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.

Harold: Thanks for the offer of the trade. I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I tried to send you an email, but it didn't work. I don't have anything as nice as the egyptian onions for trade. What I do have is a bunch of partial seed packets. Many are heirloom varieties. I don't have many of each type of seed since the seed companies aren't as generous as they once were. I will list some of what I have and you can tell me which ones you would like. Also, if you would like me to pay the postage for the onions, since it will be more costly than seeds, just let me know. Here is a partial list: Copenhagen Market Early Cabbage Bloomsdale, Long Standing Spinach Pak Choy, great for stir fries and you can start harvesting leaves in just a few weeks. Brandywine Tomato Big Rainbow Tomato Money Maker Tomato Green Zebra Tomato Buran Red Pepper Orange Bell Pepper Crimson Forest Bunching Onions Onion, Yellow Storge New York Early OG Varigated Collards Alma Pepper (dry & grind to make paprika, I saved this seed and it may be crossed with another pepper) Jimmy Nardelo's Sweet Italian Frying Pepper Moon and Stars Watermelon Lemon Cucumber Black Beauty Eggplant Clemson Spineless Okra French Breakfast Radish Mustard, Florida Broad Leaf Asparagus Bean, Yardlong Hyacinth Bean, White Flower Yellow Crookneck Squash Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato Squash Buttercup Squash Gold Nugget Winter Squash I hope that I have enough to temp you! Thanks again, Nancy

Hi Lynda, I have nothing to trade this year, as it's my first season in my new house, but I'll bring you a batch of home made cookies if you like ;-) Heather

No, I only have Cherokee purple and Brandywine. I haven't harvested any seeds yet, but I can attest to the flavor of the "thin" cukes. Much better than the Burpee straight 8 I planted along with them. Also, the straight 8 cukes do not seem to tolerate the heat, they quickly blanch and become bitter. The cukes I got from my friend have held up very nicely in the hot weather, staying firm and green. Anyway, I'll harvest some cuke seeds this weekend. Do you want to try and plant them this year, or wait till next? I planted these in late May/early June I think, and they started producing over the past week or two, so I think you could easily grow them for this year with the long season here. Also, if your intersted in Canteloupes, I have been pleasantly suprised by the results I got from a burpee variety called Sweet N' Early. They were planted in early May and I harvested the 1st 3 this week. The package states they come from Peru, so I assume they are open polinated, but I need to do some more research.