Early in the spring I found a pot of walking onions for sale at the Master Gardeners’ plant sale. It was chock full of walking onions. I think someone had dug up a shovel full of them from a very overgrown patch, dumped them in a pot and that’s what it was. I have a friend who had wanted some and they’re kinda hard to find so I split what was in the pot with her so she got half and I got half.
I had been on the list at Rare Seeds to get bulbils in when they were available and was able to order more yesterday. I only got one package because these will multiply quickly once they get started growing well.
Since it was already getting hot when I got mine, I planted them in a raised bed and then I also planted squash in the raised bed. I figured that would provide a little shade for the new onions and help keep them from burning up before they got their roots established.
I’ve now pulled out the squash and here’s what I have.
Right over to the right, you can see a stalk that has fallen over. As the tops grow, the “seeds” form at the top. There are three to ten or more “seeds” or “bulbils” at the top.
Once the top gets too heavy, the “blade” falls over and the seeds plant themselves. That’s why they’re called “walking onions”. They will literally walk all over the place. I read that they can walk up to 24″ and even though they spread easily, they’re also easy to control and are not considered invasive.
I pulled these off and divided them.
I planted them around that bed. I want to try to keep them contained within the bed. Eventually, the bed will become too thick and I’ll have to divide them, move some to another location or share them with friends.
Above is probably where a bulbil fell over and planted itself – all the little seeds.
They’re perennials so they’ll be just fine in the winter. It’s probably the summers I have to worry about here.
All parts are edible. I’ve read that the bottoms are hot (spicy), the green parts are similar to green onions but maybe a little sweet and the top bulbils are also edible.
You know Christmas is coming. If you have a gardener on your list, you might want to check these out at Rare Seeds. They were in stock yesterday and they are fun to grow and watch. No affiliation – just a gardener who was happy to find them.
Dorothy Matheson says
They are native here on my land east of Austin Tx. I have them all over. Mine have white bulbets. They just hibernate underground in the very hot dry summer. Yes the bulbs underground are very strong. I like using them to cook with but not eat raw. I never thought to try the plantlets after the flowers.
I find it hard they are rare but they are native and not grown comercerly.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
They’re very hard to find around here and most nurseries/garden centers think I’m crazy when I ask for them. Rare Seeds doesn’t often have them in stock and they go pretty quickly when they get them in.
JustGail says
They’re hard to find? Huh. I got mine from Mom probably 17-18 years ago, my patch is still going strong. And they are *very* oniony, not mild at all. In fall, Mom used to plant the bulblets deep to pull as green onions the next spring, and kept a patch of shallow planted ones just for the bulblets. I used to take my excess to work and put them on the cafeteria table for free, they were always gone in short order.
Barbara says
They will grow in Minnesota! I ordered some, we’ll see if the deer eat them.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Good luck!