Guardsman Bunching Onions

10 years ago

Hello,

I am new to gardening. To get my feet wet, I bought a pot of bunching onions about a month ago. They are Guardsman Bunching onions.

I read you can separate clumps of bunching onions or 'true scallions' and propagate from these clumps. (Though, I'm not sure what a clump is exactly: a huge clump of dirt with roots, or lots and lots of scallions attached to a big ball of dirt?).

Anyway, my main question is based around the annual life of Guardsman Bunching Onions. Does this mean that I cannot get more by dividing clumps and planting them somewhere else in the garden? As in, once the year is passed, I can't have a 'perennial bunching onion patch", so I'll have to buy a different variety?

Comments (4)

planatus
10 years ago
I have not grown Guardsman, but other varieties bunch twice a year -- once in spring and once in fall. Right now I have some spring-planted bunchers in full division mode, multiplying into 4 plants each. They look like they will keep multiplying for a while. I like to lift the clumps, harvest lots of onions, and replant the individuals that get through the process with the most roots. Lifting and moving the clumps helps prevent problems with onion root maggots in my climate.
yukkuri_kame
10 years ago
I'm not familiar with Guardsman either, but allium fistulosum - aka green onions, welsh bunching, japanese bunching, negi, etc - are one of my real favorites because they are:

1) easy to grow
2) relatively pest free
3) productive
4) perennial in my climate (and surely Bay Area as well)
5) propagate themselves
6) tasty & versatile in the kitchen
7) good for you
8) can be continuously harvested as cut-and-come again crops
9) easy to grow in containers or garden beds
1. can be grown from the bottoms of storebought produce
As mentioned, they will divide themselves once or twice a year. I love the way they look as they look like kids wiggling out of their clothes - see attached pic.

They will also flower and reseed themselves... or you can gather seed to start a new bunch elsewhere in the garden. As with most allium seeds, the seed doesn't store very well. If I gather seed, I replant within a month or two, if not immediately. They germinate quickly.

We have 2 types, both grown from the bottoms 1/2 inch bottoms cut off of supermarket produce. One is the common 'green onion' type sold in supermarkets. The other is a larger Japanese type, also storebought from a Japanese market. We like the larger ones better, as they have more of that sweet, oniony 'umami' taste. We only have 4 of the bigger plants (up from 2 a month ago) and would like to have more of the large Japanese types. Just planted some old 'Tokyo Long' seed, I am hoping is still viable and some 'Welsh Bunching' I picked up at a seed swap. We'll see what I get from those.

The larger varieties of allium fistulosum is often 'hilled up' by various methods to blanch the stems. The Japanese will bury the shaft of their big ones a couple of feet, as the white part melts so nicely in soup.

We harvest the outer green leaves almost every day for use in miso soup, salads and other dishes. As we get more of the larger types established, I'll start blanching and using the stems and replant the bottoms.
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A. fistulosum onions will act as biennials if grown from seed, flowering in the second year. Left in the ground, they will divide to various degrees, and act as tender perennials. The larger varieties are impressive, with stalks nearly as large as some leeks. In my trials, most varieties with wider stems (3/4" & larger) divide less, and are not as winter hardy. Smaller varieties multiplied more rapidly - in the case of "4 seasons", very rapidly - and had better winter survival. A variety recommendation would depend upon what bunching onion qualities are most important... and whether you wish to limit choices to A. fistulosum. If you want wide stems, I would recommend "Welsh" or "Shimonita". Both are best, though, the first year grown from seed, and susceptible to various degrees of winter kill. Two heirlooms I have grown ("Franz" and "Stevenson") would be my best recommendations; supermarket-sized scallions, strong winter hardiness (even in my zone) and they multiply rapidly. Both are nearly identical. I am still growing one of them, but due to a mix-up during transplanting, I don't know which one (oops). You might also want to consider walking onions. They too multiply from the base (as well as by their bulbils), can be used as scallions, and are unquestionably more winter hardy. It's even hard to kill them intentionally. ;-) The stalks do not get as wide as the larger A. fistulosum, but I find that personally I prefer their flavor. Walking onions have the added benefit of forming small, but very pungent, bulbs. There is one white-bulbed variety that I grow for that purpose alone. Most of the A. fistulosum bunching onions that I once grew eventually succumbed to winter kill or disease. "4 Seasons" died out completely one year, after 3 years of 100% survival. I still have the Franz/Stevenson, which has been 100% winter hardy for about 10 years. I have another heirloom, "Eschalot Albert 2" (obtained from SSE) that has shorter leaves, and stalks about 3/4" wide. So far, it appears to have good winter hardiness, and has been dividing slowly. I could produce seed from either, since they bloom at different times; if you would like seed this summer, just send me a PM.
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yukkuri_kame
10 years ago
OH - wait, guardsman is allium cepa, ignore everything I just said. I know nothing about them.
seysonn
10 years ago
I read you can separate clumps of bunching onions or 'true scallions' and propagate from these clumps. (Though, I'm not sure what a clump is exactly: a huge clump of dirt with roots, or lots and lots of scallions attached to a big ball of dirt?).

*************************************

A "clump" in growing something from seeds , happens when a whole bunch of them germinate/grow very close together.
Depending on what they are, you might be able to separate them and plant them at proper spacing. But , for example, you cannot do this with radishes. Because the grow long tap roots that don't like to be disturbed.
Clump here DOES NOT mean any propagation, in any way. Each seedling is grown from a single seed.

ONION family (any thing in alliums family) are the MOST transplant friendly seedlings that you can find.

Simply water them real well ahead of time.
Take them out of pot/cell and place them in a dish of water.
Slightly shaking, take the clumps apart(separate them)

Once they are separated, plant them at proper spacing anywhere you want. Make sure to water them after re-planting. If you cannot finish planting today, keep them in water, (in cool shaded) and plant them tomorrow.

P.S.
I have a flat of bunching onions that I want eventually plant in the garden. I have started transplanting the to nursery pots. I did 4 pots (each about 10) the other day. I will continue doing that.
Once the seedling are strong, I will re transplant them into garden for fall/winter use.
Let me tell you: It is very hard to kill an onion seedling during transplant.

This post was edited by seysonn on Mon, Aug 19, 13 at 6:41

Guardsman Bunching Onions

Comments (4)

planatus

yukkuri_kame

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