1 bag with 10 bulbils/topsets. One bulbil (see top hand in second above image) can grow in good conditions 2-4 medium sized onions (lower hand in above image).
We love those onions and find them so much easier than growing onions from seed as we find the transplanting so fiddely. The success rate with these ones is a lot higher too. Onions store well for about 1 year in a cool and dry place.
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, burried 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 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.
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.
Above: The Egyptian walking onions just before harvesting. With a great amount and size of bulbils for seeds for next season.
Above: Well developed topsets.
Above: One topset grew this cluster of onions.
We love those onions and find them so much easier than growing onions from seed and the success rate is a lot higher. Onions store well for about 1 year in a cool and dry place. At KoruKai Herb Farm we started with 8 bulbils 6 years ago and in the second year we could already plant 70 bulbils and now grow enough onions to see us through the year (and we eat them in pretty much every meal!). We planted 175 bulbils in May 2018 and harvested 25kg of onions in February 2019.
HEALTH BENEFITS:
Simply eating onions on a regular basis can have a positive effect on your overall health, and because onions and garlic share many of the same chemical constituents, they are often used in similar ways.
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.
Raw or lightly cooked leaves and bulbs should be consumed whenever possible to promote overall health. A flavorful and healing infusion of onion is easily prepared using vegetable, fish or poultry broth. Use as much onion as is palatable.
As a precaution, those persons taking blood-thinning medications or preparing for surgery should talk to their practitioners before using medicinal quantities of onion for circulatory disorders. Other than that, go ahead and indulge, literally, to your heart’s content.
