Nodding Onion Seeds - Allium Cernuum - Delicious & Perennial
Quantity: 25 Seeds
Nodding Onion, aka Allium Cernuum, is a wild and delicious member of the onion family, Amaryllidaceae. These long lived perennial plants are very hardy, down to zone 5. All parts of the plant are edible. Nodding Onions taste somewhat like Chives, and can be used in a similar way for recipes. The plants divide at the base, and eventually form a clump of plants. To harvest, either pull out a whole plant from the soil if you intend to use the edible bulb as well as the greens, or if it's just the greens that are wanted, cut the leaves about an inch above the soil line; they'll regenerate very quickly this way. Nodding Onions grow in many different types of soil, but they thrive in nutrient rich loamy earth with decent water retention, but not so much that the ground is soggy or waterlogged. Once established, a patch of these plants is able to offer a supply of fresh greens for the whole growing season; it's a very valuable plant to have in any permaculture style garden. These plants are deer, pest, and disease resistant.
All seeds are organic and open pollinated.
Growing Instructions
It’s best to start Nodding Onion seeds as early in the season as possible; we start them here on the farm in January, but because they're perennial, they can really be planted at any time in the growing season, assuming that the ground can stay moist as the plants establish their roots. If started indoors, it's good to sow them in a sterile growing medium; most available seed starting soils should do the job nicely; we use sunshine mix (peat moss and perlite). The soil should be made moist, but not damp. Sow the seeds 1/8 - 1/4 inch below the soil surface. Store in a warm area until tiny sprouts emerge from the soil. A heat mat greatly aids in this step, but is not necessary. Seeds can take between 2-4 weeks to germinate, but they can sometimes take less time too. Once germinated, and the first true leaf has formed, it's time to pot up to a larger container that contains a good quality potting soil. Transplant to their final location when the plants have 2 or 3 leaves. These plants grow best in full sun.