We've got some Egyptian walking onions and it looks like we'll have a bunch of starting bulbs this fall. If anyones interested in a seedhead for starting your own, sign up now.

They call them a walking onion because the greens get a flowerhead on the end and the flower head consists of several little bulbs in a clump. When the greens tops get too heavy they fall over, thus planting the seedhead a couple feet away. The onions get to be 3' tall or so with edible greens and onion. The onions kinda look like an extra large bunching onion, 1 1/2 - 2" in diameter and maybe three inches long. Semi sharp taste.

Once these things are established it kinda no muss, no fuss. We just take em when we need em, let the rest go to seed.

Also, we've got a nice little bed of Foxgloves, about 2' x 6'. The flowers are so pretty I was wondering how they are as a cut flower? Do they sell? What do ya get for them?

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2001

Answers

John, I would dearly love to have a seed head of Egyptian walking onions to start my own bed. Granny had some of these, and I always wished I had gotten some before her house was sold. Please let me know what you need in return.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Me too?? would love some.....what do you need?? Never sold foxglove, would think it would depend on what the market is like. Around here "exotics" like foxglove would probably go for at least a dollar a stalk.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Dear John, I would love some if you think they would grow down here near the gulf coast. kinda hot and humid? let me know what I have to do to get some of the bulbs, fox gloves don"t live down here. Thanks a bunch.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

john: I'd definitely be interested in a few bulbletts if you have some to spare. We used to have them at our first homestead but we didn't take any along when we moved (we ended up living in an apartment for a year before buying our next home). They're a great plant, IMO. Now all I need is to find someone that would be willing to part with a few of those perennial potato onions as I've always wanted to try growing them, too...

As for the foxglove, I read a book several years ago on handling cut flowers. I'm almost sure they mentioned foxglove being fine for cut flowers. The book tells how to grow, cut, condition, and market a wide variety of flowers.

Here's a link to amazon's web site for the book:

Flowers for Sale: Growing and Marketing Cut Flowers: Backyard to Small Acreage (A Bootstrap Guide) by Lee Sturdivant

I'm sure you can find a copy at your local library or through ILL. Good luck.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

uh..Jim...I have the potato onion..got it off Sam. Looks like you'll be needing another care package,this fall.Sam said I'll have all I need once started.They are doing good so far.

On foxglove,yes as a cut flower-cut when abt half the flowers are open-from The Flower Farmer,an organic grower's guide by Lynn Byczynski.

Check with flower shops.Woman here who raises irises for sale as transplants had the shop owners asking her for her blooms.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

John,I would like to try your onions. Let me know what you want for a sample. Daryll

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

yo john i'd love some walk about onions. i was in nyc visiting my daughter and a flower shop up there had wild flowers, fox glove, yarrow and other south east flowers for sale in big bunches for exorbident amounts of money.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Well folks, heres the deal. For my cyber buddies here I'm not really asking anything for the bulbs or my time but if ya wanna send something for postage etc I wouldn't turn it down --- or not --- and thats OK too.

I'm kind of a rookie at this gardening stuff but I'm thinking I won't have to wait till fall because one batch of these onions are starting to "fall over" now with seedheads that are ready to grow roots. I'm thinking if I ship them now you can get them in the ground this summer and have a good start toward a nice batch of them next summer. Does that sound right?

E-mail me your snail mail address and I'll start sending them out. It'll be one flowerhead per shipment so there'll be enuf to go around. That should yield 5 or more plants per flower head.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2001

Irene...these onions grow well on the gulf coast.I am 15 miles inland and keep a bed going year round.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2001

Would love some too if there are any left. Had an older woman years ago gave me some but don't know what happened to them. Grew for a few years and that was that. Probably the dog dug them up or something like that. Would appreciate having some. Thanks !!

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2001