Egyptian Walking Onions

merlin44
merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

Planting Egyptian Walking Onions for the first time. Any advice would be much appreciated. Sun, mulch, watering, soil type?

Comments

  • I've grown them in sandy loam, full sun, no compost, composted goat manure for fertilizer, moderate watering. They did great.

  • Karyn Pennington
    Karyn Pennington Posts: 71 ✭✭✭

    They're not fussy. But you'll get better quality and size if you fertilize over the winter and side dress with compost in early summer. Onions/alliums are fairly heavy feeders. They prefer more sun than less sun. Mine are shaded in the afternoon by a grapevine and they have no complaints. My soil happens to be sandy and most things growing underground prefer sand over clay/rock, but again, they're not all that fussy in my experience.

    Also, keep in mind what you want to use them for. You can use the topsets for pickling once you've increased your harvest enough.

    I like them for green onions in both Spring and Fall and honestly, I just think they're a great conversation piece when they look all Medusa -like. If you plan to pull the onions that grow underground, I typically chop and dehydrate those.

  • tammyrichardsmt9
    tammyrichardsmt9 Posts: 109 ✭✭✭

    We have them and I pretty much just let them grow. We took some of the topsets from last year and put them in the ground in the spring. They came up well. I use the green parts - haven't pulled any up yet.

    I think this year I will put some mulch around them before the cold of winter hits.

  • herbantherapy
    herbantherapy Posts: 453 ✭✭✭✭

    I agree with above posts they are not too fussy, prefer more sun than not and love sandy soils. And side dress with compost.

    My added response that once they start Walking...you can help them go the direction you want them to go by pinning a head down where you want it with a tent stake or fabric staple. They tend to walk with the wind and I grown them in a raised bed so they need to be turned to walk the other way sometimes.

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    @seeker.nancy & @KarenCopeland & @tammyrichardsmt9 & @herbantherapy Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    herbantherapy

    Does pinning a head down where you want it mean that once pinned, the roots will penetrate the ground where they are pinned?

    I want to grow these but haven't had time to find a seed catalogue that sells them. I have never grown them before so I need all the info I can get.

  • pamelamackenzie
    pamelamackenzie Posts: 143 ✭✭✭

    Southern Exposure Seed Exchange sales walking onions for fall shipment.

  • herbantherapy
    herbantherapy Posts: 453 ✭✭✭✭

    @silvertipgrizz yes that is correct.

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    @silvertipgrizz I ordered mine from Interwoven Nursery @interwovenpermaculture.com

  • Sheila
    Sheila Posts: 108 ✭✭✭

    They will also grow in pots. I often bring mine in for the winter and have green onions through to spring. I pop the bulbs off the top split them apart and replant whereever I want them to grow. Fertilze a few times a year with a seaweed fertilzer and top dress with compost and they have been going strong for about 8 years now.

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    merlin44

    Thankyou for the link. I'll have a look at it and hope I can find some of them and some other onion varieties as well.

    The best to you

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Sheila

    Thank you for sharing your 'over wintering technique'. I know the answer is prolly no, but I don't suppose fish emulsion would work would it? If not, where do you get your seaweed fertilizer?