| They do dry fairly well. We concentrate on A. sphaerocephalum and A. caeruleum/azureum. You can pick them when the heads are very tight but show color or when they're just starting to open. I think the best setup for drying is a horizontal screen of hardware cloth, but you can also hang them upside down. Chives are also good, but pick them before they start to open, when the buds are large but there's still a purple "skin" over the flowers just beginning to split and let the blooms out -- they will open as they dry. A. schuberti is very striking when dry, but it's difficult to use in mised bouquets. It's easiest to just let it dry in the field. No color, just a nice weird form. A. "Hair" is another weird one, not to everyone's taste; we treat it like A. spaerocephalum. We don't dig the bulbs up, have never tried eating them. I replant A. caeruleum every year, since they tend to behave like annuals. A. sphaerocephalum seems to need replanting every 2-3 years. A. "Hair" self-seeds -- not to the point of despair, but don't get started on it if you think there may come a time when you couldn't stand to see another one. There are more that I'll probably try in future years, including regular onions. | 
