Funny that this onion should be the last of 2005’s microfarm harvest. It turns out that I’ve become somewhat of an expert in the area of onion farming in the South American Andes. In the next month I’ll be returning to Bolivia to, among other things, evaluate the current status of onion production in a rural watershed area. Stay tuned for more on my Bolivian travels.

This particular onion is of the Walla Wall variety, which comes from the island of Corsica off the coast of Italy. They grew beautifully in the long New Mexican summer. However, I did note that they were relatively slow to achieve full size. Though they stayed relatively healthy throughout the year, I did notice some instance of Thrips (Thrips tabacii) and Downy Mildew (Peronospora destructor).

My purchase of inferior onion bulbs from eburgess.com played right into the hands of these garden pests. These inferior specimens were weak performers from the start, and provided an excellent host for incubating and spreading common pathogens. I don’t recommend anyone purchase seed from eburgess.com.

I’m trying to move away from anything that is hybridized or worse, possibly GMO (remember, there are no labeling or disclosure requirements). Building a seed resource is the most formidable task an urban agriculturalist faces.

Fortunately, there are seed saver groups dedicated to preserving our vanishing agricultural heritage. For the Southwest region, Native Seeds is one of the most promising. I hope to start using their seed to rediscover crop species and varieties that have long been forgotten by industrial agriculture.