Planting Onions, Shallots, and Leeks
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, this week's temperatures are a bit cooler, but excellent for planting more vegetables in the garden.
Yesterday, my gardeners planted the season's crops of onions, shallots, and leeks which were all started from seed in my greenhouse. The seeds came from Johnny's Selected Seeds, a source I've been using for years. Onions, shallots, and leeks are all part of the Allium family. They are hardy, thrive in full sun, and are easy to grow in a variety of soils and climates.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- This day was perfect for planting our onions, shallots, and leeks. Here, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, measures the bed for proper placement of the plants.
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- For the leeks, the rows should be at least 12-inches apart. This bed is able to accommodate four long rows equally spaced.
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- Here, Ryan creates the long rows using this bed preparation rake from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Hard plastic red tubes slide onto selected teeth of the rake to mark the rows.
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- Brian makes the furrows a bit deeper using a hoe. Deeper planting will create more drought-resistant plants. These trenches are about eight-inches deep.
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- Here are the leek seedlings ready to be planted. To thrive, leeks need lots of nitrogen and consistent soil moisture.
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- Brian takes out a clump of leek seedlings and carefully separates each one.
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- He places the plants in the furrow where they should be planted – at least six-inches away from each other. Space is always precious in the garden, so proper spacing is crucial.
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- Leeks have shallow root systems. Unlike onions, leeks don’t form much of a bulb on the end of the root. Instead, they remain cylindrical, with perhaps a slight bulge at the end.
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- Phurba uses a dibber to make the holes for each plant right at the spot where they are positioned.
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- A dibber or dibble or dibbler is a pointed wooden stick for making holes in the ground so that seeds, seedlings or small bulbs can be planted. Dibbers come in a variety of shapes including the straight dibber, the T-handled dibber like this one, the trowel dibber, and the L-shaped dibber.
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- As Brian places the plant, Phurba follows and pushes it carefully into the soil.
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- Meanwhile, Ryan creates the furrows for the shallots.
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- Similar to leeks and onions, shallots are flavor-building vegetables in the allium family. Here, they are placed in a separate bed where they should be planted – at least four-inches apart.
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- These plants are delicate and also have shallow root systems. They prefer a soil pH of 5.0 to 6.8.
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- When planting, Phurba grasps the plant with the root end down and pushes it into the soil about two-inches deep until all the roots are well covered.
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- We always plant a good number of onions. Ryan prepares two beds for onions – red onions, white onions, yellow and brown onions.
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- The onion, Allium cepa, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Onions should be planted in spring when temperatures are still a bit cool once they start to grow, and then warm when they begin to mature. Early planting gives the onions time to develop tops and store energy for the bulbs.
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- Onions are also categorized in two growing types: long-day and short-day. Long-day onions begin sprouting in late spring to summer when days are between 14 and 16 hours long. Short-day onions begin sprouting when days are between 10 and 12 hours in length – winter and early spring.
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- Here, Brian shows the onion seed still attached to the plant where it pushed through while germinating.
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- Once the plant is in the ground, Brian firms up the soil around it. Be sure the onion roots are well covered with soil, and that the top of the plant’s neck isn’t covered too deeply. If too much of the plant is buried, the growth of the onion will be reduced and constricted.
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- All the onions, shallots, and leeks are planted. Next, they’ll all get a good drink of water. There is still lots to plant, but this new garden is already looking so excellent. We’re all looking forward to our first bounty of fresh vegetables.
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