# Cooking With Egyptian Walking Onions Using Greens Bulbs and Topsets

- Link: https://lifeandwork.blog/cooking-with-egyptian-walking-onions-using-greens-bulbs-and-topsets/
- Published: 2026-10-14T13:58:54-05:00
- Author: Bert Swope

Growing Egyptian onions is not simply an agricultural project; it’s an adventure
through time and history. These unique onions can bring something extra delicious
to your garden and add an exquisite edge over traditional varieties.

Walking onions produce edible bulbils on long stems where flowers would typically
grow, earning it the name “walking onions.” Topsets encased by little papery sacs
at each stalk appear like long Medusa-esque snakes slithering by.

## Greens Bulbs

Egyptian Walking Onions (Allium x proliferum) are unique perennial vegetables that
bring intrigue and flavor to any garden. Instead of producing flowers, Egyptian 
Walking Onions produce small bulblets on their elongated stems that mature and produce
roots which spread their seeds throughout your yard, like self-propagating “walking
onions”.

These onions are best known for the greens they produce, which can be harvested 
and consumed like scallions. High in nutrition and boasting mild onion flavors, 
these bulbs are easy to cultivate and drought-tolerant – making them great additions
to vegetable gardens.

Attractive stalks and bulbils of shallots can be used to add subtle oniony notes
to soups, casseroles, salads, and other recipes – particularly eggs, potatoes, and
stews – for an unexpected dimension of taste and aroma. Furthermore, these ornamental
plants make great garden ornaments or colorful filler material in flower beds.

Perennial varieties of onions require much less attention from gardeners compared
to annual varieties, reducing the frequency and severity of tilling, which disturbs
soil structure and harms beneficial organisms, as well as synthetic fertilizers 
which may harm the environment – an advantage particularly appreciated in sustainable
gardening where chemical input reduction should be top of mind.

## Topsets

An Egyptian Walking Onion plant matures by producing a hollow green stalk at the
top of its leaves that leads to clusters of onion bulbils up to one inch in size,
known as “topsets.”

Topset bulbs form on the tip of their stalk and send up green shoots that become
the roots for a new onion plant, eventually pulling over their old stalk and spreading
across your garden – hence its nickname of Egyptian Walking Onions!

These topsets make for an excellent perennial onion source. Harvest them and enjoy
as scallions or chives, cook with them like regular onions, pickle them to preserve
and keep harvesting more perennials! Plus they can even be planted to generate even
more perennial onions!

Some may mistake the appearance of dry outer layers as an indicator that an onion
or garlic bulb has died; this is actually quite normal and serves to protect it 
against mold, bacteria and dehydration while dormant.

Harvesting can be straightforward: just pluck them off when they have become completely
wilted and brown. Any plants that fall onto the ground may need to be picked up 
before they self-sow again.

## Flowering

Egyptian Walking Onions, also referred to as tree or top-setting onions, are an 
elusive vegetable with an indelible mark on human history. These perennial alliums
grow and propagate in an unconventional manner: rather than producing flowers and
seeds at flowering time, their stalks bend over to release tiny bulbs called sets
onto the top of them for propagation; once too heavy for these stalks to hold, these
sets fall to the ground where they root themselves into new plants – hence its moniker“
Walking Onion.”

First year cultivation usually yields modestly-sized green onions similar to shallots,
followed by their gradual regrowth into larger bulbs and eventually producing topsets–
these small new onion plants can then be planted out into your garden or container
to continue expanding your Egyptian onion clumps.

Egyptian walking onions can be planted and maintained relatively easily, provided
their environment meets certain specifications. Egyptian walking onions do best 
when exposed to full sun or partial shade in an average-to-slightly sandy soil that
remains evenly moist throughout their growth period. Mulching with shredded leaves
or compost helps retain soil moisture levels and protect from heat, cold, wind. 
While like their onion counterparts they are susceptible to diseases like onion 
rust and Bacterial Soft Rot, most are easily controlled.

## Harvesting

Walking onions differ from other onion varieties in that they produce small bulblets
at the tips of their stems. As these bulblets grow heavier they fall to the ground
and root themselves into new plants; giving these unique plants their namesake name
and making for an exceptional addition to any garden.

Egyptian Walking Onions are easy-care perennial plants that will return year after
year in both garden beds and containers, regardless of climate conditions or USDA
Zone 3. With their cold- and heat-hardiness, Egyptian Walking Onions even thrive
in USDA Zone 3.

As with other Allium species, Egyptian walking onions thrive best when grown in 
full sun on well-draining soil and planted at either 1″ depth in rows or clusters
with spacing 4-6″ apart; alternatively they should be planted when weather warms
up in spring for top sets or shortly before frost has arrived in fall.

Always bear in mind that these perennial onion plants will take longer to establish
than annual onion plants. During this period, they could become vulnerable to mildew
or rot; to avoid these issues, be careful with overwatering and plant appropriately
spaced rows; also consider using neem oil to control fungus growth. Egyptian walking
onions may also experience onion thrips problems which can be addressed using insecticidal
soap or organic thrips sprays.

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