The Urban Farmer's Almanac

About a year ago I got some Egyptian Walking Onions from a generous (or maybe over-run) gardener down in Skyway. They are a pretty curious plant, producing Dr. Seuss-like forms when they first bud, and by the end of the year, they have burst into pods of onion “seeds”. I harvested all of these and am going to try planting some over the winter to see how they do (ignoring all the dire warnings of impending heavy snow). I’ll save the rest for spring, and probably have plenty to share, so let me know if you want to give them a try.

In addition to the seeds (that can’t be the right term…), the stalks of onions are ready to harvest. The bulbs below the dirt are like a cross between a shallot and a leek. I think the key with thes e onions is to pull them all out every year, and plant them again the next year. Otherwise, it sounds like the patch can get pretty choked with them.

Share on Facebook

A friendly fellow gardener named Maya posted some extra onion starts she had on the good old Seattle Urban Farm Co-op listserv, and I was intrigued by the name: Egyptian Walking Onions. They are a pretty interesting plant:

“Egyptian Walking Onions are very unusual, heirloom onions. They are top-setters, which means that they produce onion seeds from the flowering green tops of the onion. They are called walking onions because the top-setters fall over and re-root themselves; literally ‘walking’.”

Apparently they are great to use like green onions when they’re small, and they also grow nice shallot-like bulbs. In addition to taking a walk around the garden. I’ll post some photos when I plant them.

Share on Facebook