Egyptian Walking Onions

NAME: Egyptian walking onion 

BOTANICAL NAME: Allium x proliferum

SEASON: Bulbils are best planted from March till Sep

HEIGHT: 60cm

PLANT CARE: Plant between mid April and mid September (depending on your climate) in well drained, rich soil in full sun. Enrich soil with well rotted manure, buried Bokashi contents or food scraps and add a decent layer of compost prior to planting. 

Plant just below the surface and space 17cm apart. After planting mulch the bed well with woodchips, autumn leaves, seaweed or straw and cover with bird netting to prevent birds from scratching them up in the early stages. Weed and water on a regular basis especially in spring and summer.

HARVEST: Harvest at the end of summer depending on your season, this is between early January and mid March. Keep the biggest bulbils from the flower heads at the top for next year's planting. Sometimes they do not produce bulbils in the first year, in this case you can replant some of the smaller onions in the cluster in the ground to produce the next crop.

USE: cooking

OTHER: To grow larger onions, remove the flower stalk as it emerges. Make sure to leave some to go to flower and set bulbils for next year's seed supply.

Egyptian Walking Onions are also called "Tree Onions, Egyptian Tree Onions, Top Onions, Winter Onions, or Perennial Onions."As their scientific name "Allium proliferum" states, these hardy little onions are very prolific. After planting them in your garden you will have onions every year for years to come

One of the best-known uses of on­ion is in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Used alone or with other herbs, onions can aid or ameliorate heart attacks, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, blood clots, high cholesterol and angina through their ability to increase blood cir­culation and viscosity by reducing the amount of fat absorbed into the bloodstream.

Onions also reduce inflammation and fight many types of infections, including fungal infections such as athlete’s foot. Onions are often used to ease the symptoms of colds and flu such as fever, cough and bronchial congestion. They also have strong antibiotic and antimicrobial proper­ties, which are used to inhibit or treat respiratory infections, staphylococcus, streptococcus, cholera, bacillus typhus and dysentery.