Tastes like onion but won't make you cry

The beginnings of our scallion forest

If you're like me and you like the onion flavor but find onions to be too strong there is some hope for you. There's a little plant that has a milder flavor than onion and is ideal for growing in containers. Scallions. Also known by other names such as green onions, spring onions, and bunching onions just to name a few, scallions are members of the Allium genus which contains onions, garlic, and leek. Sometimes the term scallion is used to describe young onion plants that have yet to develop a bulb. For the purpose of this post scallion refers to plants that do not develop a bulb even after they've reached maturity. The species we are interested in is Allium fistulosum, aka Welsh onion. (Editors note: Being a science geek I can't resist the temptation of throwing in some taxonomy).

Scallions are a perennial plant that's commonly used in Asian (and Jessica's yummy) cuisine. It's usually served raw in salads or as a garnish but can be cooked to provide a mild onion flavor to soups, seafood, and even scrambled eggs. Scallions can be raised from seed or young plants can be bought from nurseries. But by far our favorite method is to plant supermarket bought scallions. We save the white stalk that contains the roots and we plant it in a sunny location (6+ hours of sunlight). Care must be taken since the roots are very shallow. Plant the scallion deep enough for the roots to be covered by the soil but not the white stalk. Water thoroughly to establish the plant. Usually the next day  you can spot green shoots coming out of the white stalk. Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a scallion plant.

A few days after planting you should see green shoots

If you interested in the white shanks mount up soil around the base as the plant grows. This will stimulate the growth of this part. After 4-6 weeks you can harvest individual shoots and let the plant regrow more leaves. Cut the brightest and healthiest looking leaves at the base of the plant. Alternatively you can wait 10-12 weeks and pull the whole plant for use. We recommend sowing more than one plant so that you have enough leaves to harvest at any time. Space plants 3 inches apart for optimum growth.

Have you grown scallions in your garden? Share your experiences in the comments section and stay tuned to watch the progress of our scallion "forest". (Scallion forest is a trademark of Container Garden PR. All rights reserved.)