These go by several names here in the upland and Appalachian south. In my neck of the woods we call them tater onions, hill onions, or multiplying onions. You plant your "sets" in the fall, around November and dig them in late June or July whenever the tops start to die back. You can also put your foot on the hill and pull some for green onions in the spring. When you plant them, you plant a mix of large ones and small "seed" onions. Over the winter they multiply the large ones making 10-11 "seeds" or sets and the small ones making two or three large onions.
They were common in this area before WWI and the coming of mechanization, and I am told they were a common wedding gift to young couples since once you had your sets you had onions for life. Now a days there are very few of us keeping them alive. year before last year, life coupled with weather, I didn't get mine put out and lost a lot of my sets. From the 20 hills that survived, this is what I dug this year! Most of these are large ones and will be planted again in the fall for a good crop next year, but a few will be eaten.
They taste unlike any other onion you've ever had. They're a little spicy but not overly hot, very savory, almost meaty. They sure are good cooked up in a roast or eaten raw with a plate of beans and cornbread!
“There are things in the old Book which I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible word of God, and receive its teachings as inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Robert E. Lee
