I was given a single perennial walking onion three years ago. I planted it, then didn't pay much attention as I didn't really know what to do with them. The onions didn't have a specific time when the needed to be harvested and they had these funny topsets bulbs.
But I've gradually become braver and have been pulling up a few plants now and then. They look like scallions or bunching onions, but the flavor is unique and pungent - similar to a shallot. They tend to disintegrate with cooking, so I like to add them to a stir fry or an omelet as it finishes cooking.
I haven't yet tried eating the topsets. I hear some say they are tasty and some say they are not. My walking onions have multiplied fast, and without any help form me. Sometimes I move a venturesome topset from a path and put it back in the bed. In midsummer, as new shoots come up and old ones die back, I clean up the clump by pulling out the dead onions. Mostly, they do their own thing. I have quite a big clump of them now and am growing quite fond of them.
I plant a handful of the topsets in the cold frame at this time of year. Then in the spring I have early green onions. I don't let them get too big and continue growing there but it is nice to have fresh green onion shoots early in the spring.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily! Great idea!! Thanks. I will definitely try this next year. I've noticed these onions die back in the deep of winter and come back by late April. Always nice to have fresh vegetables in the coldframe earlier. These would go great with my Feb and March coldframe spinach and bok choy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information! Looking forward to trying these out.
ReplyDelete