Overview

Introduce a fascinating and productive addition to your garden with our premium egyptian walking onion sets. These unique heirloom red bulbs are a gardener’s delight, known for their distinctive growth habit where new bulbils form at the top of the plant’s stalks, eventually bending over and ‘walking’ across your garden. Unlike traditional onions, these perennial wonders offer a continuous harvest, providing fresh green onions, tender bulbils, and flavorful underground bulbs throughout the growing season. Our non-GMO sets ensure you’re planting a pure, natural product, perfect for sustainable gardening and culinary exploration. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting, these egyptian walking onion sets promise an intriguing and rewarding experience, offering a consistent supply of a versatile vegetable with minimal effort.

Also known as ‘tree onions’ or ‘top-setting onions,’ the Egyptian Walking Onion (Allium × proliferum) is a hybrid onion with a rich history and a strong, savory flavor. It’s a fantastic choice for those looking to diversify their vegetable patch with something a little out of the ordinary. These bulbs are dried and ready to plant, ensuring a strong start for your garden. Experience the joy of growing an onion that practically plants itself, providing a delightful conversation starter and a delicious ingredient for countless dishes.

Key Benefits

The egyptian walking onion sets offer numerous advantages for both novice and experienced gardeners:

• Continuous Harvest: Enjoy a year-round supply of fresh onions. Unlike annual onions, these perennial plants keep producing, allowing you to harvest green tops, small bulbils, and even underground bulbs from a single planting. This ensures a consistent culinary resource.
• Unique Perennial Growth: These onions are truly self-propagating. The top-setting bulbils mature, weigh down the stalk, and root themselves in new locations, effectively ‘walking’ across your garden over time. This makes them a fascinating and low-effort plant.
• Exceptional Flavor Profile: Known for their robust and slightly pungent flavor, heirloom onion bulbs from Egyptian Walking Onions add a distinctive taste to salads, stir-fries, and cooked dishes. They offer a more intense onion flavor than many common varieties.
• Low Maintenance & Hardy: Once established, these onions require very little attention. They are exceptionally hardy, tolerating a wide range of climates and soil conditions, and are generally resistant to many common pests and diseases. This makes walking onion care remarkably simple.
• Non-GMO & Heirloom: Plant with confidence knowing you are growing a non-genetically modified, open-pollinated heirloom variety. This preserves genetic diversity and allows you to save your own bulbils for future plantings.
• Versatile Culinary Use: Every part of the Egyptian Walking Onion is edible. The green stalks can be used like chives or green onions, the top-setting bulbils can be pickled or used fresh, and the underground bulbs are excellent for cooking.
• Early Season Harvests: As one of the first plants to emerge in spring, these onions provide fresh greens when other garden vegetables are just beginning to grow, extending your harvest season significantly.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Successful cultivation of your egyptian walking onion sets begins with proper planting and ongoing care. These resilient plants are quite forgiving, making them an excellent choice for a variety of garden settings. Plant the dried bulbs in early spring or late fall. Space them approximately 6-8 inches apart to allow for their unique walking habit. Ensure the pointed end of the bulb faces upwards, with the top just at or slightly below the soil surface. They thrive in full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day, but can tolerate partial shade, though production might be slightly reduced.

For optimal growth, red onion bulbs prefer well-draining soil with a neutral to slightly acidic pH (6.0-7.0). Amend heavy clay soils with compost or well-rotted manure to improve drainage and fertility. While they are drought-tolerant once established, consistent moisture, especially during dry spells, will encourage better growth and larger bulbils. Water deeply when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Fertilize sparingly; a balanced organic fertilizer in early spring can boost growth, but over-fertilization can lead to lush greens at the expense of bulb development. These onions are remarkably cold-hardy, typically thriving in USDA zones 3-9, and will readily overwinter in most climates, providing a perennial harvest. For effective walking onion care, occasional weeding around the base of the plants will prevent competition for nutrients and moisture.

Size & Details

This offering includes a quantity of egyptian walking onion sets ranging from 10 to 100+ small dried bulbs, sourced from the tops of mature plants. These ready-to-plant bulbils are approximately 0.5 to 1 inch in diameter, the ideal size for quick establishment and vigorous growth. Once planted, these hardy heirloom onion bulbs will develop into mature plants reaching typically 18-30 inches in height, with their unique top-setting bulbils forming at the tips of the stalks. The initial underground bulbs will grow to about 1-2 inches in diameter. Expect to see green shoots emerge within a few weeks of planting, with the first top-setting bulbils appearing in late spring to early summer, ready for harvest.

These red onion bulbs are shipped in a dried form, ensuring their viability and ease of transport. They are designed to be planted directly into your garden or containers. With their perennial nature, a single planting can provide harvests for many years, making them a cost-effective and sustainable choice for your home garden. The growth rate is moderate, with established plants quickly producing green tops and then the characteristic bulbils. These plants are well-suited for a variety of garden designs, from dedicated vegetable patches to edible landscaping.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big do these Egyptian Walking Onions get? A: The main stalks can reach 18-30 inches tall, with the top-setting bulbils forming at the tips. The underground bulbs typically grow to 1-2 inches in diameter, while the bulbils themselves are usually 0.5 to 1 inch.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Egyptian Walking Onions are primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in garden beds or large containers where their ‘walking’ habit can be accommodated. They are very cold hardy and prefer full sun.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: These onions prefer full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. They can tolerate partial shade, but may produce fewer bulbils and smaller underground bulbs.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, walking onion care is generally considered very easy. Once established, they are low-maintenance, drought-tolerant, and resistant to many pests, making them great for beginner gardeners.
• Q: What condition will the onion sets arrive in? A: Your egyptian walking onion sets will arrive as small, dried red bulbs, ready for planting. This is their natural dormant state, ensuring they are robust and viable for planting.
• Q: When is the best time to plant Egyptian Walking Onions? A: The best times to plant these heirloom onion bulbs are in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, or in late summer to early fall. Fall plantings will establish roots before winter and emerge early in spring.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: Egyptian Walking Onions are exceptionally cold-hardy and typically thrive in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9. They are perennial and will overwinter in most climates, regrowing each spring.
• Q: Can I eat all parts of the Egyptian Walking Onion? A: Absolutely! All parts are edible. The green tops can be used like chives, the top-setting bulbils can be eaten raw, pickled, or cooked, and the underground bulbs are also flavorful for culinary uses.
• Q: How long until I can harvest from these red onion bulbs? A: You can typically start harvesting green tops within a few weeks of spring planting. The top-setting bulbils will usually develop and be ready for harvest in late spring to early summer.
• Q: Do these onions need a lot of water? A: While they are drought-tolerant once established, consistent moisture helps with growth. Water deeply when the top inch of soil is dry, especially during prolonged dry periods. Avoid waterlogging.