[mlizzy]

Looking at your photo of Egyptian Walking Onions (beautiful), and wondering where do I purchase these (organic)? Reading on them now, and it's recommended to plant them in the fall, but in microclimates in the spring. We live in Illinois (zone 5). What is your recommendation on that? And can these onions (as they say) truly be used in place of other onions? How do you use them? Do you pickle, etc.? What do you think of their taste?

I don't know how you find the time to post on Free Republic, but if possible, please fill me in.

P.S. Have you, perchance, written a book on gardening? I'd order it today!

[Marcella]

Buy Egypt Walking Onions at:

http://www.egyptianwalkingonion.com/photogalleryonionpatch.htm

They are delivering the onions now. Mine will arrive this week. They are expert walking onion growers. The answers to all your questions about them are on that website.

[ApplegateRanch]

Marcella, I believe, gave you a link to buy the Egyptian onions.

The Fall before last, we got ours at the “yard waste” section of the local landfill! Somebody had tossed out 50 of them, and they were still fresh. We planted those, and they have done quite well. We’re borderline Zones 5 & 4, so I would go with a Fall planting, then mulch for the winter. Keep them well fed, etc., like any other onions.

We’re not at all fanatical about “organic”, though we try to follow organic principles, as much as feasible. Unless I can’t avoid it, I don’t spend extra to get ‘organic’ seed or plants, if they are perennial; except for certifications or sales, organic seeds won’t have any real advantage over non-organic. IMHO, the ‘organicness’, and any benefit, will depend upon your own germination & growing practices; not the seed source. Talking heirlooms/open-pollinated; not spliced & diced GMO ‘pest resistant’ seeds/plants!

In our pickles (see this week’s tread) we used the small top-onions in the jars. The smaller ones went in whole, with just with the tops & bottoms trimmed, and skinned; the larger ones got either halved or quartered.

We’ll use more of those in our upcoming pickled carrots; and have also minced them for deviled eggs, egg foo yung; and more coarsely cut, in macaroni & potato salads.

The bottoms have been used in salads, omelets stir-frys, and on sandwiches. Right now, they are hot. BEFORE they set a new crop of tops, they are much sweeter.

We have minced and used the green tops of the sprouting upper bulblets as if they were green onion tops.

One thing we (*I*, mea culpa) didn’t do, since these were foundlings, was pick a spot we want for their “forever home”; so, instead of 50, I’ll have to move 150-200 into a new, prepared bed; then keep an eye out for any strays that come up in the ‘temporary’ spot they got shoved into.