Spring onions are a versatile vegetable and a reliable source of vitamins A, B and C. Photo / Unsplash / riki lifestyle
Kem Ormond is a features writer for NZME community newspapers and The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she’s singing the praises of the spring onion.
OPINION
Spring onions are one of the most versatile vegetables to have in the garden.
They take up very little space and can even be grown in your flower bed if space is short.
They are quick-growing onion cultivars that are harvested when small.
The mild, sweet flavour of spring onion is quite different from its big brothers, the brown, red and shallot.
This vegetable is a reliable source of vitamins A, B and C and you can use the leafy green tops and bulbs.
They are actually onions, harvested before any large bulb has a chance to form and can be eaten cooked or raw.
Spring onions love a sunny position in well-drained but moist soil.
It pays to feed your soil with a slow-release fertiliser or prepare it with homemade compost or sheep pellets.
I like to use some old six-pack seed containers adding half a dozen seeds into each cell.
This makes it easier to divide them when it is time to plant them and avoids having to thin them – my least favourite job.
If you decide to plant directly into your vegetable beds, create furrows around 6mm deep and sprinkle the seeds in.
Next, cover the seeds lightly with another layer of compost and gently press down.
After 10-14 days, you will need to thin out the seedlings by gently pulling some out of the ground where they are growing too closely together and replanting in other parts of your garden.
Space with 5cm between each plant and 15cm between each row.
This has to be done so you have more room for your spring onions to grow. Plus, this allows more airflow between plants, reducing the likelihood of diseases being spread.
It also pays to change your planting beds each year as this will help deter pests and diseases.
You need to plant new crops at 3-4-week intervals if you want year-round plants.
Some areas can grow spring onions all year round.
I am on the west coast of the North Island and grow them eight months of the year, although I could grow them in pots in a sunny warm, sheltered position and have them 12 months of the year.
Spring onions are ready to harvest in eight weeks.
I always pull up the whole plant when they are ready to use, but I have friends who snip off the base and leave the roots in the ground to regrow.
Aphids, Thrips and Downy Mildew are all pests and diseases to watch out for.
Keep your plants well-fed and do not let them dry out and this will help them to keep healthy.
Spring onions can be used in so many dishes, such as salads, and Asian cuisine, or to add decoration to a dish.
However, my favourite is my potato salad recipe.
Enjoy.
Ingredients
1kg potatoes (little waxy ones are nice as they can stay whole.)
3 spring onions, finely diced
2 Tbsp whole capers
5 small gherkins, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped parsley
6 slices prosciutto fried until crispy and broken into pieces
Dressing
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
Salt and black pepper
Method
Cook potatoes.
Drain and refresh under cold water so they don’t keep on cooking.
Gently combine potatoes, spring onions, capers, gherkins, and parsley in a bowl.
Whisk up the dressing ingredients until smooth.
Add dressing to bowl and turn the potatoes gently to coat.
Serve topped with the prosciutto.
'The contribution they’ve made to ballet in this country ... has been immense.'