Evergreen Bunching Onion Seeds - (Allium fistulosum)

Evergreen Bunching Onion Seeds – Hardy, Tasty Gems

Fresh Evergreen bunching onions are often overshadowed by their bigger and bolder Allium siblings — onions, shallots, leeks, and garlic — but don’t ignore these hardy, slim little gems. Their delicate flavor is advantageous when you need a gentle whisper of onion flavor, not a loud shout.

Evergreen Bunching onions is one of the first vegetables to come up in spring — even in Alaska. If you plant these cold-hardy onion seeds in spring and leave some bulbs in the ground, you’ll be rewarded with green onion shoots early next year.

These ancient non-bulbing, green bunching onions are very hardy, overwinter well, slow to bolt, and disease resistant.

They are also called Sakata’s Evergreen Hardy, Japanese Bunching, or Nebuka Onion. Other names for bunching onions include stone leek, Chinese Spring onion, or Welsh onion. The common term of Welsh onion does not refer to the country of Wales but is derived from the German word walsch or welsche, meaning foreign.

Intro

What, exactly, defines a scallion is an ongoing culinary world debate. Some say any onion harvested before the bulb widens can be considered a scallion. However, the flavor of an Allium cepa (regular onion) scallion is likely to be more pungent than an Allium fistulosum (bunching onion) scallion.

Regular onions grow differently than bunching onions. A. cepa develops a bulb below ground, whereas A. fistulosum will not: there’s no actual physical difference between the stalks/shanks and the bulbs of young plants, except color and flavor.

The word scallion comes from the Greek word askolonion, which refers to the ancient port of Ashqelon, considered the home of the onion. Like many other origin stories, it is off geographically – onions are native to central Asia. But the name had stuck by that time, so here we are.

One can identify the species by looking carefully at the bottom of the green leaves near where they turn white. If the leaf cross section is “D” shaped (or has a flat side), it is A. cepa, a regular onion. If “O” or round, it is A. fistulosum, a bunching onion.

Details

Bunching onions earn their name by happily growing tightly in clusters of elongated, straight leaves and narrow, delicately white, slender bases. The dark green leaves are smooth, stiff, and hollow with small central tubes, growing around 12” tall. The white base of each onion is dense, succulent, and firm, with small, short, white roots growing from the bottom. Green onions are crisp and juicy with a grassy, sweet, and slightly spicy flavor like chives, yet milder than mature onions.

History

Recent chromosome-level genome sequencing of ancestral species of bunching onions, known as Allium altaicum, confirms one center of origin was around Lake Baikal in Siberia near the Altai mountains, thus the species name. This bunching onion species is still prevalent in the central region of Russia.

The main centers of origin include Northwestern China, middle Asia, and Eastern Russia.

Bunching onions are quite ancient, pre-dating human interaction by several million years, according to genomic sequencing research of tissue samples from the primary sources of origin. They have been deliberately selected, cultivated, and bred for over two thousand years.

The first written record about the crop comes from the first century BC, according to Polish research on the historical growing methods of growing bunching onions in Siberia and China. One of the first records of the onion was in the Chinese herbal text Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, or The Divine Husbandman’s Classic of Medicinals. The earliest existing text, compiled during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD), records and describes 365 medicinals and summarizes earlier medicinal experiences.

The crop spread to Japan during the 8th century AD, most likely through trade. Bunching onions arrived in Europe through trade and exploration during medieval times. Extensively cultivated since ancient times, it has escaped gardens and naturalized in Alaska, parts of Canada, and the northern U.S.

Uses

Green or bunching onions are among the most widely used ingredients in Asian cooking. They are prevalent in Chinese dishes and the principal onion used in Japanese cuisine – commonly added to noodle and tofu dishes, hot pots, and stir-fries.

They are well suited for raw and cooked uses such as stir-frying, sautéing, roasting, and grilling. Both the white base and green leaves can be sliced or chopped and sprinkled over a salad, noodles, pizza, pasta, casseroles, stews, and curries, garnished over soup such as egg drop or tortilla, minced onto deviled eggs or in Asian pancakes, mixed into salsa, baked into biscuits, layered in sandwiches, or added to stir-fries. Grilled whole onions produce robust and sweet flavors, pairing well with bolder dishes like grilled fish and meats.

Green bunching onions are also famous in Mexican cuisine as they can add a bright, fresh flavor to rice, beans, fish, and cheese. Also known as Cebollitas (little onions) in Mexico, bunching onions are grilled and sprinkled with lime juice to accompany asado dishes.

For flavor, harvest them when they are approximately 10″ – 12″ tall.  If some escape notice and get big, they can still be enjoyed.  Strip away some tougher outer layers and use the tender white and pale green sections.

Growing Tip

Bunching onion seeds do not store well, as with all onion types. If not properly stored, germination rates begin dropping after six months, but with cool, dry, and dark conditions, they will sprout reliably for up to 12 months.

Bunching onions grow best in rich, fertile soil amended with well-aged compost, as their short, shallow root systems cannot reach into the soil to obtain their needed nutrients.

A soil temperature of 55 - 68°F is ideal for the best seed germination.

In cold weather climates, add a thick layer of straw or leafy mulch in the fall to protect the plants through the winter and help restart early growth next spring. Remove mulch thicker than one inch in the spring once the soil has warmed up.

In warmer winter climates, succession plant every three to four weeks for a continual supply if you harvest the entire onion at once.

If you let a few continue growing, bunching onions will produce small white flowers in a cluster at the top of a scape or flowering stalk. Once the seeds mature, the flowers scatter the seed to continue growing next season.

Learn More

• Leeks: Not Just for Stews
• How to Grow More from Your Same Garden Space

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