Top Setting Onion - Ozaukee Master Gardeners

Egyptian onions, or topsetting onions,
are also known as tree or walking onions. It is a very hardy perennial. These
fascinating onions form several small
bulbs underground, plus they produce
clusters of reddish hazelnut-sized
bulblets that form at the top of each
seed stalk. Normal flowers do not occur.
All parts of this remarkable plant are edi-
ble, and it's such a unique and fun plant
to see in the mundane vegetable patch!
The long, thick leaf stalks are terrific
scallions, and the little cluster of
brownish bulbils at the top of the plant
are miniature onions -- tender, savory,
and mild. The larger underground bulb
may also be used as an onion or replanted for next year's crop.
Once Egyptian onions have established themselves, you can separate
the bulb clusters and replant the
bulblets at any time from late summer through early fall. In SE Wisconsin, beds should be heavily
mulched with straw in late November, or alternately, remove and store
the bulbs for replanting in spring.
Plant bulblets 5 to 6 inches apart, 1
inch deep, in rows spaced 12 inches
apart. If you do not get around to
this practice, you will come to understand the term “walking onion,” as
the onion stalks will bend down to
the ground and take root all by themselves.
Irrigation
Like all onions, Egyptian onions are
shallow rooted, so keep the soil evenly
moist. Ideally, you want to provide a
thorough soaking to a depth of six
inches once a week, rather than just a
light sprinkling each day.
Fertility
Low nitrogen requirement. Apply 3
pounds of 10-10-10 (or 4 pounds of 624-24) per 100 square feet before
planting. In spring, remove the mulch
at the first signs of new growth, sidedress with one cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 10-foot row.
Harvest
Using a garden fork, lift the clumps and
separate the onions. These underground bulbs have a very strong flavor
and can be used in a wide variety of
your favorite kitchen recipes. The stalk
bulblets are somewhat spicy and are
delicious pickled. They can also be
used when pickling other garden vegetables.
Diseases
Onion yellow is a viral disease that affects all member of the onion family, but particularly vegetatively (non-seed) propagated types. The virus infects the plants as they
grow, deforms the foliage, stunts their growth, and then overwinters in the bulbs. If
these bulbs are planted the following year, insects can quickly infect the whole planting
as well as any onions in the vicinity.
Master
Gardeners
Journal
MG 254
March 1, 2003
MASTER GARDENERS
Culture
Top Setting Onion
Allium cepa, Proliferum Group
MASTER GARDENERS
Providing university researchbased horticulture information
and educational opportunities
Milwaukee County UW-Extension
932 South 60th Street
West Allis, WI 53214-3346
Phone: (414) 290-2400
Fax: (414) 290-2424
http://milwaukee.uwex.edu
Ozaukee County UW-Extension
Box 994
121 West Main Street
Port Washington, WI 53074
Phone: (262) 284-8288
http://www.co.ozaukee.wi.us
/MasterGardener
Compiled By
John T. Kovatch