You are NOT throwing away your onion bottoms are you?

[applestar]

If you want to grow onions for the greens or small bulbs, here's a trick I like -- Cut a generous pyramid from the bottom of the onions you prepare for cooking -- instead of cutting straight across, cut the onion diagonally from one side of the base/dried up roots, then cut two or three more angles, then cut off the point. You should have the base of the onion attached to the 3/4 to 1 inch "pyramid".

You only need 1" diameter or less so you can also cut off the corners of the pyramid when cutting up big onions if you want.



Snuggle these into loose soil mix just below soil surface and they will grow roots and greens.

I do this all winter indoors to clip off and harvest the greens, and then, in spring, I plant them out. (Remember it usually gets down to negative single digit °F here in winter and most onions won't survive outside). As they mature during the growing season, some of them will form small bulbs, most will just grow lush greens during the spring then try to bloom. I generally cut off and harvest the greens or pull them up to eat as green onions, but sometimes I let them bloom and make seeds and then harvest the seeds to grow.

-- you can do this with garlic (for greens not for bulbing) and shallots, too.

[jal_ut]

"You are NOT throwing away your onion bottoms are you?"

Well......... yes actually I am.

Interesting what you are doing there.

I have two pans of onion seeds growing in my living room window. I don't know whatever possessed me to try to grow onions in the dead of winter?

[imafan26]

I thought you were talking about the other onion bottoms. I have never kept the bottoms of bulb onions before. I usually grow green onions, I guess you call them scallions from seed anyway. I used to save those bottoms and replant them and a lot of people still do, but I don't like fat, tough onions.

[applestar]

I haven't grown the true scallion variety onions in a while. I've been using Egyptian Walking onions and these, and thinned bulbing onions, and haven't really missed the scallions.

At the start of winter, I generally have a gallon freezer bag full of harvested and chopped green onions from the main season, but sometimes you want a bit of fresh greens and later on as these grow, they are more welcome than the ones in the freezer, which are demoted to soup and stockpot duty.

In early spring after being planted in the ground, they take off fast, but a I still keep a few in the house for immediate access. Out in the garden, I just have to plant them in designated spots so as not to confuse with the purchased bulbing onion plants which are meant to be mostly left alone to grow BIG bulbs.

[imafan26]

I cannot grow the walking onions. In fact, I haven't seen any around here at all. Most of the time we eat bunching onions, welsh onions or what we call just green onions. There are a couple of varieties. One is really like scallions with a thick long stalk and that one is used for soup and grilling. The thinner green onions are what most people would rather have for saimin, and garnishes. I grow mine in gallon pots from seed and they will last about 2 years. I just pick off the the tops and the bottoms will regrow. When they get fat or start to bloom, I pull them out.

[j3707]

Interesting, Applestar! I never thought of that.

[jal_ut]

"I cannot grow the walking onions. In fact, I haven't seen any around here at all. "

Interesting. The walking, tree onion, top setting onion, or other names, do well here. They are perennial and the little bulbils will grow if put on the ground. It is quite nice to have a clump around for onions any time of the year.

[imafan26]

I think walking onions grow better in cool climates not tropical ones. I can't grow the Egyptian onions or elephant garlic either. I think my day is not long enough for them. They actually get smaller than what I started with.

[sepeters]

Would this method work with leeks as well, or do you think they'd go to seed before fully regenerating?

[applestar]

It works but they need a fair amount of the bottom -- about 1 inch tall. Top corner can be beveled off for eating.

BTW, if you are not going to want to save the seeds, leek scapes (central flower stalks) can be eaten like garlic scapes if harvested very early before they get too tough/stringy, and if you miss that chance, leek blossoms buds and blossoms are wonderful salad etc. garnish (but the individual flower stems are wiry and need to be cut off)

[Gary350]

When I was in grade school 55 years ago in Illinois my Grandparents had a patch of onions that they never harvested. The onions make tall stalks with lots of onion bulbs at the tips of the stalks. I never knew what these onions were for.

What are Egyptian Walking onions good for?

What is the difference in onion bulbs and onion sets?

What is the best way to grow onions?

Farmers co-op will have onion sets and onion bulbs about March is the when they should be planted?

I have a lot of trouble growing onions it might be the weather, hot, cold, hot, cold, all winter. We sometimes have temperatures in the 70s in February, snow a week later then more 70 deg weather again. It was 19 degrees last night and going to be 60 degrees tomorrow.

[jal_ut]

What are Egyptian Walking onions good for? Eating or flavoring any dish that needs onion flavor.

What is the difference in onion bulbs and onion sets? Sets are small green onions, bulbs are small 1/2 to 3/4 inch dry bulbs. Both for planting for large bulbs.

What is the best way to grow onions? Plant some! I like the little dry bulbs. Just push them in a bit so they don't move. They don't need to be covered. In rows and space the bulbs 4 inches.

Farmers co-op will have onion sets and onion bulbs about March is the when they should be planted? Yes.

[applestar]

Latest batch of onion bottoms ...and I plant the green onions/scallions/leeks, too (I did mention that somewhere ^^^up there^^^ I hope?

- This spring, I wanted to grow red/purple scallions I think they were called red beard or something, but I somehow missed putting the seeds in the shopping basket while ordering, and then it was too much trouble to get it added, etc. ...then saw these at the grocery store, so I’m growing the bottoms.
- The ones that have been growing all winter in the ricemilk carton are onion bottoms.
- ...and one leek that has rooted and is started to grow. I think I used it for that pre-St. Patty’s Day week corned beef brisket stew earlier in the month or maybe a pork butt stew before that.

[Vanisle_BC]

I'm trying this with a stump of store bought celery.

[applestar]

I recently wrote up instructions for what to do with onions that have sprouted in the pantry. Not sure if I covered that above and my most recent answer today might include cumulative knowledge to date ( this tends to be the case because I keep changing things and experimenting as I mentioned elsewhere....)

I got this

You can cut the green down to 1-2” stub (and use those greens for cooking. Carefully peel the brown skin (I score first with knife for ease of peeling) and cut away the edible — yes they are — white part of the bulb/ball part of the onions all around the green stems with sharp knife leaving the corky bottom and surrounding approx 1/4 to 1/2 intact. I try to leave the white onion part about 1/4” around the green parts/stems so I don’t accidentally cut into them. YOU WANT TO STARVE the resulting bulb so they don’t get too much of the stored nutrients from the White part.

Now snuggle the bottom 1/2” or so in well-drained loose soil. You can do this in a small pot or outside in the garden where they are to grow, but I find it easier to keep them from drying out if I start in a pot. But do not overwater. If you want to be sure they grow roots, you might want to put them in the fridge in zip bag with moistened paper towel — keep on door shelf or Veg drawer — and plant after the roots start growing.

These will most likely try to grow flower stalk, so think of them as source of onion greens/scallions — cut/trim and use as they repeat grow, but IF you have successfully made them think they are not strong enough to bloom, and let them grow without cutting them, they will swell into onions and since they are showing double growing points, they will turn into twins (or as many as there are) ...kind of like splitting garlic cloves.

ETA — I edited and edited, trying to make this clear and understandable to read. I hope I managed. I think I’m a bit brain fogged this morning....

[kayjay]

Hi Applestar. I tried this last week, and it's working... but guess what? I put the onions in upside-down! I thought the hairy rooty part was supposed to go upward. I noticed it was popping up out of the soil, and it was because the greens were growing downward and pushing it up. DUH. So I turned them right side up, and now they're still growing and don't look half bad. The one that's bent over was growing upward out of the soil, so now it has to fix itself and grow the other way!

[applestar]

[Vanisle_BC]

I've tried doing this with celery, twice. Started roots in water but each time the plants died soon after transplanting out.

[Gary350]

I did not know there are several varieties of Egyptian Walking onions. The Egyptian Walking onions I grew 5 years ago had such a strong bitter flavor we could not eat them. Does anyone know which variety is best to eat?

I have tried to grow Leeks seeds don't germinate and plants die. I gave up too easy.

Online says, Scallions vs Green vs Spring Onions: What's the Difference? YES what is the difference? I never know what to do with green onions we need to pull up 60 onions to have enough to cook with then the entire crop is gone very quick. I would be good to have a patch of 5000 green onions that reseed themself.

This maybe be the year when I need to buy 1/2 dozen Egyptian Walking onions varieties to learn which 1 tastes best. Ebay shows RED & WHITE color Egyptian Walking onions which is best? It would be nice to have a never ending onion patch at the back door like my grandmother had, sets were allowed to fall off on there own and reseed themself. Onions growing on top of onions it looked like a 6 ft diameter pile of several 1000 onions. Grandmother would pull up what she needed to cook with the onion patch was there for 30 years.

I have a shady spot at the back door that gets no more sun than my grandparents Egyptian Walking onions patch. This spot gets about 3 hrs of direct sun and 12 hrs of shade. This is where I grew Egyptian Walking onions before they grew very well. Maybe I should grow Egyptian Walking onions at the kitchen door. Never give up.