Amy Haun

Hi Kim
This is one of the most comprehensive lists of information about potato onions that I have seen.  Over the years I have read and watched just about everything you mentioned.  
A few years ago I got true seed for potato onions from Kelly Winteron.  Spring of 2021 some of those, 2-3 years from seed, potato onions flowered and made seed.  I would gladly share some of that seed.  I have made about a dozen packets with 1/4 teaspoon of seed in each.  Please send me a message Purple Moosages  if you are interested and we can connect.
Al Haun

Nearly all figs grown in the US are female plants that produce fruit without being pollinated.  So, no viable seeds.  There are some types grown in California that produce seed if you have male and female plants.  Here is a place you can read more about fig reproduction.  http://figs4fun.com/links/FigLink006a.pdf

I sowed two types of potato onion seed that I got from Kelly Winterton on January 12th.  Yesterday I saw the first sprouting on the Green Mountain Landrace seed.  

Hi Trish
I have had problems with onion maggots in the past. I applied beneficial nematodes and now seem to have a population of them able to keep the maggots under control.  I see a few small ones every year but no significant damage.

The rot I’m talking about makes the onion bulbs turn into mush inside the dry outer skin and it stinks really bad. Not quite as bad as late blight on potatoes but close.

Thanks for the input.

I found this thread about a year ago and was inspired to purchase some yellow potato onions from Southern Exposure.  They grew ok but were badly effected by a rot that is probably fusarium root rot.  By the Winter Solstice I did not have anything to plant.  After reading the rest of this thread I realized I need to work toward a selection of potato onion that is adapted to my climate in East Tennessee.  I ordered about 100 true seeds of each: Green Mountian Landrace and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Landrace from Kelly W.  Now I'm trying to figure out when I should sow them.  My thought is to sow half of each variety now to plant out early spring and sow the other half in June or July to sow in the fall.  Any advice on this is appreciated.

One of my goals is to grow all of my onions as some type of perennial onion.  I am currently growing 7 varieties of garlic(4 different types), tree onions(aka Egyptian walking onions), Japanese bunching onions(aka welsh onions) and perennial leeks(the type that produces baby offsets).  I have had difficulty growing shallots and am trying french grey shallots this year.  Potato onions seem like a natural addition to this work.

You all have really inspired me.  Thank You

You should still have time for cool season cover crops.   What is your first frost date?  and What are you winters like?  If you have regular warm spells like I do in East TN, you should be fine planting any of the cover crops that can germinate in cool soil: annual rye, crimson clover, Austrian field peas(presprouted), mixed kale are ones I have experience with.  Chart 3A under this link gives you the minimum germination temps for many different cover crops.  http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Managing-Cover-Crops-Profitably-3rd-Edition/Text-Version/Charts

I'm assuming you would be sowing seed when things warm up in the spring. I'm zone 7 so don't know about what would make it, but sounds like a good experiment. I would think the onions, kale and spinach would be the most likely candidates for producing something edible since you can eat them at almost any stage and they can grow well in cool weather. Be careful not to sow them too deeply. Tomatoes and pepper would probably need to be started indoors and transplanted. You will never know if you don't try it.

I did take a moment to look at the weather for June and July in Edmonton. The temperatures are great for the onions, kale and spinach but look quite cool for tomatoes and pepper. Do folks in your area grow good crops of tomatoes and peppers without greenhouses?

I am new here but definitely have permies related goals for 2016

1) Use the computer to connect with like minded people insead of letting it consume time.
2) Figure out what perennial groundcover plants to add to my blueberry bed.( currently self sown cilantro, mixed clovers, and hensbit)
3) Pick 5 types of perennial plants with edible parts and trial them in my zone 7 yard. (Jujube, partridge berry and goji berry are on the list so far)
4) Consult with local permiculturists and redesign the planting plan for my 1/2 acre yard to include swales and a "zone 1" area for growing greens.
5) Continue teaching local gardeners to move toward more sustainable practices.

Those are the main things. If anyone has suggestions for plants bring them on.