I DO understand what your Dad refers to when he mentions "sallet". I grew up in OK eating "poke sallet"
with my grandparents who were from WVa & KY. Not sure but I THINK your Dad is referring to what is now known as Potato Onions. You may get other answers here on Garden Web from someone who knows EXACTLY what it is since I'm only guessing. Potato onions form a small multiplying bulb that keeps producing year after year I believe. Never grew them myself but DO know they're available.
LD

I think this is the best forum, however there is also an Allium Forum if you don't get an answer here.

If we knew how they multiplied, that would be a help in determining the variety, if it's truly wild. Also, size of the mature plant would be helpful. The two main types of propagation is via seeds or topset bulbils. There are very few which do not produce one or another and the main exception would probably not have been growing in TN until very recently. It's possible that it was merely one of the common "tree" onions; Egyptian or Catawissa. If those are allowed to multiply on their own, they will become quite thick and seldom get very large. If cut back, they would become even thicker and never reach maturity. Both would have fairly mild early leaves as described.

Martin

Thank you for your replies here and for the ones who have sent me personal emails.

Paquebot, the onions were NOT wild onions. They were brought to this place by my father's father and had been passed down to him from his father. As for propagation of the onions, my dad says that they would form what he called bloom or seed pods at the tops of the plants. If left alone, they would rupture and re-seed themselves. As for the mature size, as I said in the original post, dad said that they were about 6'-7" tall and the bulbs never got much, if any bigger around than the part of the plant that was at ground level (about the size of a pencil or so).

After further discussion with my mother and father, I did some research based on information that others have given me. I have pretty much come to the conclusion that the onions must be an heirloom mulitplying "bunch" onion. After looking at pictures and reading lots and lots of descriptions, I called my parents back and got them to describe the onions to me as best they could. Based on what I saw and read, mom & dad described the "bunch" onions to a perfect tee!!

So, if anyone knows of a reliable source for good heirloom multiplying "bunch" onions, I would appreciate it if you would let me know. When I find some, I'll plant them out and let dad decide if I have found his "Sallet" onions or not!!

Thanks again for all of the information.

Robert

In the Middle Ground (essentially KY & TN, but includes other parts of the western slope of the Alleghenies), potato onions were the traditional choice. Known variously as potato onions, ground onions, sallat onions, winter onions, and hill onions, these are likely what your dad grew.

They are bulbing multipliers which, in the spring, would not show much more diameter than the stems because the bulbs wouldn't have developed yet. Grown as a perrenial, as he apparantly did, the general size of the bulbs would be smaller as well.

I'm concerned, though, about the reported 6-7" height, as that's rather short. Most potato onions grow considerably taller. Gary Millwood's Potato Onion, for instance, a Kentucky family heirloom, grows about 18-20".

But the short plants, too, might be a result of growing them as a perennial bunching onion.

Potato Onions, at one time, were available in several colors, including yellow (the most common), brown, white, and even red. The brown and reds are all but impossible to find, of late. And the whites aren't all that common either.

There have been several discussions about potato onions (as well as other multipliers, both bulbing and top-setting) over at the alliums forum, and that might be a logical place to take this question.

Thanks for the information GardenLad. I've reposted this question in the Alliums forum.

Robert