Okay, let me try and describe these better. I sowed seed of Evergreen bunching onions that, I think, I got from Johnny's (who still carries them.) Each onion stalk eventually splits and spins off another scallion. The root is a mass of congested onions root; the whole thing grows in a tight clump. I cut off, as I described, what I need with a sharp knife just below the ground. Seeds stalks appear in early spring, but I don't let them seed because I don't want a mess of alliums, and, boy, can they ever make a mess of a million little plants. The seed stalk is very tough, so you don't want to use that part. I harvest throughout the season, and in fact sell them as scallions to very happy customers. pnbrown, they are exactly a "super-scallion."

If planted from topsets, walking onions usually don't "walk" the first year, or develop only a weak stalk with small bulbs. It can depend upon the size of the bulb that was planted, though. I have one variety this year that produced a few topsets that were almost 2" across... which they have never done previously. It must be a result of the abnormally early Spring. Walking onions generally go dormant in the heat of the summer; mine are going dormant now. If I choose to, I can dig up some of the bulbs for fresh use. They have an exceptionally strong flavor, which is not easily destroyed by cooking. Makes really good soup broth, IMO. Since walking onions multiply both from topsets & from the base splitting, you can build up a large patch fairly quickly. If you wish to use some of your walking onions each year for their ground bulbs, it is best to separate them into individual plants. Some use the topsets for this; I prefer to use the ground bulbs. You can separate & plant individual ground bulbs during dormancy, but these bulbs will then split & produce clumps. You can instead divide them in late Fall, after the bulbs have already split & begun to grow. The individual plants will look like scallions at this point (which they are) and you can separate & immediately replant them with care. Those plants still might divide again in Spring, but most will form a single large bulb. You can further increase their size by breaking off the "flower stalk" as soon as it appears. Without the topsets, the plant will then direct more energy to bulb development. It is worth mentioning to anyone who has not grown them, that walking onions are exceptionally hardy perennials. They easily winter over even here, with no protection. Even the topset bulbs are hardy; I keep them in an unheated patio, and they remain viable until late Spring, or when warming temperatures cause them to sprout. You can harvest delicious scallions in early Spring, and again in late Fall. Tom, that is a nice mess of onions. I'm curious, though, about your storage comments. The varieties I grow proved to have poor storage life for the ground bulbs. How did you cure & store yours? I had planned to dehydrate some of mine as minced onions, to overcome the poor storage. It's my hope that the strong flavor will make them really suitable for drying.

Chickens!!!! Yes!!!!!!! They eat bugs AND weeds!!!! And your crops . . . but if you keep them fenced, either the plants or the chickens, you'll be fine! Make chicken tunnels - CHUNNELS!!!!!! (I didn't make that up, btw!) And you don't have to fill a SFG with bagged soil. Dig a pond, build a compost pile, LOL. Working with native soil as much as possible is best. Sometimes you can get free/cheap wood and building materials. In the SFG book, he totally advocates visiting a building site and asking the foreman for free wood. I just think having small, manageable squares and rectangles you can reach into is best, but it doesn't HAVE to be in a raised bed. If it is a raised bed, you can amend the soil because you're adding the soil in. Otherwise, I would say lasagna compost your growing area, and make weed-proof paths with lots of layers of cardboard and newspaper covered with wood chips, like Nhbabs posted. Best of luck! Read lots! I actually just got the Victory Garden book out of the library last week, and haven't read it yet. I got a huge stack - two feet high - like I always do! I just read and read and skim and wow look at that pretty picture!!! :-) I have also read The No Work Garden, now that's one where I could take a few and leave a lot of the suggestions, but it was worth the time to look at it. I can't garden like that, but maybe you could. As to where you get your seeds - you can look at it this way: if it costs you about $5 in gas to get to a store, or something equivalent to get something shipped, you're even. Or you could sign up on the Newbie trading forum where they give out seeds for SASE. But I DO agree about starting with transplants as much as possible your first few years. I have had problems with damping off and lost entire packs of seeds because I didn't hold any back - discouraging. So I mostly direct sow now. That, and my kids who like to "garden" and "help" mommy's seedlings in their tiny pots, or knock them over. But the kids are learning, too! :-) I like the analogy of the garden being like a dog you have for part of the year, perfect!!!

Hi all - I am presuming, from reading above, that Catawissa and the green "walking" onion are the same thing. Are they also the small pickling onions, or am I getting things mixed up? If anybody's got some that they don't mind sending my way, I live on the Sunshine Coast of BC, Canada. I have had some live plants sent to me just loose in a box from a friend in the U.S. who apparently didn't understand the restrictions on mailing living organisms, and apparently the customs people don't check everything they come across. Even though the box was damaged (severely), the little iris bulbs and two varieties of a suculant (very common - I just can't recall the name right now - mine are purple and white) all survived the trip and the dark! Anyway, if you're in Canada yourself it would probabaly make things easier, but if you're an American who is up for an experiment with the postal system and some onion bulbs, then please contact me and I'll send along my address. Thanks, - Kenn / faerie