These vegetable tear-jerkers can be your best friend in the busy summer months, requiring little to no watering at the peak of the hot weather, writes Justin Newcombe.
Despite your best intentions this summer you may not be able to lavish upon your productive plot the attention it deserves - what with camping, surfing, shopping and generally keeping New Zealand beautiful, you will be positively booked out. So how can you possibly fit in being a green fingered, sustainable, eco-minded, self-sufficient, sprout-eating, recycling, yoga princess (or prince). Something's got to give, and often it's watering the garden.
Well, I'd like to introduce you to your new best friend: the onion. I wouldn't go as far as to say that the onion thrives on neglect but it certainly doesn't want to be over-loved during the drier months, and the tasty legacy of this prolific crop will last long into winter.
I always thought the onion was a bit of a fancy crop. I didn't have a crack at them for years, but once I did I was amazed at two things. Firstly, they take up surprisingly little space (I grew 200 onions on 9 square meters last year). Secondly they were very little work. Grandad's special, the Pukekohe Longkeeper, will make all your onion dreams come true.
Onions start off as tiny seeds which are sown quite deep (look carefully at the seed packet). These will come up in green threads which you may want to thin out or pot depending on how long you intend to wait before you plant your seedlings. I will plant mine around October when they're about 10-12cm tall. Onions require a nitrogen-depleted soil so if you're into crop rotation, onions are basically the bottom of the cycle and are planted after fruits such as tomatoes, pumpkins and eggplant.
I like to trench bull kelp (seaweed) into the ground when I've sown the onions in their trays. While I wait for the kelp to break down the seeds will propagate and the beds are ready by the time we are ready to plant. The kelp adds organic matter to the soil, improving biological activity and thus the uptake of nutrients without introducing nitrogen, which increases green top growth at the expense of the more desirable bulb. Other than this the soil should be friable and crumbly. Try to plant out in a sunny, airy place. Onions suffer from fungal infections. I've found spraying prophylactically with home-made seaweed spray successful in combating this.
Once in the ground they will really shoot away with lush green tops and a stout stem. During this phase the weather's usually a bit wet so they get enough water, but don't let the beds dry out yet. That comes later.
The really interesting thing about onions is that their biological clocks are activated by sunshine hours. Soon after we have reached the longest day the lush green shoots will start to yellow a little and you will notice a real acceleration in the formation of the onion bulb itself. During this process slowly reduce watering until you don't water at all. This is very important because you don't want your onion to rot. The onion's ability to be stored is improved through drying. The onion will actually shrink slightly and moisture will be sealed into the bulb.
Once the tops have died almost right back you can harvest, plait them together and hang them. Eat the big ones first as they perish the fastest.
