Gardeners who know their onions usually get their first spring workout in the vegetable plot, as you may have guessed, by planting onions.
For one thing, late season frosts or cold snaps will not harm them; but equally important is the early yield of tasty green onions (scallions) that add zest to fresh salads and other culinary dishes before the harvest includes the large, dry cooking or table onions.
Onions generally are grown from sets, although they also can be grown from seed. The sets (bulblets) are commercially grown from seed and harvested at an early stage of developement for spring planting. You plant them one way for the scallions and another way for cooking onions.
Thus when you know your onions and how to handle them, you can enjoy this most versatile vegetable all through the growing season, and longer if they are stored properly.
The sets are sold by bulk or count in packages of various sizes and quantities at garden centers and supermarkets. They may be white, yellow or red. The larger white sets usually yield the fastest-growing slender green onions, often sending up two or three tangy scallion stems.
If you have a yen for early green onions in your diet, then pick out the larger white sets and plant them quite close in the rows-almost touching each other-and about 2 or 3 inches deep.
Some gardeners prefer to plant them somewhat shallower and then mound the soil around the stem as they grow. This practice will increase stem thickness and size of the white, edible portion. In any event, they will be ready to pull and relish when the stems are full and tall.
By planting new sets at intervals of two or three weeks, you can harvest these tender green onions through most of the summer.
Ironically, it is the smaller sets that are best for growing on for the larger cooking onions. These should be planted just below the surface of the soil and spaced 2 or 3 inches apart in the rows to give the bulbs space to develop fully.
While the sets will provide the quickest onion harvest, it is more economical to grow the large table or cooking onions from seed, especially if you intend to grow a sufficient number to store for later use. They require a long growing season, so seed should be started as soon as soil can be worked. Varieties suitable for storing are described in most seed catalogues as ``good keepers.``
Seed can be sown thinly spaced in rows 1 to 2 feet apart. When seedlings are large enough to handle conveniently, they can be transplanted into other rows with adequate space to mature.
Begin drying off onions intended for storage early enough to complete the job before fall rains and freezes occur. This can be done by pushing the onion tops flat with a rake, which will stop growth and hasten the drying process.
When fully dried, pull up the plants, clip off the tops (or braid them to hang) and store them in a dry, frost-free place.
Q-Will flower and vegetable seeds that were left over from last summer still be good for planting this spring?
A-Excess seeds that were properly stored in a cool, dry place very likely will grow, but to avoid disappointment, test them for their viability first by sowing a few of each kind in a pot to see if they will sprout. Should germination be poor, it is wise to discard them and start with fresh seeds.
Q-What perennial vines can you recommend to cover a chain link fence?
A-If the fence is in a sunny place, such vines as clematis, trumpet, silver lace or climbing honeyscuckle will provide a good, attractive covering. If there is shade, English ivy, Virginia creeper, and euonymous coloratus or vegetus are suggested.