I pray this finds you all well, enjoying life, and planting (and maintaining) your gardens.
I learned a lot about red onions from having to research this month's featured item. The two things that stuck out the most are that the outer part of an onion is most nutritious. Makes sense, but I never thought about it. Did you know that onions are beneficial to bone health? There are many more benefits as well. Please take time to read below and see what peeks your interest.
This month I was able to find a lot of really informative links. I highly recommend checking them out:
Richmond Grows is an organization that teaches basic gardening classes, their focus is on teaching people how to save their own seeds. They have a seed lending library.
We should all be found tapping into local groups and organizations that are doing what they can to help us become more self-sufficient, empowering us to achieve the goal of doing for self.
Two links provide information on the health benefits of onions so that we can learn more about what we are consuming and how it benefits us.
A link that teaches us how to pick, store and prevent crying while cutting onions.
Another link shares how to grow onions in containers.
And a link to teach us how to dehydrate onions. This site is actually called Food Storage and Survival Adventures in Self Reliance. They have a lot of good information on their site, including disaster preparedness drills you can practice with your family.
I found all the information to be helpful. I hope you do too.
May God Continue to Bless Us All, Erika Muhammad
Health Benefits of Red Onion
by eHow
No kitchen is complete without a red onion. They may make you cry, but they're on your side when it comes to taste and health. Red onions can be used in so many recipes that you'll probably find yourself buying them regularly. Onions are full of nutrients that will give a boost to your health.
Blood-Sugar Level
The more red onion you eat, the lower your blood-sugar glucose levels will be. This is because of allyl propyl disulfide and chromium, both of which are found in red onions.
Gastrointestinal Health
If you are looking to lower your chances of colon cancer and related diseases, add red onions to your diet at least twice a week. Quercitin, one of the flavinoids found in onions, is known to be very beneficial to gastrointestinal health.
Bones
A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that red onions are also beneficial to overall bone health. A compound known as GPCS is responsible for this, and it does so by inhibiting cells that break down bones.
Antiinflammatory
Red onions reduce inflammation in the bones and throat, as well as in blood vessels. This reduces many of the symptoms of osteoporosis, asthma and even the common cold.Cardiovascular Health
The chromium and vitamin B6 found in onions helps to increase cardiovascular health. Specifically, these compounds lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
How to Grow Red Onions From Bulbs
Red onions are eaten raw, boiled, broiled, baked, creamed, steamed, fried and pickled when harvested. They are cool-season vegetables that are grown by gardeners either from seeds or from small bulbs. Onions are biennial plants that take two years to complete their life cycle. When planted from seed, the red onion forms and above-ground steam -- modified leaves -- and tiny underground bulbs. The next year, larger bulbs form until the red onions are large, mature and ready for harvest. Planting small red onion bulbs, known as onion sets, allows gardeners to bypass the first year of growing and harvest mature onions much more quickly.
Difficulty:
Moderately Easy
Instructions
things you'll need:
Shovel
Compost
Red onion bulbs (onion sets)
Garden hoe
Straw mulch
Fertilizer
Loosen the soil to the depth of 6 inches with a shovel two to four weeks before the last frost date. Till the soil until it is loose and ready for planting. Add 2 inches of compost to the soil to ensure good fertility.
Plant the red onion sets 1 inch deep and 2 to 4 inches apart. Cover them with soil, but do not compact the soil down. Plant additional rows of onions 12 to 18 inches apart.
Weed the onion patch by hand. Red onions have shallow roots and do not grow well with weeds and grass, which compete for soil nutrients and moisture. Use a garden hoe to eradicate the weeds between the rows.
Water the red onion bulbs each week whenever the weather is dry. Sprinkle the soil around the base of the plants until the soil is moist to depth of 2 to 4 inches, depending on the size of the bulbs. Use a 1-inch layer of straw mulch around the red onion bulbs to suppress weed growth and hold in soil moisture.
Feed the red onions three weeks after active growth has started. Place a narrow band of 10-10-10 slow-release fertilizer 2 to 3 inches beside the row of onions. Scratch it into the top 1 inch of soil and water right away to start the fertilizer working. Use about 1 lb. of fertilizer for every 100 square feet of planting space.
Pull every other onion when harvesting for the first time. This allows the red onions left in the garden more room to grow larger. Harvest the onions on a dry morning. Let the onions dry for the day in the shade. Later, braid the tops together and hang the red onion bunches in a cool, dry area with good air circulation.
Tips & Warnings
Separate the red onion sets by size. Make two piles: onions smaller than a nickel and larger than a nickel. The larger bulbs tend to bolt before growing into full-sized onion bulbs. It is best to harvest these bulbs early as green onions.
Purple blotch and Botrytis leaf blight are two plant diseases that infect red onion plants. These diseases are caused by wet leaves. Water the red onions early in the day so the leaves will dry before night. Remove the infected plant parts when the plants are dry.
Any member that signs-up 3 or more members in 1 month will receive a free produce bag for that event. Simply submit the signed membership agreements with payments.
What is Your Produce Market Buying Club?
We are a group of people who see the need for and are committed to establishing economic and agricultural unity in the black community.
Our inspiration is the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, which teach us to "pool our resources and do for self."
Our Mission, "Empowering people to feed themselves."
Our primary goal is to establish a member-owned cooperative corporation supermarket in our community.
Contact Us
Newsletter: Yourfoodbuyingclub@gmail.com
Membership Administration: Majeedah Muhammad buyingclubmembers@gmail.com 510-712-0094
Informational Presentations: Carlton Muhammad carltonm@sonic.net 510.827.5203
and try raising your own food, or have collective farming. However, try seeking some of this earth that you can call your own; and, raise on it the necessities of life."
