The first into flower in the garden (after Hazel), winter aconite / vinterblom – NOT edible
A lot of Alliums like this Allium victorialis have been growing steadily in the mild winter conditions and not affected by -5C at present. This accession came from Reykjavik, originally from a botanical garden in Sakhalin!
Two pictures from the end of June 2014 of possibly my favourite onion, the nodding onion (Allium cernuum) from North America in some of its myriad of forms…beautiful and useful at all times of year….see more in my book Around the World in 80 plants!
A collection of pictures of greens now available in my house (15th February 2016), mainly shoots of perennial vegetables!
Garlic bulbil (hvitløk-toppløk) shoots – I eat garlic bulbil shoots for most of the winter, Bulbils (topsets) form instead of flowers on hardneck garlic and are ideal for winter forcing indoors. I’m clipping them every day now to go with my lunch. The sprouts in the bucket on the left have been clipped down twice already and will try one more time before giving up. The bulbils were planted in the bucket on the right about two weeks ago.Seed sprouts from an oriental brassica that produced masses of seed…Madeira vine, Anredera cordifolia, is mainly known as a marginal root crop that’s not to everybody’s taste. It’s in the Basellaceae, related to both Basella (Ceylon spinach) and Ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus). All have edible shoots and greens. I had lots of small tubers last autumn, so why not use them for winter sprouts!Madeira vine, Anredera cordifolia
This is Japanese chives (japan-gressløk), received as Allium schoenoprasum var yezomonticola years ago, now apparently a synonym of Allium maximowicziiThis is Japanese chives (japan-gressløk), received as Allium schoenoprasum var yezomonticola years ago, now apparently a synonym of Allium maximowiczii, which is closely related to chives. It’s a more robust and productive plant than most chives. I replanted my oldest clump this autumn and had lots left over, so why not force them inside for winter onions! I’ll use this one again!This is Japanese chives (japan-gressløk), received as Allium schoenoprasum var yezomonticola years ago, now apparently a synonym of Allium maximowiczii, which is closely related to chives. It’s a more robust and productive plant than most chives. I replanted my oldest clump this autumn and had lots left over, so why not force them inside for winter onions! I’ll use this one again!Oca (Oxalis tuberosa) can also be winter forced for the greens!
Allium cernuum (Nodding onion / prærieløk) dug in the autumn and now providing winter onions from the living room….Egyptian/ walkabout /topset onion (luftløk) aerial onions can be sprouted indoors for winter greens
I moved 10 buckets of roots and stratifying seeds of edible perennials for sprouting and eating before the spring greens come on tap…filling the hungry gap. These have all been outside exposed to the cold since November.
Bulbils of Egyptian Onion / Walking Onion / Luftløk will have a shock coming from outside into my living room!Allium cernuum has been completely unaffected by the extremes of climate we’ve experienced and are ready to eat…also in my living room…Seeds and roots in my unheated porch
