Shandong Green Onion

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

Hello everyone! For those that received seeds from NWG's generous offer, how did, or how are they progressing for you?? I started my seed in cups in very late winter and they germinated pretty fast. I kept them in my GH until spring, and divided and transplanted in a fertile, well composted raised bed, filled with plenty of rotted goat and chicken manure.. It took a while for them to take off, but once they did they kept growing fast and strong! They loved the heat of the summer as long as I kept the bed well watered.

With the near end of my garden season close at hand, (we had a light frost on Saturday night) I decided to pull up my SGO's that were planted in the spring in a raised bed alongside nasturtiums and strawberries..wanted to post a few pictures.. Please be patient..I have a few pic's to post and it takes a while to upload..

Ginny

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

From the top of the green stalk to the bottom of the white stem, they reached up to 40 inches in height.

Ginny

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

NewWestGardener · September 15, 2015

Hi Ginny, what a nice surprise to see this! You should have stood beside them for the photo

. The Shadong people would have enjoyed seeing their humble onions made it big in the United States!

I'm glad yours worked out so well as you really took good care of them.
You could also experiment a little by leaving a couple of them in the ground, bury them with more soil, to see if they come back again next spring. I think they will, even if your ground freezes solid in the winter. You will likely get big tender sprouts in spring, leave a couple in ground for seed collection later.

They are referred in China as 山东大葱 "Shandong Giant Green Onion" or "Shandong Da Cong", even if they are grown elsewhere. So the region becomes the generic name, however, I don't think there is a name to this specific variety as the seeds were bought at the local market, loose without labels, but safe to say they are local heirloom.

I just planted some this morning. They will overwinter, and ready for next year. My crop died of thirst this year as I did not water them at all and this summer was the hottest and driest. I still have a few seeds left from last year, which I will package up and offer up for trades later this year, if they germinate well. I will know for sure in a week if seedlings emerge. Gulp....Just realized that my dog dug a hole in the bed I just planted... what can I say!

Tormato · September 15, 2015

I've seen them called Zhangqiu Giant Green onion.

I got a very, very late start on mine.
They are about 6" high

, about 1/16 " thick.

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewWestGardener

Hi Ginny, what a nice surprise to see this! You should have stood beside them for the photo

. The Shadong people would have enjoyed seeing their humble onions made it big in the United States!

I'm glad yours worked out so well as you really took good care of them.
You could also experiment a little by leaving a couple of them in the ground, bury them with more soil, to see if they come back again next spring. I think they will, even if your ground freezes solid in the winter. You will likely get big tender sprouts in spring, leave a couple in ground for seed collection later.

They are referred in China as 山东大葱 "Shandong Giant Green Onion" or "Shandong Da Cong", even if they are grown elsewhere. So the region becomes the generic name, however, I don't think there is a name to this specific variety as the seeds were bought at the local market, loose without labels, but safe to say they are local heirloom.

I just planted some this morning. They will overwinter, and ready for next year. My crop died of thirst this year as I did not water them at all and this summer was the hottest and driest. I still have a few seeds left from last year, which I will package up and offer up for trades later this year, if they germinate well. I will know for sure in a week if seedlings emerge. Gulp....Just realized that my dog dug a hole in the bed I just planted... what can I say!

It is good to hear from you!!

I felt a responsibility with the seed you sent me, so I made sure to take good care of them.. Although, I dug them up before thinking about leaving some to overwinter. My mistake.

I planted a few in my GH and all but one withered away.They were shaded and crowded out by the tomato and kale plants. The one survivor is only around eight inches tall as I planted it too close to the entrance and it got trampled on and run over by the garden hose. But alas, it is still alive!

I will give it a dose of fish fertilizer and compost to see if it helps.

Sorry you lost your first crop. We must have had similar weather patterns as we had a lot of 90+ degree day's which is unusual for us . We had a drought off and on, but this past month we had a lot of rain.

I hope you ended up with a somewhat decent garden.

Did you mean your dog dug up your newly planted onion bed?? Oh nooooo...

Ginny

KC.Sun · September 15, 2015

Have you tried these yet?

I'm really curious of this type and what the correct name of this green onion is. I've seen these in specialty markets, but "shandong green onion" isn't the correct name for these. It's a translated common name because the variety name isn't available. I know that these are common in the Japanese culture and they generalize it as "negi". But, the have lots of versions of this too.

They use it as garnishes a lot and it's extremely flavorful. My mom likes to add/boil it in with her chicken stock and boy it adds a world of flavor.

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

I pulled a few leaves off and the white stem/bulb averaged 8 to 10 inches in length .. I did not pile up the soil around the stem to blanch. I think I should still have a few seeds left, as I want to grow it again next season. I love this onion!!

Ginny

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC.Sun

Have you tried these yet?

I'm really curious of this type and what the correct name of this green onion is. I've seen these in specialty markets, but "shandong green onion" isn't the correct name for these. It's a translated common name because the variety name isn't available. I know that these are common in the Japanese culture and they generalize it as "negi". But, the have lots of versions of this too.

They use it as garnishes a lot and it's extremely flavorful. My mom likes to add/boil it in with her chicken stock and boy it adds a world of flavor.

I do not know what the correct name is, but the generous TVillian, whom I got seeds from in a trade, got her seeds from someone in China at a market..?? I will have to go back to her thread in case I am mistaken.. This is the name she listed it as..

I just pulled them up recently, so have not had a chance to use them in a dish, but I think I am going to make a Shandong Sauce using the green onions, and I will make a Shandong chicken recipe to go with it.. Also, I saw a recipe where they wrapped the green onions in a tortilla.

Big thank you to NWG...

Ginny

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

Here is the thread.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ng+green+onion

KC.Sun · September 15, 2015

If you like Japanese ramen, my friend that owns a Japanese ramen shop uses the white portion, thinly sliced as a garnish in his ramen. Sometimes he uses the green portion for soup and broths.

It's also a great garnish for his Tokyo wings.

barefootgardener · September 15, 2015

[QUOTE=KC.Sun;505011]If you like Japanese ramen, my friend that owns a Japanese ramen shop uses the white portion, thinly sliced as a garnish in his ramen. Sometimes he uses the green portion for soup and broths.

It's also a great garnish for his Tokyo wings.[/QUO

Sounds good.. So many way's to use this in a dish..

Thank you for the suggestions! I am getting hungry thinking of the possibilities!

Ginny

KC.Sun · September 15, 2015

Thanks for the link, I learned something new today

luigiwu · September 15, 2015

Does anyone know how to get seeds from these?

September 15, 2015	#1
barefootgardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Zone 4b Posts: 1,291	Shandong Green Onion Hello everyone! For those that received seeds from NWG's generous offer, how did, or how are they progressing for you?? I started my seed in cups in very late winter and they germinated pretty fast. I kept them in my GH until spring, and divided and transplanted in a fertile, well composted raised bed, filled with plenty of rotted goat and chicken manure.. It took a while for them to take off, but once they did they kept growing fast and strong! They loved the heat of the summer as long as I kept the bed well watered. With the near end of my garden season close at hand, (we had a light frost on Saturday night) I decided to pull up my SGO's that were planted in the spring in a raised bed alongside nasturtiums and strawberries..wanted to post a few pictures.. Please be patient..I have a few pic's to post and it takes a while to upload.. Ginny

September 15, 2015	#4
NewWestGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 564	Hi Ginny, what a nice surprise to see this! You should have stood beside them for the photo . The Shadong people would have enjoyed seeing their humble onions made it big in the United States! I'm glad yours worked out so well as you really took good care of them. You could also experiment a little by leaving a couple of them in the ground, bury them with more soil, to see if they come back again next spring. I think they will, even if your ground freezes solid in the winter. You will likely get big tender sprouts in spring, leave a couple in ground for seed collection later. They are referred in China as 山东大葱 "Shandong Giant Green Onion" or "Shandong Da Cong", even if they are grown elsewhere. So the region becomes the generic name, however, I don't think there is a name to this specific variety as the seeds were bought at the local market, loose without labels, but safe to say they are local heirloom. I just planted some this morning. They will overwinter, and ready for next year. My crop died of thirst this year as I did not water them at all and this summer was the hottest and driest. I still have a few seeds left from last year, which I will package up and offer up for trades later this year, if they germinate well. I will know for sure in a week if seedlings emerge. Gulp....Just realized that my dog dug a hole in the bed I just planted... what can I say! Last edited by NewWestGardener; September 15, 2015 at 05:40 PM.

September 15, 2015	#5
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	I've seen them called Zhangqiu Giant Green onion. I got a very, very late start on mine. They are about 6" high, about 1/16 " thick.

September 15, 2015	#15
luigiwu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: ny Posts: 1,219	Does anyone know how to get seeds from these? __________________ Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7!

September 15, 2015	#7
KC.Sun Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: 6a Posts: 322	Have you tried these yet? I'm really curious of this type and what the correct name of this green onion is. I've seen these in specialty markets, but "shandong green onion" isn't the correct name for these. It's a translated common name because the variety name isn't available. I know that these are common in the Japanese culture and they generalize it as "negi". But, the have lots of versions of this too. They use it as garnishes a lot and it's extremely flavorful. My mom likes to add/boil it in with her chicken stock and boy it adds a world of flavor.