October 2025: Evergreen Bunching Onions

This month’s seed kit features Evergreen Bunching Onions!  To support our environment, some seed kit materials are now available digitally.

Evergreen Bunching Onions

This heirloom perennial produces silvery-white stalks and has a mild flavor. An attractive plant, it has been used in borders as well as in the vegetable garden. Non-GMO and open-pollinated.

Planting Instructions

Culture: Can be started either directly in the ground or in planting trays and then transplanted when about 3-4 inches tall. Prefers rich, fertile soil and full sun. Lightly cover with loose straw or leafy mulch to protect during the coldest times. Sow seeds about ¼ inch deep in rows spaced 12 inches apart. Thin (or place) plants 2-4 inches apart. 

Water: Water as needed to keep the soil moist, but not saturated. Plants should begin to emerge in 7-10 days, longer if temperatures are very low.

Harvest: Plants reach maturity in 65-120 days. Harvest either by pulling the entire plant or by using just the green leaves. Plants left inground will continue to produce green leaves as well as to spread underground in clumps. The clumps are then divided to produce additional plants.

More About Evergreen Bunching Onions

Have you heard of bunching onions? You might know them as green onions, scallions, or spring onions. Whichever name you use, the bunching onion is a versatile and easy-to-grow addition to your garden. Bunching onions were first cultivated in China and were later brought to Europe in the 17^th century. Relatives of modern bunching onions escaped from kitchen gardens and can now be found growing naturally in many parts of the world. Unlike their close cousin, the onion, bunching onions do not form true bulbs. Instead, bunching onions grow in clusters and feature long, slender, straight stalks with white bases and dark green leaves. Bunching onions have a mild oniony flavor that increases as you move from the green stems to the white portion of the plant. Bunching onions are a nutritious, low-calorie food packed with vitamins A, C, and K, as well as essential minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron. They make a great addition to salads, soups, and other dishes.

Scallion Pancakes

 Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes Rest Time: 30 minutes to 24 hours Cook Time: 20 minutes 

• Dough:   
  • 2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ c. boiling water
  • ¼ c. cold water
  • 4 tsp. vegetable oil
• Filling:   
  • ¼ c. vegetable oil, melted coconut oil, or melted butter
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp. white pepper
  • 5 c. green onions sliced down the middle and chopped
  • 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• Dipping Sauce:   
  • 2 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
  • ½ tsp. sugar

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour with the salt and stir. With a wooden spoon or chopsticks, stir the flour mixture and slowly pour in the boiling water until the water is fully absorbed. Slowly add in the cold water and continue mixing to form a rough dough. Transfer to a floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth. Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl and cover. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator. 
2. While the dough is resting, heat oil or butter in a pan. In a small bowl, combine heated oil with the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir to form a paste. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dipping sauce ingredients and stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside. 
3. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead for a few minutes until smooth. Cut the dough into six even pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Work on one dough ball at a time. Cover the rest with plastic wrap to prevent drying.  
4. Roll each piece into a thin rectangle. Spread a thin layer of the oil-flour paste onto the dough, then add chopped scallions. Roll the dough tightly into a log, then coil it like a snail. Gently flatten to form the pancake. (about ½ inch thick). Repeat with each dough ball.  
5. Heat 2-3 tbsp. of oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, add the pancakes and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until golden and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Cut into wedges or pull apart by hand and serve with dipping sauce.  

Craft: Vegetables in the Garden

You’ll Need:

• 2 paper plates
• Light blue and brown paint
• Paintbrushes
• Stapler
• Green and orange paper
• Glue
• Brown easter grass

Instructions:

1. Paint one paper plate blue and the other one brown. The brown one needs to be painted on the back. When the paint has dried, cut the brown paper plate in half. We will only need one half for this craft.
2. Staple the two paper plates together along the edge, forming a pocket.
3. Stuff brown grass inside the paper plate pocket.
4. Draw a few carrots on the orange construction paper and cut them out. Cut out carrot tops from the green paper and glue them to the back of the carrots.
5. Place the carrots inside the “dirt”.

Feel free to make other root vegetables like onions and turnips to tuck into your garden as well!