Alliums, Umbellifers and Cucurbits Week 4

Alliums Amaryllidaceae  Grown since prehistoric times  Over 400 species, many grown only for flowers  Odor caused by sulfur compounds in the leaves and bulbs

Onions Allium cepa  Originated in Iran or Pakistan  Seeds found in Egyptian tombs dating to 3200BC  Evidence in Greek and Roman literature dating to 4000B.C  Bulb formation categorised by day length  Short-day varieties (12-13 hours)  Long day varieties ( hours)  Bulbing is actually a response to length of nights  Aggregatum group divide vegetatively – e.g. Shallots, multiplier onions, potato onions  Biennial Onions  Proliferum Group includes top-setting types (Egyptian & Tree Onions)

Bulb Onions  Yellow, brown, white or red  Flavour can be affected by soil and growing conditions  Open site, thoroughly dug, manured several months before planting  Sensitive to acidity  Long-growing season essential  Summer onions: Sow or plant early spring, lift in autumn, keeps until mid-spring the following year  Over-wintering, sow autumn, harvest early-mid summer, use japanese types or overwintering types (sturon)

Sets & Seeds  Seeds: suitable for all cultivars, less prone to bolting, flexible sowing times  More labour intensive, longer growing season, susceptible to disease and pests (onion fly)  Sets: easier to grow, less prone to diases, avoid onion fly attacks, headstart, better chance of maturing  Limited availability of cvs, expensive,

Cultivation  Plant firm, small sets (up to 2cm circumference), large sets more prone to bolting. Heat-treated sets must not be planted too early.  Push sets into soil so tips are at or just below surface, can be disturbed by birds, replace with trowel (don’t just push them in as it damaged roots)  Space about 15cm apart each way, 18-20cm for over-wintering, or 8-10cm apart in rows 30cm apart  Water at first but do not overwater later  Keep weed-free until established  Surplus sets can be grown for spring onions  Pests & Diseases  Onion fly, small maggots. Grow under fine nets  Mildew : no organic remedies, rotate crops and harvest carefully

 Harvesting & Storage  Wait until foliage starts to die and tops bend over (don’t bend tops over yourself – increases storage rot)  Can be lifted and dried outside on soil or on boxes if weather suits, or dry indoors or in greenhouses.  Store in well-ventilated frost-free sheds  Suspend bulbs in plaits or on tray

Shallots Allium cepa  Very sweet flavour, store for up to 9 months  Usually grown from sets (seed produces single bulb), ideal size 1cm circumference  Planted 18cm apart each way, or 15cm in rows 23cm apart  Plant early-mid winter in mild areas, some cvs only suitable for late spring planting  Push set in soil to half its depths or in shallow drill, firm soil around set  Replant carefully if uprooted by birds  Mulch between rows  Lift clumps whole, harvest and store as bulb onions, small ones can be kept for following season

Garlic Allium sativum  Vegetatively propagated from separate cloves, 1cm diameter ideal  Up to 30cm high  Light, well-drained soil, moderate fertility, avoid fresh manure or boggy soil  Responds to potash  Most strains require low temperature to bulb (best planted in autumn)  Plant cloves 2cm deep  Plant 15cm apart for high yields, or cm apart in rows 25-30cm apart

Cultivation & Storage  Garlic can be lifted when leaves start to turn yellow  Don’t let bulbs separate or sprout  Handle carefully as bruising will reduce storage ability  Dry outside for 7-10 days in breezy conditions  Store in bunches or plaits as onions  Keep 6-12 months, can be planted following season  Home-saved strains may adapt to local climate  Garlic will keep for 6-8 months when stored in the dark at 35-40C

Perennial Alliums Allium schoenoprasum Rocambole – Serpent Garlic) Egyptian onion Tree onion Welsh onion

Leeks Allium ampeloprasum  Includes elephant garlic  Very resistant to freezing temperatures  Resistant to disease  Open site, fertile, well-cultivated. Manured previous autumn  May reduce clubroot infection in brassicas (fibrous, extensive root system)

Cultivation  Can be grown in situ, but seed-bed or modules are preferable  Sow 1-2cm deep indoors, above 7C  Plant leeks when 20cm tall, size is influenced by spacing – 23cm apart each way, or 15cm apart in rows 30cm apart.  Can be intercropped with lettuce or winter salads  Water gently until plants are established  Leeks normally planted in holes to increase blanched stem  15 – 20cm deep, drop leek in, water gently, soil falls in naturally  Stems can also be earthed up  Harvest as required, stand over-winter

Umbelliferae/ Apiaceae  Umbrella-shaped flowers  Over 200 species

Carrots Daucus carota  First cultivated in Europe around 10 th century  High in provitamin A  Anthocyanin pigment in red, purple and black varieties  Range from 2” – 36” length  Earlies (12 – 18 weeks), short/round roots “Paris Market” type, more suitable for heavy or shallow soils  Used fresh, some Nantes also store, Amsterdam  Maincrops (18 – 24 weeks), larger, longer, bulk dries more slowly, suitable for winter storage  Chantennay cvs good flavour, Berlicum later maturing, Autumn King, tapered, high yield, needs light soil and long season

Cultivation  Sheltered for earlies, open site for maincrop  Light, fertile, deep, stone-free, well-drained  Cannot penetrate in heavy clay/compacted soil  Needs fine seedbed, not in weedy ground  Dig in compost several months before, not freshly manured (caused forking)  Earlies:  Round, Amsterdam or Nantes, minimum 5C, seeds germinate 3X faster at 10C  Can be sown early under plastic or fleece  Only round cvs can be sown in modules

Cultivation of maincrops  Any maincrop CVs, mid-spring to mid-summer  Drills 15cm apart  Susceptible to weed competition  Mulch between rows  Water very little, reduces root size. Dry periods can cause roots to split

Pests & Diseases  Carrot Fly  Fly lays eggs at base of plants, tiny maggots tunnel into roots  Foliage fades, roots don’t store well  Low-flying flies, grow carrots within 60cm – 2’ high barriers, in boxes raised off the ground, or underneath fleeces  Caution when cow parsley is in flower  Sow early and late in season to avoid worst attacks  Sow thinly as thinning plants attracts flies  Thin in evening or still conditions,  Cut thinnings with scissors, bury in compost heap  Water and firm after thinning  Aim to lift early carrots by early autumn and maincrops by mid-Autumn

Harvesting & Storage  Pull roots out carefully (check diameter  Water soil beforehand if dry  Some can be stored in ground, some varieties frost sensitive  Clamps:  Make a clamp against an outside wall,  5-7cm layer of straw, coarse sand or ashes, pile carrots ontop to height of 2’, cover with 20cm of straw and 15cm of soil

Parsnips Pastinaca sativa  Very hardy  Bulbous, wedge-shaped types and long bayonet types  Deep, light, stone-free, well drained soil  Preferably manured for previous crop  Experiments have shown that growing on freshly manured soil does not necessarily cause fanged roots

Cultivation  Long growing season  Use fresh seed (1 year viability)  Sow in situ, theoretically from late winter to late spring, usually better to wait till March/April, can be sown under cloches  Prepare fine-tilth seedbed, germination is sown  Can be inter-sown with radish to mark rows  Small types in rows 20cm apart, thin to 5 – 10cm apart  Large types in rows 30cm apart, thin to 13 – 20cm apart  Mulch between rows  Can be sown with annual flowers  No need to water unless very dry

 Canker: crowns crack and invaded by fungi,.  Most likely in highly fertile soil  Sow late and use resistant varieties  Celery fly: blistered leaves, pick off and destroy leaves  Carrot fly: Not as damaging as with carrots  Harvesting & Use  Best left in soil during winter, frost improves flavour.  Foliage dies down completely so should be marked  Can be covered with straw to make for easier lifting  Can be lifted and heeled in like leeks  Leaving plants to grow to seed can be very beneficial to biodiversity

ChervilSkirretPeruvian Carrot CeleryCeleriacHamburg Parsley

Parsley Petroselinum crispum  Biennial  Up to 2’, any moist soil  Partial to full shade  Harvest regularly to encourage fresh growth  Very rich in iron, iodine and magnesium  itamins A, B and C  Detoxifying effect, used for rheumatism  Mild painkiller  Insect repellant P. crispum crispum - curly P. crispum neapolitanum Danert – Flat/Italian

Lovage Levisticum officinale  Semi-shade to full sun, any soil  Grows up to 6’ X 3’  Edible leaves, stems and roots  Useful for digestive and respiratory problems  Mild painkiller (menstrual cramps)  Good companion plant, improving flavour and health of nearby plants

Coriander Coriandrum sativum  Annual 1’X1’  Can be grown through winter, needs moist soil (but not continually moist)  Easily runs to seed  Beneficial for digestive problems and nervous tension  Seeds can be narcotic  Essential oil is antiseptic and fungicidal  Helps repel aphids and carrot root fly  Grows well with dill and chervil, not with fennel

Dill Anethum graveolens  Compact annual  Moderately rich soil, full sun  Extensive culinary use  Medicinal use dates back 2000 years  Digestive problems  Good for cough, cold & flu  Insecticide  Good companion for corn and cabbages  Inhibits the growth of carrots  Bee attractant

Fennel Foeniculum vulgare  Perennial, up to 1.5m  Most soils, sunny dry position  Extensive culinary use  Seeds are most medicinally active  Digestive complaints  Mouthwash  Allelopathic – inhibits the growth of nearby plants  Attracts beneficial insects

Florence Fennel Foeniculum vulgare azoricum  Perennial, up to 1.5m  Any moist, well drained soil  Strong aniseed flavour

Sweetcorn Zea mays  6’ tall  Normal “sugary”: traditional sweetcorn, sugars convert to starch very quickly once harvested. Easy to grow  Sugary-enhanced: Selected for extra sweetness, sugar converts more slowlty, does not need to be isolated from other varieties  Super-sweet/shrunken gene: Very sweet types, should be isolated from other corn types  Tendersweet: Combined type, no need to isolate  Baby-corn/mini-corn: miniature immature cobs, eat 10cm long, raw/stir fried  Popcorn: small cobs/kernals, easily grown

Cultivation  Long frost-free conditions.  About 90 days growing tyime  Delay sowing until soil is 18C, or raise in modules  Grow in groups/blocks at least 4 rows deep to assist pollination  Use fresh seed  Isolate from bi-coloured/polenta types  2.5-4cm deep in modules/3” pot, 1 seed per module  Don’t let plants get stunted  Can be sown outside once soil is not soggy  Coverw ith jam jars or under polythene film or fleece  Space 36cm apart in rows 60cm apart, can be intercropped with plants

Harvesting  Kernals ripe when pale yellow  Silks turn dark brown  Pull back sheath, burst kernal with fingernail  Watery – unripe, milky – ripe, doughy – overripe  Eat as soon as possible

Squashes & Pumpkins

Courgettes & Marrows

Cucumbers

Permaculture Ethics  Earth care, People Care, Fair share  “ Ethics is nothing else than reverence for life. “  “Let me give you a definition of ethics: It is good to maintain and further life, it is bad to damage and destroy life.  ~ Albert Schweitzer