Walking Onions

Edible Gardens by Craig Castree’s post

Grow Your Own Food – Australia & New Zealand

Edible Gardens by Craig Castree

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Walking Onions – Nature’s Perennial Onion!

If you’ve never grown Walking Onions (Allium x Proliferum), also known as Egyptian onions or tree onions, you’re in for a treat. These hardy, easy-to-grow onions are perfect for anyone wanting a more self-sufficient, low-maintenance edible garden.

Unlike regular onions, walking onions form bulbils at the top of their stems, which eventually get heavy and fall to the ground—taking root and growing again. This quirky way of “walking” across your garden makes them not only productive, but a bit of a talking point too!

They’re extremely cold-hardy, making them ideal for planting in autumn and winter, and they’ll thrive in almost any well-drained soil. For bigger, juicier bulbs, prep your soil with compost rich in manure a few weeks before planting. The result? A steady supply of both tasty bulbs and greens.

Plant them where they’ll get full sun, and watch as they produce a central stalk, topped with bulbils that resemble a little alien tree. Come late summer, you can pick the top bulbils before they sprout—or harvest the underground bulbs around 5 months after planting. They store like regular onions and can be used in all the same dishes.

Versatile companion – they pair well with most plants and help deter pests.

Pests to watch for – thrip and black aphids.

These are not always easy to find, but they are absolutely worth growing. Whether you use the leaves like shallots or the bulbs in your cooking, they’re a fantastic perennial food plant.

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