| I'm in Maine, not Mass. I've not had good luck with growing scallions (Allium fistulosum) from seed, though supposedly Red Beard is one of the better ones. I do, however, grow Topsetting Onions (Allium viviparum) which grow extremely well for me. They usually make topsets (bulbils), not seeds though. Under stress, they occasionally make seeds. Their lifecycle is a little different than regular onions. In case you're interested:
Late summer, the topsets are formed on the mature plant. Plant the topset. Next year in June or July, the plant can be pulled and eaten as a scallion would. If the plant does not get pulled, when the greens die back in August, the bulb can be pulled and used as a shallot. If the bulb does not get pulled, it will start growing again as the summer cools down toward autumn. It can then be pulled and used as a scallion would anytime before winter. If it still doesn't get pulled, next spring it will put up a flower stalk with bulbils and the cycle starts over again. Mature bulbs with a flower stalk aren't very edible, as 2/3 of the bulb is the hard stem. Depending upon the cultivar (common ones are Moritz Egyptian, Catawissa) one mature plant can make between 5-40 topsets. The topsets can also be eaten. They taste sort of like a mild garlic. And if you just want the onion greens without pulling the bulb, you can cut them anytime from any plant, regardless of maturity. You can even cut them in the winter if you can dig through the snow. |
