Sunday, October 7, 2012

Months ago when I first started obsessing on the various "Potato Onions" I early on concluded that I might see them being sold as a food crop in produce markets vs. as a plant sold by growers. Today I went to the Green Market on Interbay to try to get plantains to ripen for smoothies...none. BUT as I scanned the produce section I saw a small tray labelled "shallots"....I should have read what I think was the suppliers' tag, will go back and check in a week or two after a new shipment. The cashier this is the ONLY kind of shallot they sell ever. These shallots are BIG! By definition, a "potato onion" is just a cultivar of shallot (Allium somethingorother I can never remember) that is MUCH larger than normal shallots, and that replicates a whole new colony per bulb underground annually. These are 5-6 times bigger than the usual shallots I've seen for years in grocery stores, and 3-4 times bigger than the ones I bought at DoBond Market as possible "potato onion" candidates maybe 6 weeks ago. II bought 5 of these today....I'd like to give one to Jim Porter to grow up there in cold New Tampa not far from SR 54, one to Tim and Cathy off East Hillsborough Ave., one to Mary Jo in central Tampa, then one for me and Pat to try here in south Tampa. The fact that one has already divided internally beneath the skin so that I can feel it is now almost TWO bulbs makes me even more hopefully that we might have a local source of red potato onions to buy to grow plus disperse ours to others. I can't cook without onions, and IF these turn out to be a "Red Potato Onion" that likes Tampa, plus the "White Potato Onions" I bought mail order, the Egyptian Multiplier type that Allen Boatman dispersed, the form of Allium fistulosum plus the Allium canadense that I've dispersed to friends and customers, and Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum) I might soon to never again need to buy onions.


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