Last year we planted Egyptian onions for the first time and this spring they are coming up and the green stems are about 4-5 inches high. My questions: Do I need to separate the clumps of onions or just leave them as is and besides using the green tops in salads etc, how should I use the rest? Do they make a bulb like a yellow onion, if so should I plant them further apart to give them more room to make a bulb or whatever you call it. Can they be used for storage onions? I love the idea of having perennial onions on the place, but need more imput from others. Thank you!

-- Marie in Central WA (Mamafila@aol.com), April 15, 2002

Answers

The onions won't get a very large bulb at all.

Best use for the bulb/onion part--AH! YES, a nice bread, and butter, and onion sandwich. Mmmmmmmm!

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), April 15, 2002.

They do make a bulb, but the main use is the green tops. Plants started from bulblets will not produce bulblets the first year. The bulblets may be used in pickling or as small green onions. If you do not harvest the bulbets, as the season goes along the stems will bend over from the weight and the bulbets will start on their own, after coming in contact with the ground, thus the name walking onion.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), April 15, 2002.

You may like to use only 1/2 of your crop each year until you have enough growing to meet your needs, the longer the green tops are left the larger the mother blub and bulblets will get,when they are very happy the bulblets are usable for meals, like a large clove of garlic, soon the green leaves are large and hollow, good for suffing but sometimes tough, my mother blubs never got fat like storage onions, but they are very cold hardy and one of the first things to sprout in spring.[My aunt calls them winter onions]

-- Thumper/inOKC (slrldr@yahoo.com), April 15, 2002.

Don't let your chickens in the onion patch. We did and now no onions. Will have to start over.

-- Dave (drcomer@rr1.net), April 16, 2002.