Remove any rubber bands or twist ties from the green onions before rinsing under cold water. Pat the onions dry with a paper towel, then wrap in a damp paper towel and place the bundle in a plastic bag. The onions should then be placed in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator. They should keep for 3 to 5 days.
We grow three different types of green onions here at Harmony Valley Farm, two of which are overwintered onions, or planted in the fall for spring harvest. Our overwintered green onions are potato onions and Egyptian walking onions. The remaining type of green onions we grow are scallions, which start their life in our greenhouses with the rest of the onion varieties we grow.
Egyptian Walking Onions: This onion earns its name by the unique way they reproduce. They are a perennial and form tiny bulbs on the top of their stalks, referred to as top growth. When they mature, the top growth becomes too heavy for the stalks to hold up and the plants fall over, sometimes up to two feet away, and the bulbs set new plants. Hence, they are called walking onions because they seem to walk or creep around your garden. Egyptian Walking Onions’ flavor is similar to a leek; mild and slightly sweet.
Potato Onions: This onion is not planted from a seed like other onions, but rather from a bulb that divides to create 5 to 8 or more new onions. Potato onions are closely related to shallots, and have a stronger flavor when mature. We grow them as green onions, but they can also be cured like other onions, and have great storage potential! Even full grown, they are still on the small side, only 0.5 to 3” in diameter.
Scallions: This is the onion that typically comes to mind when you think “green onion:” the white base that hasn’t turned into a bulb and has long, dark green, tube-like leaves that resemble overgrown chives. Besides the standard white variety, we also grow purple scallions. The flavor of a scallion is milder and sweeter than a mature onion, but stronger than that of chives.
Green onions can be used top to bottom. Greens and stalks can be sliced thin and added to salads and pastas. The bulbs are good pickled or boiled with peas. Another way to enjoy them is to char them whole on the grill, remove the outer layer of char and dip the centers into a classic romesco sauce. They also make an attractive garnish.
Growing Information: How can we have onions before harvesting our spring transplanted scallions? We have found two varieties of multiplier onions, Egyptian walking and Potato onions. We save a portion of our crop every year and allow them to grow throughout the season. Late in the summer we harvest the sets (onion bulbs) and dry them in the greenhouse. In the fall when we plant garlic, we plant these onions too. Since they are already in the ground and have stabilized themselves with roots in the fall, they are ready to take off and grow in the spring. This allows us to push the limits of our season and get onions into the boxes earlier.
