Wild garlic or onion

[steev]

Would the pigs eat them?

[mnjrutherford]

Yes. They do (or rather did) eat them. Unfortunately, the also reproduce via root systems so they come back up pretty readily. It helps to out compete them with my seed project.

[reed]

I like em. I actually started a project to gather them up and cultivate to see what they do. I think the flavor is very good and most here stay completely green all winter. Can always have onion flavor for cooking even if you don't have any onions. I even like the smell when I mow the grass and run over a big patch.

[mnjrutherford]

Yes, they remind me of fried potatoes when they are freshly mowed. Never considered using them JUST for flavor. They would probably be great within a bouquet garni where you wanted just a hint of onion.... Or in smoothies, or maybe you could pound them with salt then dry them... sort of like a fruit leather? Good point there Reed.

[kazedwards]

Found this one growing in the garden today. I actually thought it was garlic at first. It's a good size and I know it wasn't there last year. I think I will let grow and see what it does. I'm still not sure if it is garlic or onion.

[mnjrutherford]

I can, with absolute assurance guarantee that it's an allium. How about that? LOLOL I'm going to look forward to hearing what you think of it when you actually harvest it. Meanwhile, the weed with the small purple flower that is above it in the photo, do you know what THAT weed is?

[reed]

Ha, we call that weed creeping Charlie, no idea what it really is but it's everywhere. I'v come to amicable coexistence with it. It grows early in the season and it grows fast, bees love it. It crowds out grass, which I hate and if allowed to grow up and bloom before cutting it down short it takes a long time to grow back. The parts of the yard that are covered with it hardly has to be mowed except the first time, and it only gets about six inches tall if not mowed at all.

Same in the garden, once you knock back the initial spring growth it is fairly well behaved, it doesn't compete well with established veggies and it hates being tilled. Not saying it can't be a problem, but I'v learned to live with it.

[blueadzuki]

It's usually called henbit, looks like Lamium purpureumOthers one can often see are Lamium amplexicaule (a bit taller) and Lamium macualtum (much bigger, spotted leaves)

[steev]

Mar 29, 2016 17:54:53 GMT -5 mnjrutherford said:

Yes, they remind me of fried potatoes

OMG, you put onions in your fried potatoes? That is so the right thing to do; one hopes you're also frying those onions/spuds in bacon grease; life is short; one might as well enjoy it!

kaze: surely the sniff test of a little leaf-tip would settle the garlic/onion question.

[mnjrutherford]

Henbit or Creeping Charlie hmmmm.... Cool. I'll have to read up on that. I've never seen bees on mine. I do notice that bees seem to attract to plants differently in different places. Also interesting.

Fried potatoes are not fried potatoes without onion. LOLOL Deep fried potatoes with onions are to die for but you never see a restaurant "contaminating" their fryers in such a delicious way, do you? I actually do not use bacon grease with potatoes. Cabbage, eggs and pancakes, yes, bacon grease all the way. Also onions being sauteed for flavoring for stuff like squash or greens. Potatoes typically get olive oil and butter for pan frying and veg oil for deep frying. That's what you get for hybridizing a southerner with a southern european.

[kazedwards]

Fried potatoes are delicious. Fried sweet potatoes are too but not with onions.

We call the purple weed behind it clover here. It grows a lot in my yard but doesn't bother anything. In the spring here it is very prominent in fields which makes it very petty. I typically tolerate it in the path but not the beds. Bees love it and are always around it. Yesterday I hoed all of it that was in the beds. I left it sitting on the soil.

[kazedwards]

The smell is very faint but similar to both garlic and onions. A google search came up with it being called wild garlic or onion. It said it be Allium stellatum know as wild pink onion or Allium cernuum know as nodding wild onion. It could also be wild hyacinth. I guess I won't find out which one until the flower.

[khoomeizhi]

henbit or dead nettle. creeping charlie's a bit different.

[reed]

kazedwards , pretty sure what you got there is onion and if you can't tell for sure by smell it is one of my least favorite ones. Here is a clump of similar ones. 

 

This particular clump also has very little smell and the leaves are tough and chewy, yuk. I didn't include it the garden patch I'm collecting. I'm on the look out this year especially for the ones that flower (like an onion) and the ones that make top sets. Looks like this one multiplies by dividing. I don't know though, they may all be about the same and the phenotype differences are environmental cause they grow everywhere.    [[add] as general rule the good ones have soft leaves that are kinda slimy feeling when you crush em and a really nice onion flavor. The ones with dry feeling leaves and not much smell aren't so good. 

I think the wild hyacinth is a very different looking plant and is quite rare around here. My attempts to transplant it like I'v done with lots of other wild flowers have failed and it is so uncommon I feel bad trying again. It is a beautiful plant that gets a two or three feet tall central spike of light blue flowers, looks nothing like an onion. 

[kazedwards]

I have one of these wild plants near the boarder in the garden. I have just let it be since it is in the path. It has gotten very tall, just over three feet. It seems that it will flower soon too.