Scallions (Green Onions)
Scallions are in the allium species, they lack a fully developed bulb. They have hollow, tubular green leaves growing directly from the bulb. These leaves are used as a vegetable; they are eaten either raw or cooked. The leaves are often chopped into other dishes, in the manner of onions or garlic.
Scallions often called green onions or bunching onions are easily grown. Start your transplants sowing 5-10 seeds per transplant container.
Transplant them out together and in a few weeks you have an instant bunch of onions for your salad or other recipes.
They do best when transplanted but can be direct seeded, however they do take a long time to germinate and can be lost among weeds so make sure you mark the area well in our garden spot.
Growing Scallions:
Botanical Family - Alliaceae/Onion Family
Location - Thrive in moist (not wet) location that is also well drained and reasonably free from stones.
Soil - Rich, moist loam, preferably with subsoil of clay with pH of 5.6-6.5.
Soil Preparation - Dig in 3-4 inches of compost or aged manure before planting. Requires lots of nitrogen.
Seed Info
- Seed Spacing - 4-6 inches apart
- Germinate in soil temperature of 21 - 24 C
- Days to Maturity - 100-150 days
Planting Times - Sow indoors in early March; transplant at 4-8 weeks.
Planting Instruction - Sow 10 seeds in each cell (24 cell transplant tray) ΒΌ inche deep. Maintain uniform moisture. Put a handful of compost in the hole while transplanting.
Companion Planting
- Positive effects: beet, cabbage, carrot, lettuce, potato, tomato
- Negative effects: bean, pea
Watering - During early stages require an abundance of water.
Weeding - Keep well weeded.
Disease & Insects - Very few diseases. Use rotation and destroy any plants that are infected.
Harvest - Plant can be pulled when green tops are 8-12 inches tall. They will be in bunch of 10 or so.
Storage - Do not store well. Keep in plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Scallions are great in salads, stir-fry, tuna or egg salad, wraps, nachos, soups, and spring rolls as some examples. They are very versatile and usually have a mild flavour adding just the right amount to make your dish a little tastier.
They can be used in exchange for onions in a pinch, they will just not add quite the amount of flavour.
