I have a feeling that no one else had this pizza last night! SO/TR? Sherpa Onion/Turkish Rocket of course, better known (to the botanist) as AW/BO or Allium wallichii/Bunias orientalis two of my June perennial vegetables, the young shoots of the onion (one of the latest Alliums to show it’s still alive in the spring) and the delicious broccolis of Turkish rocket. We turned it into pizza as we were making Danish sourdough rye bread (using the 24 hour bake at 70C method) and had made extra dough.
Common sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) is now in season in my garden another plant categorised by most as a weed, but for me one of the most important vegetables in my garden from now until autumn. It even saves me work as the only thing I have to do is NOT weed it!! It is at its best when the leaves are shiny:
I made a sow thistle basil pesto last night together with basil grown in my office at the botanical gardens! I’m an office basil grower of over 40 years, having started when I was a student in 1978 (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=5221, where I made pesto and Allium wallichii, the Sherpa or Nepal onion)
Last night I used garlic and more Johannes’ shallots (Allium x cornutum; see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=22601)
Accidental companions: a Sherpa onion (Allium wallichii) has set up home in the middle of my greek mountain tea (Sideritis syriaca) with a few self-sowed dandelions for good measure! Allium wallichii moves around with rhizomes…I didn’t plant it here!
A little video showing various Alliums about to burst into flower on a bed I’ve always called the Perennial Bed as it was the first bed devoted to perennials. It’s in the shade most of the day.
0-11 secs: Various forms of Allium cernuum (Chicago onion, nodding onion / prærieløk) and broad-leaved Allium wallichii (Sherpa onion)
11-20: Allium cernuum, Hemerocallis (daylily/daglilje) and Clinopodium vulgare (wild basil)
31: Norrland Onion / Norrlandsløk
(all of the onions above are in my book)
38: Allium cyathophorum v. farreri (Farrer’s onion)
This is what my new friends from Nepal called Allium wallichii, also known as Jimbu, Dunda, Yang, Himalayan onion, Nepal onion or Sherpa onion! They had actually never seen it live before as it grows at high altitudes :)
This is a little album showing off the wide range of forms I’m growing.. one of my favourite edimentals (edible ornamentals).
I wonder if a white form exists?
“Dark form” – this one flowers later than the others, so this is an old picture!
My favourite Himalayan onion is now coming into flower in the garden. This is what I call Sherpa onion (Allium wallichii), it’s a beauty and the bees and hoverflies also love it! The other two pictures are of Norrland onion which has been in bloom for a while now. Both are described in my book Around the World in 80 plants!
Sherpa onion (Allium wallichii) and basil pesto for tonight’s dinner! Delicious!
I’ve been growing basil in my office at work since I was a student in Edinburgh in 1978, having been inspired by a fellow student the year before in Norwich… fast approaching 40 years as a basil grower then!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
