Alliums from seed?

[faron]

Which alliums can I grow from seed, and then save my seed? I'm in green country, zone 7.

[macmex]

I believe you can save seed of any onion which can be grown successfully here from seed. It's important to set aside a fair number of the best roots for seed. Forty years ago, if I recall, they recommended that one use at least six onions to produce seed. Most likely the newer studies will recommend significantly more. I'm not sure, but I'll guess perhaps 20 onions. That would make a whole lot of seed but you could freeze it for long term use. I have some onion seed in my freezer from 2010 which still germinates pretty well when I thaw it out and plant some.

Chives should easily produce seed.

I haven't seen garlic produce actual seed, other than last year I had a plant of elephant garlic which appeared to produce some seed. I tried to grow it and it flopped. Nothing grew.


There are shallots which can be grown from seed. I suspect if you can grow them here, you can get them to make seed here too. 

[Tucson Grower]

I just obtained some actual seed of garlic via eBay. I just sowed some of it. Here's hoping it is actually seed of garlic and that it is viable. I'm also hoping that if it is garlic and grows from seed, perhaps it will be better at producing seed of its own.

[amyinowasso]

I researched true garlic seed, around the same time as I looked into true potato seed. Kenosha Garlic Collectors on Facebook is a source of information. Hard neck garlic Scapes make flowers if you let them. The flowers will certainly make bulbils. Some, I've forgotten now if all hard necks will or not, will make flowers and eventually seeds. You have to get the bulbils out of the big flower and let the small flowers mature. I guess there are 3 or 4 seeds to each little flower. I saved bulbils one year, but I decided getting seeds was more than I was ready to do. I winter sowed shallots, leeks and several other onions successfully, but the chickens made a dust bath of the bed, so they didn't mature. I've grown these www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds/dakota-tears-organic-yellow-storage-onion-2489 in Oklahoma. I think family issues kept me from harvesting and they bloomed. Since they're an OSSI offering they should make seed. I planted them in spring to use as green onions, never expecting them to bulb, but they did. I had seeds to green mountain potato onions, but they were lost in the chicken massacre. www.etsy.com/listing/765557524/green-mountain-potato-onion-seeds-and#:~:text=Green%20Mountain%20Potato%20Onion%20seeds%20or%20bulbs.,grow%20to%20be%20much%20larger.

[FrostyTurnip]

If you don’t mind me asking, how were the Dakota Tears in cooking?  Was the flavor off?  I took the description to mean they were very pungent.  

[amyinowasso]

I never harvested them, other than a few leaves. Life got in my way. I left them in the ground in the spring, because they were green, and they made gorgeous red flowers.

[Tucson Grower]

Update, on garlic seed germination - 0 of 6. I think I'll plant a 12-pack this time. I'd really like to see how it does from seed.

[amyinowasso]

Tucson, have you checked out Kenosha garlic collectors on Facebook? Some of those people might sell you more reliable garlic seed.

[Tucson Grower]

Thanks Amy. I put in to join and posted about looking for seed.

[amyinowasso]

I saw that, didn't look too promising, did it? I don't know what to tell you. Maybe someone will talk more.