Plant · P-184

Potato Onion

Allium cepa var aggregatum

Potato onion is an heirloom multiplier onion: planted once in fall, it's dug the next summer as a whole cluster of bulbs rather than a single onion. It shares its scientific name with the shallot but is a different crop - larger and sharper-flavored, and it stores for months where a shallot spoils quickly. The size of the bulb you plant decides the harvest: a small set grows into one or two big bulbs for the kitchen, while a large set multiplies into ten or more smaller bulbs for replanting. Like other onions it comes in day-length types tied to how many hours of summer daylight a place gets, so picking the wrong type means a bed of leaves and no bulbs at all.