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Post by plantsnobin on Aug 24, 2009 9:43:33 GMT -5
I used to rip them out when they were seeding everywhere, now I leave them. Don't really know what I had against them, they are really quite pretty. Alan, give the plants a couple of years and they will look like this  |
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Post by hiven on Aug 24, 2009 17:35:10 GMT -5
Karen, if you don't like them to seed wildly, harvest the scapes (correct word ?), they are pretty nice in omelletes or in salad or for soup. I tend to let mine flower as the bees love them  . |
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Post by plantsnobin on Aug 24, 2009 19:57:25 GMT -5
They are indeed great for the beneficial insects. And truly they aren't a problem seeder if you do keep them clipped. Now if only I cooked....
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Post by ottawagardener on Aug 24, 2009 20:36:11 GMT -5
They are a fantastic plant, I agree, though a big prolific... I started looking up Asian recipes that use them in all sorts of ways including blanched.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 24, 2009 22:26:20 GMT -5
I don't think garlic chives have scapes? hmmm...
Anyway, I love to cook with them. They go into almost any "chopped meat" dish imaginable. I use them in fillings for meat dumplings, egg rolls, spring rolls, potato pieroshki filling, Chinese chicken salad.... etc. Especially this time of year it is very wise to ramp up herb use. Herbs carry a very potent nutritional kick and as we wend our way into the season of illness we can improve our chances of getting out of the season with minimal cost of tissues by using mucho amounts of herbs. Not to mention they taste so yummy! Cheap, fast, delicious meal? Herb and onion omletes. Nice piece of toast, cup of tea, a body is good to go! P.S. use olive oil!
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Post by stevil on Aug 25, 2009 3:19:02 GMT -5
Plain old garlic chives is anything but "plain old". This is one of the 3 most popular culinary onions in the Far East (Japan, Korea and China) alongside Allium fistulosum and A. cepa. There are many different varieties and there are special varieties developed for flowering scape production. Below is a picture of tuberosum flowering scapes purchased in a Chinese shop in Oslo. www.hagepraten.no/gallery/pic.php?mode=large&pic_id=2335When I first started growing tuberosum, I discovered it wasn't hardy here and overwintered in a pot for many years in my cellar. At that time I had no idea about genetic diversity and decided that this species just wasn't hardy... I've recently discovered that there are much hardier varieties out there and this year I'm comparing 5 or 6 varieties for winter hardiness, some are cultivars from Japan (I also have one variety of unknown origin which has now overwintered without problem). There is however some confusion as Allium ramosum (syn A. odorum) or Chinese Chives is difficult to tell apart from tuberosum and can be extremely hardy (below -40C). Allium ramosum generally flowers earlier than tuberosum. Allium tuberosum is generally considered to be the cultivated form, although it has apparently also been found in the wild. In reality there are many intermediary forms between the two... |
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Post by flowerpower on Aug 25, 2009 5:55:32 GMT -5
My garlic chives are nowhere near that tall. Maybe a ft or so. They are only 2 yr old plants. I think they are pretty.
When does the A fistulosum flower? I would like to get some of those. I just love alliums. I have a big section of white bunching I use as a border. It's a big carpet of purple in the spring. Looks great.
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Post by hiven on Aug 25, 2009 7:21:14 GMT -5
I wasn't sure what to call them, but i refer to their single flower stalk. They are pretty versatile plant/herb. I tend to rotate harvesting mine and even during winter they still produce some young leaves for harvest. I used them in a lot of dishes from fried noodles, friend rice, stir fry, mixed in pork mince as meat balls, in omelettes...oh there should be a wide range of recipe calling for it. I don't think garlic chives have scapes? hmmm... Anyway, I love to cook with them. They go into almost any "chopped meat" dish imaginable. I use them in fillings for meat dumplings, egg rolls, spring rolls, potato pieroshki filling, Chinese chicken salad.... etc. Especially this time of year it is very wise to ramp up herb use. Herbs carry a very potent nutritional kick and as we wend our way into the season of illness we can improve our chances of getting out of the season with minimal cost of tissues by using mucho amounts of herbs. Not to mention they taste so yummy! Cheap, fast, delicious meal? Herb and onion omletes. Nice piece of toast, cup of tea, a body is good to go! P.S. use olive oil! |
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Post by hiven on Aug 25, 2009 7:27:40 GMT -5
Ahh, so the flower stalk is also called scape , Steven ? I am glad knowing their diversity... I was lucky to get the hardy type from the beginning, they survived our harsh winter last year (-16 to -18). I am seeing flowers again, will let it produce more seeds... Yep, I used to buy the scapes while living in Singapore, the scapes are much more pricey then the leaves, it has similar aroma but much sweeter then the leaves. I used them in chinese and western cooking and some small amount in salad too...love it! Plain old garlic chives is anything but "plain old". This is one of the 3 most popular culinary onions in the Far East (Japan, Korea and China) alongside Allium fistulosum and A. cepa. There are many different varieties and there are special varieties developed for flowering scape production. Below is a picture of tuberosum flowering scapes purchased in a Chinese shop in Oslo. www.hagepraten.no/gallery/pic.php?mode=large&pic_id=2335When I first started growing tuberosum, I discovered it wasn't hardy here and overwintered in a pot for many years in my cellar. At that time I had no idea about genetic diversity and decided that this species just wasn't hardy... I've recently discovered that there are much hardier varieties out there and this year I'm comparing 5 or 6 varieties for winter hardiness, some are cultivars from Japan (I also have one variety of unknown origin which has now overwintered without problem). There is however some confusion as Allium ramosum (syn A. odorum) or Chinese Chives is difficult to tell apart from tuberosum and can be extremely hardy (below -40C). Allium ramosum generally flowers earlier than tuberosum. Allium tuberosum is generally considered to be the cultivated form, although it has apparently also been found in the wild. In reality there are many intermediary forms between the two... |
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Post by ottawagardener on Aug 25, 2009 15:28:35 GMT -5
Mine are tuberosum and are super hardy:
They grow outside, inside on a window sill - facing, I swear, any direction.
They grow when you forget to water them for several weeks... maybe more than a month inside.
They grow in tiny cramped pots where they are forgotten in nearly full shade.
They grow in boiling sun in a sandy garden.
They grow after being water logged for several weeks...
I haven't tried growing them in a pond yet.
Nearly full shade to full sun
Inside or Out
Dry to wet soil (though I have to test how prolonged the wetness can be).
Self seeds prolifically with vigour and is extremely versatile in the kitchen.
What more can you ask for? That it pick itself?
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Post by hiven on Aug 25, 2009 16:38:06 GMT -5
Telsing, you are planing to grow them in a pond are you  ... |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 25, 2009 21:24:10 GMT -5
YES! Pick themselves AND march straight to the kitchen! =o)
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Post by stevil on Aug 26, 2009 1:59:07 GMT -5
Mine are tuberosum and are super hardy: Self seeds prolifically with vigour and is extremely versatile in the kitchen. What more can you ask for? That it pick itself? You should start selecting for that trait - you could make your fortune.... Watch carefully  You don't want too much of that trait though as it could potentially pick itself to extermination... My tuberosums don't self-seed as they flower too late - they are only just coming into flower now, but ramosum does self-seed a bit. Would be interested in a little seed or a bulb or two later to compare if I be so bold as to ask.... |
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Post by ottawagardener on Aug 26, 2009 21:36:37 GMT -5
Absolutely. I'm writing you down on my seed list now. Then you can tell me definitively what they are. What I think are A. tuberosums are in flower now and look remarkably like the above picture but like you said, maybe there's been a little Allium hanky panky and it's not a true tuberosum.
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Post by stevil on Aug 27, 2009 3:20:46 GMT -5
Absolutely. I'm writing you down on my seed list now. Then you can tell me definitively what they are. What I think are A. tuberosums are in flower now and look remarkably like the above picture but like you said, maybe there's been a little Allium hanky panky and it's not a true tuberosum. Excellent - will let you know in due course. Do you realise that you are the first person on the whole WWW to write "Allium hanky panky"? Feel good? |
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You don't want too much of that trait though as it could potentially pick itself to extermination...