I'm trying them too - they seem to be multiplying rapidly but the tops have gone a bit yellowed. I suspect they need some blood and bone. Apparently they are almost perennial in that you can leave a few in the ground when you crop them and they don't come to any harm. Peter Cundell reckons they are the bees knees. Interesting to compare results with our different zones.
Cheers
Linda

Mine seem to have multiplied a lot too. I like anything that's perennial, or nearly so. I grow those 'perennial' leeks as well. It's a similar deal. They keep sending up babies, so I keep planting 'em out. Flavour's not as good as others, but it's just such an easy thing to grow.

Ray,
what are you doing actually growing veges?
Thought you'd be still ice-fishing in arctic Armidale!!!

Potato onions are the easiest things I've grown (along with silverbeet and globe artichokes), although taste is a bit insipid...

Just leave a couple in the ground every year and they'll, um, repeat on you!

Regards,

Shax

Here is a link that might be useful: More Info

I don't know what you mean Shax. The days are glorious, as long as there are no clouds, wind or sleet!
Thanks for the link on potato onions. As long as they make passable onions, I'll be happy. I like things you don't have to fuss over too much. I do enough of that with my tomatoes.
Spring is quite amazing here. Everyone goes gardening mad. The shops sell out of seeds, the demand for mulch goes sky high and we get door-to-door manure salesman. Today's was a youngster doing the leg work while Dad cruised along in his truck.

He wasn't just young, he was 4 years old.!!!!!
and you can't beat this bargain.
One huge bag of sheep manure....5 dollars
but if you buy two...I'ts only ten dollars!!!
I bought four.

Hi all,
I tried your link shax under more info but cannot get anywhere with that comes up server error anyway you have set off some interest for me I have come up with a blank on searching the net for info on potato onion I have some questions where do you get them from? are they in bulbs or seeds? if they are seeds then I would expect it would be like growing garlic from seed and 2 years before you get to try them.
cheers John K

Hi All,
Well I did a bit more searching on GW under onion found that,
BUFFY690, grew them from seeds scattered amongst flowers anyway seems that Green Harvest sells them under the name of french shallots (sold Out bulbs for this year).
Alium cepa var.cepa common name Garden onion,potato onion,tree onion.
Cheers John K

John,
The potato onion (aka multiplier onion, French shallot etc.) is Allium cepa var. aggregatum and is a different beast to tree onions (aka Egyptian onion, topset onion and walking onion among others) which are Allium x proliferum. It's actually a cross between the ordinary onion and the bunching onion (aka spring onion, shallot etc.).
Diggers also had potato onions this year. Not sure if they've still got them but worth a shot. Supermarkets sometimes carry French shallots, and I think a lot of Asian grocery stores might as well. If there's a central fruit and veg market in town, they'd be almost sure to have them. I don't know about growing from seeds.
Ray

John K, yes, that site seems to have gone west....here's another you can try...

Everything I've read about potato onions says don't grow from seeds, but from bulbs...evidently seeds take a coupla years before cropping...

Regards,

Shax

Here is a link that might be useful: Another Link

I got bulbs from ..ssshh...Plants Plus along with my potatoes - might be a bit different here in Tas with the regulations but they might be sourced from a nursery.
Linda

Hi all,
Thankyou Ray & Shax for the follow up,I have just about gone into overload with all that I have been reading I am still not sure if potato onion is the same as french shallot.Are they the same or not? I can buy some french shallots from the Clayfield markets so I will get some of these and see what happens.
Cheers JK :-)

As far as I can tell, potato onions and French shallots are the same beast, or near enough as to make no difference. Their cultivation is the same, they both multiply, both will come back the following year if you leave a few in the ground.
The French shallot used to be Allium ascalonicum (named after a town in ancient Palestine) but are now given the same botanical name as potato onions, Allium cepa var. aggregatum.
Hope this helps.
Ray

Thought I'd report the disaster of the potato onions which dutifully fell over at the tops but revealed all rotten onions ( plenty of them) when dug. I suspect the place I had them was a bit heavy with my clay, I'd previously not used that section for anything and won't again inless its celery. Also they may have gotten too wet at the crucial no watering period, but with the late rains we've had not much I could do about it. Will try again next year in a different bed. How are yours going Ray? Hopefully thing will dry up a bit now and the other onions will come on OK.

Cheers
Linda - who meticulously made and decorated 48 gingerbread men instead of gardening, only to have them snaffled by the big kid for the grandies birthday party and the patients on night shift.....off to the salt mines.......

My potato onions seem to be alright Linda though they look rather bedraggled. The tops are just beginning to die back so I'll know reasonably soon whether or not they've been succcesful.
The tree onions however are rotting in the ground. The spring and summer thus far have been quite wet at times with soaking rains. Most things seem to cope, though a couple of beds get quite sodden. This may explain the tree onion loss.
Ray

I think there's a naughty boy in need of a slapped bottom. Sorry to hear about your onions, ours still seem to be fine.

So, Ray, how are the potato onions going?

Have just bought a beaut book "Garlic and Friends" and am totally inspired to have a go at various onions, shallots, garlic, etc.

Potato onions are NOT shallots, but very closely related. Differences are subtle. The book lists the differences, so if anyone is really, really interested I can list some.

Now the wonderful task of working out what I'd like to grow and where to put it and and and.... I love gardening! :)

raymondo - if you're into the perrennial onion thingy - try the walking onions (they're the ones with little bulbils on the end of the leaves)

they're easy to grow and would enjoy Armidales climate (grew well in Canberra) A bit fussy trying to peel the small onion bulbs but a nice taste and a good stew/salad onion

Ray, I have plenty of tree onions. Will bring them to Marysville if you want some.

The potato onion harvest was fairly poor owing to sodden ground. A few survived so thay'll be cured and put away till next season. The tree onions I lost so the offer of more is welcome, thanks lomatia.

Are you supposed to lift potato onions or leave them in the ground? I grew them last year and treated them like garlic, however, at my seed savers meeting last month, there was a difference of opinion. Some said that that they would rot if I didnt put them back in the ground soon.

Can anyone enlighten me or point me to a good reference?

Thanks Helen

Not sure about that one Helen. I've lifted mine and am curing them. I'm hoping some will last over the winter so that I can plant them out next season.
Have a look at this link. Scroll down to 'cultivation' and 'propagation'.