Maine Garden Ideas
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        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
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About Onions and Garlic

Onions and Garlic Picture
Onions and garlic are the mainstays of the kitchen. They can be used raw in salads, salsas, and sandwiches or cooked in your favorite recipes. Both keep well for the winter and can be braided to create an attractive display or kept in boxes in a cool, dry area. Growing your own onions and garlic lets you experiment with different varieties to find your personal favorites.

Softneck Garlic vs Hardneck Garlic

Garlic

Hardneck Garlic

Hardneck garlic is cold-hardy making it a good choice for Maine gardens. Each clove produces a cluster (called a head) of several cloves the following year, if it is planted in the fall. Hardneck garlic typically sends up a curled scape or flowertop in midsummer. Tiny bulbils of garlic will form on the scape.

Softneck Garlic

Softneck garlic is not cold-hardy, but some varieties survive to USDA plant hardiness zone 5, if they are provided with winter mulch. Areas in southern Maine may be able to grow softneck garlic, but those in mid to northern Maine should choose a hardneck variety.. Softneck does not produce a scape.

Onions

multicolored onions
Onions can be many different sizes, shapes, and colors.

Onion Colors

Onions come in many colors. They may be green, yellow, white, red, or purple. The color doesn't always tell you the flavor. There are sweet or mild onions in each color. There are also strong onions in each color.  The variety of onion determines its flavor.

Onion Flavor

Whether you prefer your onions sweet and mild, or like a little kick to your onions, there is a variety for you. The flavor of onions is determined by the variety of onion you grow. Weather and moisture can also effect the flavor.

Onion Shapes

Onions range in size from miniature pearl or button onions to huge globes with slices large enough to top  a burger. They also come in a variety of shapes including round, oval, flattened and torpedo shaped. The shape and size of the onion does not determine its flavor.

Caramelizing onions by sauteing them over low heat in a little butter brings out their sweetness by converting the starch to sugar.

Long Day Onions vs Short Day Onions

long day onions

Long Day Onions

Onions begin to form the bulb according to the amount of light they receive. Long day onions begin bulbing when the days are 14 or more hours long. Long day onions perform best in Maine and other northern climates, but they must be planted early in the spring to reach their full size.

Short Day Onions

Short day onions begin forming bulbs when the days are between 11 and 13 hours long. Short day onions perform best in southern climates. Some onions are neutral or intermediate and bulb when the days are 13 to 14 hours long.

How to Grow Garlic
How to Grow Onions
Copyright © 2014 Nannette Richford



  • Home
  • Garden Thyme Blog
  • Themes
    • Butterfly Gardens
    • Moon Gardens
    • Sensory Gardens
    • All About Fairies
  • Flowers
    • Annual Flowers >
      • Alyssum
      • Cosmos
      • Geraniums
      • Marigolds
      • Morning Glories
      • Nasturtiums
      • Petunias >
        • Reviving Petunias
      • Snapdragons
      • Sunflowers
      • Sweet Peas
      • Zinnias
    • Perennial Flowers >
      • Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Hortensia’)
      • Lupines
      • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea)
    • Maine Wildflowers
  • Veggies
    • Warm Season Vegetables >
      • About Beans >
        • Growing Beans
        • Growing Pole Beans
        • How to Make a Teepee Trellis
      • About Corn >
        • Growing Corn
        • What is Baby Corn, anyway?
        • Can you grow corn in containers?
      • Cucumbers >
        • Grow a cucumber in a bottle
        • Growing Pickling Cucumbers
        • Growing cucamelons (Mexican Gherkin)
        • Why do cucumbers blossom but fail to set fruit?
        • Trellising Cucumbers
        • Making Cucumber Relish
        • Powdery Mildew on Cucumbers
      • Melons
      • Peppers >
        • Growing Peppers
      • Squash >
        • Growing Zucchini
        • Spaghetti Squash
      • Tomatoes >
        • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants
        • How (and when) to Prune Tomatoes
        • Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) for Tomatoes
        • Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
        • Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets
        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
        • 5 Early Maturing Tomatoes for Short Season Gardening
        • How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
        • How to Grow a Pomato Plant
    • Cool Season Vegetables >
      • Cole Crops
      • Greens >
        • How to Grow Spinach
        • How to Grow Malabar Spinach
        • How to Grow Swiss Chard
        • Harvesting and Cooking Beet Greens
        • How to Grow Microgreens
      • Onions & Garlic >
        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
      • Peas >
        • Growing Garden (shelling) Peas
        • Growing Sugar Snap Peas
      • Potatoes >
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Hay Bales
      • Root Crops >
        • Growing Beets
        • How to Grow Carrots
        • Turnips vs Rutabagas
  • Herbs
    • Growing Basil
    • Growing Chives
    • Growing Lavender
    • Herbal Tea Garden
    • How to Grow a Culinary Herb Garden
    • How to Grow Herbs in Sponges
    • Colonial Herb Garden - Classroom Project
    • Herbed Butter
    • Making Herbed Oils
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting Basics
    • Grafting Basics
    • Soil >
      • Starting a New Garden
      • How to Prepare Soil
      • How to Test Soil Drainage
      • What Type of Soil Do You Have
      • Soil Mix Recipe for Containers
      • How to Make Compost Tea
      • How to Use Mulch
  • Garden Pests
    • How to Control Japanese Beetles
    • How to Control Blister Beetles
    • How to Get Rid of Colorado Potato Beetles
  • Birds
    • Hummingbirds >
      • DIY Hummingbird Feeders from Recycled Bottles
      • Annuals for Hummingbird Gardens
      • Perennials for Hummingbird Gardens
    • About Birdseed
    • Choosing a Birdfeeder
  • Fiddleheads and Fairies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • How to Marinate Roasted Vegetables