program, 2022

September
• Divide and replant dry bulbs of Egyptian onions and
perennial leeks between August and October and re-space
them into a larger planting for next year. Perennial leeks
take 9-12 months to grow to a good size.
• Sow scallions in the hoophouse
Newly emerged
scallions in the
hoophouse in
September.
Pam Dawling

September (Large Potato Onions)
• Plant large potato onions (2-2½", 5-6 cm) in September, after storing in
the refrigerator since harvest. 150 large bulbs weigh about 25# (11kg)
• Plant at 8" (20cm), allowing 30%-40% spare.
• Cover with ½-1" (1-2cm) soil, and 4"-8" (10-20cm) mulch.
• Yields can be 3 to 8 times the weight of the seed stock, depending on
growing conditions.
Potato onion shoots
emerging through the
mulch. Kathryn Simmons

October
• Sow more scallions in the hoophouse
October-sown
scallions in the
hoophouse in
November.
Pam Dawling

November
• Garlic and garlic scallions
• Divide clumps (green plants) of perennial leeks late
September to November
• Sow more scallions in the hoophouse
Garlic planting
crew.
Brittany Lewis

November – Garlic
• Both hardneck and softneck garlic do best planted in the fall,
though softneck garlic may also be planted in the very early
spring if you have to (with reduced yields).
• Plant when the soil temperature at 4" (10 cm) deep is 50°F
(10°C) at 9 am. If the fall is unusually warm, wait a week.
• When properly planted and mulched, garlic can withstand
winter lows of -30°F (-35°C).
• Garlic roots grow whenever the ground is not frozen, and the
tops grow whenever the temperature is above 40°F (4.5°C).
• If you miss the window for fall planting, ensure that your seed
garlic gets 40 days at or below 40°F (4.5°C) in storage before
spring planting, or the bulbs will not divide into separate cloves.
• If planted too early, too much tender top growth happens
before winter.
• If planted too late, there will be inadequate root growth before
the winter, and a lower survival rate as well as smaller bulbs.
Garlic shoots
in January.
Pam Dawling

November (Garlic)
• In cold areas the goal is to get the garlic to
grow roots before the big freeze-up arrives,
but not to make top growth until after the
worst of the weather.
• In warm areas, the goal is to get enough
top growth in fall to get off to a roaring
start in the spring, but not so much that the
leaves cannot endure the winter. If garlic
gets frozen back to the ground in the
winter, it can regrow and be fine. If it dies
back twice in the winter, the yield will be
lower than it might have been if you had
been luckier with the weather.
• Cloves for planting should be from large
(but not giant) bulbs and be in good
condition. Bulbs should be separated into
cloves 0–7 days before planting.
Crew popping and sorting garlic
cloves. Don’t worry if some skin
comes off the cloves — they will still
grow successfully. Bell Oaks

November (Garlic)
• Twist off the outer skins and pull
the bulb apart, trying not to break
the basal plate of the cloves (the
part the roots grow from), as that
makes them unusable for planting.
• With hardneck garlic, the
remainder of the stem acts as a
handy lever for separating the
cloves.
• We sort as we go, putting good size
cloves in big buckets, damaged
cloves in kitchen buckets, tiny
cloves in tiny buckets and outer
skins and reject cloves in compost
buckets.
• The tiny cloves get planted for
garlic scallions.
• Popping garlic. SESE

November (bulb onions)
• In a hoophouse, make 2 sowings of bulb onions, November 10 and
November 20, each enough for the whole planting – insurance in case
one date turns out better than the other.
• The onions will be planted out 4" (10 cm) apart. Divide the number of
onion plants wanted by 20, to give the minimum row feet to sow each
time. We add 20% to provide some slack
• Sow 3 seeds per inch (approx. 1 cm apart), 36 per foot (30 cm).
• Follow up with a partial 3rd sowing on December 5 to make up
numbers of any varieties that didn’t germinate well.
• These will be transplanted outdoors in early March. If this sowing is
not needed for transplants, they can be used as scallions.
• See The Year-Round Hoophouse for more on growing onions this way.

November (Potato Onions)
• Plant medium-sized potato
onions (1.5-2", 4-5 cm) in late
November or early December in
zone 7
• Plant 6" (15cm) apart, allowing
20% spare. 1# = 8 bulbs
• Cover with ½-1" (1-2 cm) soil,
add 4"-8" (10-20 cm) mulch.
• Save the small ones to plant in
January, as they won't survive
the winter well in the ground.
On the plus side, the small ones
store well indoors, unlike the
large ones.
Bed of potato onions
Kathryn Simmons

https://www.sustainablemarketfarming.com/
Click the Category
“Alliums”

Resources (accessed January 2023)
Garlic, Onion & Other Alliums, Ellen Spencer Platt
Onions, Leeks and Garlic - A Handbook for Gardeners, Marian Coonse
Alliums, Post Harvest and Storage Diseases
https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-sheets/alliums-post-harvest-
storage-diseases
The Clove Garden has lots of info on all types of onion
https://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/li_onion.html .
The Backyard Larder: Ali's Alliums is also a good read.
Useful Temperate Plants Site Pearl Onions
How to grow Pearl Onions by Jenny Harrington
Flame Weeding for Onions and Garlic
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/onion-and-garlic/integrated-weed-
management
Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control , ATTRA
https://attra.ncat.org/publication/farmscaping-to-enhance-biological-
control/

Resources – Bulb Onions
Golden Gate Farming, Pam Pierce, excellent descriptions of onion growth
phases
Dixondale Onion Farms: https://dixondalefarms.com/ Helpful information
Johnny’s onion chart https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-
library/vegetables/onions/onions-full-size-comparison-chart-pdf.html
Onion Harvest and Storage https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-
sheets/onions-harvest-curing
ATTRA: Organic Allium Production
https://urbanagriculture.horticulture.wisc.edu/wp-
content/uploads/sites/35/2016/01/allium.pdf
North Carolina Extension Bulb Onion Production in Eastern North Carolina:
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/bulb-onions
University of Georgia Onion Production Guide:
https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1198&title=on
ion-production-guide
Organic Vidalia Onion Production:
https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C913
 Dr Joe Masabni of Texas AgriLife Extension, Onion (not organic)
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/files/2011/10/onion1.pdf

Resources - Garlic
Growing Great Garlic, Ron Engeland
Garlic Harvest, Curing and Storage https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-
sheets/garlic-harvest-curing-storage
ATTRA Organic Garlic Production: https://attra.ncat.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/05/garlic.pdf
The Garlic Seed Foundation: www.garlicseedfoundation.info, Growers,
eaters, suppliers, extensive library, information on building your own
harvesting equipment, resources, including the ARS Germplasm Resource
which supplies small amounts of plant material to growers.
Dr Gayle Volk’s Garlic DNA Analysis:
www.garlicseedfoundation.info/allium_sativum_DNA.htm
Garlic Bloat Nematode: https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/1205e/
Gourmet Garlic Gardens growing instructions, pests and diseases, growing in
the South, and more: https://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/growing-
garlic.html
Colorado State University Specialty Crop Garlic Project:
https://agsci.colostate.edu/specialtycrops/the-garlic-project-2004/

Resources – Potato Onions and Leeks
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, VA:
https://www.southernexposure.com/ 540 894 9480.
Garlic and Perennial Onion Growing Guide, Jeff McCormack:
https://www.southernexposure.com/garlic-and-perennial-
onion-growing-guide/
Leeks, Oregon State University:
https://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/oregon-
vegetables/leeks-0
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: Leek
Production Factsheet:
http://omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/91-004.htm
Leek Moth: http://omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/08-
009.htm

Resources - Ramps
Buy ramp seeds year-round and bulblets in late winter at
https://rampfarm.com and
https://www.mountaingardensherbs.com/
Read more about ramps in Growing and Marketing Ginseng,
Goldenseal and Other Woodland Medicinals by W. Scott Person
and Jeanine Davis of North Carolina.
Having Your Ramps and Eating Them Too, a book by Glen
Facemire
Ramps: https://www.wildedible.com/blog/foraging-ramps on
sustainable foraging, by Eric Orr
Ramps, part 1: Wild Delicacies Under the Forest Floor By Bjorn
Bergman https://ediblemadison.com/stories/ramps-part-1
Ramps, part 2: Sustainable ramp harvesting Bjorn Bergman: only
5 to 10 percent of the ramps in a patch should be harvested each
year to ensure their future survival
https://ediblemadison.com/stories//ramps-part-2
https://modernfarmer.com/2016/09/ramps/.

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