Wild Onion Weeds- what do they tell about the soil?

[Joyfirst]

I have a community garden plot and all of the plots have lots of wild onions sprouting up- what does it tell about our soil? Also, are they edible just like regular onions?

[rainbowgardener]

Definitely edible like regular green onions.

Wild onion prefers acidic soil, not too rich in organic matter. So if you have lots of wild onion, that may be what you have. But they will grow almost anywhere, so if you just have a few, I don't know that you can draw any conclusion.

[Joyfirst]

That is interesting, because they always say, that Southern California soils are too alkaline. And they grow right in the compost too. But I think, I will try to measure ph, that is interesting.

[orgoveg]

A rule of thumb is that if it looks like an onion and smells like an onion, it is an onion. However it must meet BOTH requirements to be edible.

[applestar]

They're easy to pull out in loose soil but not so easy in clay. So I leave the ones that don't come out in the lawn and surrounding areas and use the dark green leaves for onion-y mulch.