EatTheWeeds: Episode 140: Wild Onions/Wild Garlic

www.eattheweeds.com
www.eattheweeds.com/forum/
In this video about Wild Onions also called Wild Garlic. The entire plant's edible from the bulbs underground to bulbets on top.

[@thepoormansprepper]

We get hundreds of them in our yard every spring here in Missouri. We don't pull them otherwise then tend not to come back. Scissors however work fine for cutting the greens and they grow back next spring. We bring them in and dehydrate them. Almost all of ours will have hollow stems.

[@gypsy3257]

I'm up around Gainesville and they are soooo plentiful all over my little one acre farm. I love them 🥰

[@Sofiarivassculptor]

I can smell the wild garlic from here, did not know about that, thank you for sharing

[@michaelkennedy7569]

Exactly the video I was looking for! Those "bulbettes" are awesome raw. I oven roasted the lower bulb with a little olive oil. Delicious. Thanks for the post.

[@andrewbarlow8937]

As a boy . We tossed them aside and called them ..... "Scunions" Ba ! Ha ! Ha ! Good Presentation ! 👍

[@dkulikowski]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! A lot of time & energy go into your videos and I greatly appreciate it. Smiles, Lark

[@nukeyourhouse]

I have thousands of these on my property. Smells like a salad every time I mow the lawn. They are, in fact taking over my lawn and I love it

[@orionz51]

I have been waiting for many years to get a DVD set. Thanks! your videos are the best on you tube!

[@carpetfarmer]

All over my from yard in central TX we picked about 100 before we mowed the grass today we have some green, some with deep purple cloves but most look just like that

[@question3613]

I just pulled what look like blades of grass up from my chives, and one of these "blades of grass" has a bulb on it! Smells like onion when I cut the leaves..

[@putneyfarm64]

Hello "cousin" Dean. Here in the Upstate of SC, we have a similar garlic which has naturalized in lawns. It smells heavenly when folks mow their grass. We live in the country far off the road, so no worries about car exhaust. Ours has hollow chive-like stems which are tender in the cool months, and we snip them into soups, salads, etc. I love to chew a stem or two while on walks. The bulbs of ours actually split into tiny cloves underground as they mature. We love them and we leave them where they spontaneously show up in the garden, because they make great companion plants; repelling or confusing would be pest insects from our other crops. They seem to go deep into the ground and always come back; even if you think you have dug the whole thing.

[@Yessicuhhh]

I get so excited every time you post a new video! I just recently got a little wild onion tattoo, so this made my day :)

[@runlevelzer0]

Thanks for all of your videos. I live in Jacksonville and it's great to get to know some of our native (and not-so-native) flora. For several years now, we've been encouraging native plants in our garden and have several bunches of wild onion in our beds. They are very hearty and put on a beautiful display.

[@raheem8086]

Im from Jacksonville also if u ever wana trade seed or plants im down

[@groovesme]

Good news. I'm looking forward to future videos. -Mark

[@Romasulmona]

Thank you so much , I will check for wild garlic onions in my backyard.....✌️. 🌼 🌸

[@Shuggies]

Loved this one especially as i do go along eyeing the wild onions and garlics. And just love to add them to corn bread and my fav hush puppies. And scrambled eggs and pototoe salads and on and on. Thanks. And love your show deeno !!)

[@MarlaHughesFL]

Don't know if you're aware of it, but 241 between Jonesville and Archer has entire ditches full of them this time of year. They grow like grass, especially closer toward Archer near the Baptist church (around 83rd Avenue). You can also start on 24-71 and turn off on 241 between Archer and Newberry. Good luck. :-)

[@litaknowes7294]

Nice jazz. I live in N Fl .this year not as prolific as last year. But i love seeing them coming up

[@MonochromeMentality]

I love those. they are among the first edible greens in spring in my area and I use them with stinging nettle to make a tasty springtime soup! thanks for the video : )

[@boskinay]

Thank you.... I will be harvesting these in the fall to use then. They are dense clumps and both smell and look like tiny onions. Thanks again Dean.

[@Singlewomensurviving]

I have these in my backyard. Meets all your ITEM requirements. My grandson helped me "forage" them. It was a blast. He was running around pulling the bulbettes seeing who could get the most. I didn't cook with them because, despite my research was still not sure. My instincts said they were edible.... and yes, I used the "shoots?" like chives for myself. Sniff, sniff, I think the rest were eventually discarded. I had to be safe. Now I/we can dive in and enjoy foraging them knowing they are edible. They are such a perfect plant. I once documented/counted over 30 wild edibles in my backyard. Lost count now. Your videos have meant a lot to me. The service you bring to us is so valuable it is beyond measurable. Thank you. P.S. I had the same doubts about those grub looking root thingies. I don't like shopping, so I think, tomorrow, I'll harvest some stachys floridana and my Jerusalum artichokes. P.P.S. I tried about 8 different ways to spell bulbettes and spell check didn't take them.

[@dustinplays4362]

Singlewomensurviving hey! I know another way to get them!

[@Florida-X]

When driving it’s probably hard to spot them. But they like damp ditches and so does Elderberry. So in end of April ( for North Florida) when you see Elderberry cream colour flowers by the side of the road check out grass. You might find them too.

[@tubaljohn1]

Dean, thank you for the great tips. Because of you I have tried many things. I live in NW Indiana, and was wondering if you knew of any weeds that I should be looking for? I grow both garlic, and Chinese onions, but it would be great to find them in the wild. Thank you for posting this blog. It is very helpful.

[@garygerow4822]

I live in northern central PA. and I go out and dig up leaks and use the onion like bulb in potato soup, vegatable soup ,chily.They are a little strong but good.You can also cook them with trout.Thank you for all your great videos.Keep up the graet work.

[@KennethKramm]

Excellent. Thanks. I was looking for this information.

[@maxrockatansky1271]

love your vids brotha. keep up the great work!

[@EatTheWeeds]

The piano one? It came packaged with IMOVIE a few years ago. I think it is called "My Buddy." The short one is Electric Rodeo Medium.

[@brandongarrettcryptozoology]

one of my favorite condiments to add to camp foods while im in the field

[@Legend0222]

Just found your channel and very excited, my bf just moved and his new house has a bunch of these, we wanted to eat some bu I don't want to deplete the population so glad I found your video with good information!

[@Chefianf]

As a kid we had a field that had something that looked very similar. About the same size, grew in the middle of a fallow field however, the bulbettes were very tight like a pom-pom around the size of a quarter. Same plant or another onion family plant?

[@patiencekates5975]

Excellent! Thank you for the video

[@boskinay]

Dean, I live in Tennessee and wonder are these the same as what I find in bunches growing in my lawn? What I find look like chives and have a bulb as well. of course with mowing they never form those bulbletts at the top but are these the same thing? I have an old recipe for preserved vegies from the old Stocking Up book and it calls for wild onions. If these are the same thing I have them in abundance lol. Thanks and keep up the great work.

[@emmygemmy4549]

There are tons where i live in Arkansas

[@rogerfritsch]

and thanks for posting all your info

[@colddrake80]

In Upstate NY I have found a wild onion that has a hollow, round stem, strong onion flavor and smell and are about 8 to 12 inches high. I don't know if that the same plant or a different species but they are good with salmon.

[@pattiannepascual]

wild garlic Allium vineale.

[@veronicamoore9988]

I used to forage in N.J. and didn't think I could in FL. Pasco county because we don't have mushroom clubs etc. to forage them. So I am really impressed by your video I have the book "wild asparagas" that I used to try to find things in FL. I like your videos thank you.

[@mizzpoetrics]

Pretty awesome! My daughter's school grew these this past summer, & I took a while guess as to what they were. I didn't think they were poisonous, since little kids planted them. Anyway, I noticed the strong onion/garlic smell & took a few+ seeds! Thanks for all the videos, I'm learning a lot!

[@blaiseduggins2116]

Man I love your videos you remind me so much of my favorite chef the frugal gourmet Jeff smith!

[@hotwireman49]

I freaking love that song. SWEET!!

[@ScottHead]

These grow each year under one of my fig trees, and they grow like crazy along a creek bank near by. Glad to find how useful they are, I did not know your could use the top portions. What is the danger of mis-identification? Is there a similar plant that is harmful?

[@greendeane1]

If it looks like a garlic and smells like a garlic it is edible. But you must have both.

[@jenniferantoon1949]

Thanks for the video

[@willmill409]

im so glad I watched this video because I was only eating the bulbs. ive been missing out on the rest of plant. I didn't know the whole things was edible

[@cnypilot]

I foraged a bit of those a few years ago. Never had cloves on the top at the time.

[@queenelcene638]

ThankYou ❤

[@jveazebeaze]

I love the suggestion of planting the foraged bulbs and bulblets. 'Tending the wild' is what the indigenous people of the Americas have been doing for 1000's of years and its this approach to cultivation that we have to thank for the great forests and fields filled human foods. Thanks for taking that tradition forward, Dean!

[@thetacountry4487]

Uh... no. Despite your liberal brainwashing, white folks have a tremendous cultural and culinary history of their own.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Could easily be. There are a lot of local variations. If it looks like an onion and smells like an onion you can eat it. If it looks like a garlic and smells like a garlic you can eat it. But, it most have both in each case. Looks and taste.

[@chunfu2]

Sounds really tasty!

[@bobmarley965]

Beloved it grows wild here in the uk in essex, similiar but not the same. the onion bit is at the end under the ground but i havent seen any with the garlics at the top. will look out for them. i use the whole thing.

[@EatTheWeeds]

For better or worse the audio has been the same for 141 videos. However, my camera died and I am getting a new one and I hope I can get a nice radio controlled mike.

[@rf-bh3fh]

EatTheWeeds They are everywhere. First found them in Tallahassee. Later in Michigan. They can be found in the woods to along the roadside.

[@OrionFyre]

Dean. I love your videos. Do you know of anywhere to buy some of these online? I've tried to finx some locally but never found any. I'd like to grow them jyst because I looove garlic in all forms. Thx

[@rf-bh3fh]

Have them in my backyard. They grow well. I use the tops like chives.

[@Sam-ul4zq]

This man is a national treasure

[@jonathanmoreno3224]

I'm surviving off of wild onions dandelions and garden greens with pecans all for free and i feel great and healthy.

[@AAHomeGardening]

Lovely, I have some in my backyard

[@greendeane1]

Lucky you.

[@NonieK2267]

I have these growing in my raised bed garden and a slightly different one. I bought two types of garlic chives with on package showing purple flowers. ,? I was so surprised when they grew these tops instead of purple flowers. I still have not figured it out.

[@Jesses001]

Yes, those shoes do not provide a ton of protection. Whenever I am not at high risk of my feet being cut to bits, I ussualy go bare foot. I do not have a lot of feeling in my feet, so I have to be carful not to rip them up. I figured those may allow me to go mostly bare foot more often with less cut risk.

[@erik817]

Be careful to not confuse them with the death camas...

[@AllAmericanPrepper13]

Great video a big fan of would like to take one of your classes. I hope all is well and you haven't posted lately. I think your last video was a year ago..

[@EatTheWeeds]

I liked his show and still have some of his cook books. His fall from grace was unfortunate.

[@tubaljohn1]

Dean, I also wanted to add that I have a post grad in Alternative Med, and I'm a Holistic Practitioner. Do you know of a good book that you could rec. on finding weeds/herbs in the wild? I grow about a dozen but it would free up space if I could find them in the wild.

[@abyssquick]

Hello Deane -- here in the north (MA) I find these growing irregardless of sun exposure (water access may be the more crucial aspect). The best patch I know of is in deep shade, sandy soil, on manmade downhill slopes. The large bulbs with thinner shoots/stems tend to be bitter (at least in spring) so I always collect the ones that are husky in all aspects. The bulbs are sweet, but I usually remove 1 or 2 layers as the fibers are tough.

[@patrickdurham8393]

Whoa! The music gave me Chef John flashbacks!

[@TraderRoss]

I'm up in Jacksonville, spraying herbicide along 1-10 & found a bunch along the ramps

[@EatTheWeeds]

No, if it is an Allium it is good. But strenghts can vary.

[@EatTheWeeds]

It's a small Buck single blade... handy.

[@Jesses001]

I find them on roadsides a lot too. I often find them in really...bad soil, as in soil that smells like oil. I guess the runnoff from the road is why. Hey, you have those fancy minumal shoe things. How do they work? I have been thinking of picking up a few pairs, but they are not cheap, so I would like some feedback on them first.

[@JaySav916]

Lovin the vibrams

[@honeyridgehomestead3197]

Whats the best way to store them for long term use??? Can you dry the stem like chives?? Absolutely love your videos and I have recommended them to my class for reference sources! If you're ever in KY, I'd love to have you drop in and say at one of the classes!

[@honeyridgehomestead3197]

Central Ky.

[@NotSoCrazyNinja]

I used to munch of those things as a kid and teen all the time. I love garlic and onion. These "wild" ones have a lovely flavor. I used to pick the leaves and eat them raw and occasionally grab a whole bulb and chew it raw. Never tried the things on top. Due to how difficult they seem to be to find in my area now (can't for the life of me figure out why they went from weedy to hard to find over the past twenty years), I want to find some and begin cultivating them as a crop. I figure that since they overwinter just fine, maybe I can plant them deep in loose workable soil and pluck them throughout the year whenever I want some. I just have to find some. I "think" I have some growing near my driveway, but I have never seen them bloom and have not "tested" them for smell, but the leaves look like what I remember. Was hoping to see them bloom as that would be a clear giveaway. When I moved here, my yard was basically full of wildflowers and some grass. Over the years, all the flowers have gone away except for dandelion and now it's mostly just grass and I've not really done anything to encourage the grass. I did get a surprise maypop this past year show up growing next to my house. I used to eat them as a teen too and haven't seen one since I was a teen until this year. It's weird, plant diversity seems to be changing in my area and some of my favorite wild plants are harder to find. Maybe I'm out of practice and just not looking in the right areas.

[@nathalierocquin5603]

Hello, I live in Louisiana. 18 months ago we bought a hundred year old home. In the back yard of the house I keep finding what I believe to be wild onion/garlic. It has a very strong aroma. A few months ago I dug them all up and transplanted them in my vegetable garden near my store bought onions. a few weeks ago I decided to try and make a onion based stock with all my greens of the onions wild and store bought, yet when the stock was tasted it was awful like sipping boiled grass! I'm wondering if it was the way I cooked it or if it is not wild onion at all. to be safe my husband and I went back through our garden and removed the wild onions. could you give me some more information on how I can know the difference? I can provide photos of the wild onions that are still growing in the yard. They are actively growing next to my newly planted citrus trees. Would the wild onion have any flavoring effects to my citrus trees? Thank you in advanced for reading all my questions.

[@kokonutbaby1]

Those are all over my front yard..(on 5 acres wooded)..I wasn't sure they were edible but guess I will try them since they are such a nuisance. I'm constantly weedeating them down. Thanks for the information.

[@groovesme]

Are there any allium we should avoid? I have found wild onions and garlic but never certain about what is edible when foraging.

[@commonknowledge98]

How to not over harvest bulbs ? Does the top bulbs grow another plant? How are they reproduced?

[@Charles1198]

I've never seen those around here, but we do have what I think is chives. About 12" talk, hollow stem. Taste and smell oniony.

[@charlesclements4350]

Green Deane: Here in southern Virginia and North Carolina grows patches of small, dark green round, pointy, onions smelling plants that look like green onions. I am wondering if they are edible.

[@EatTheWeeds]

They are almost ready. I am having them played by a few folks to find any file errors.

[@rogerfritsch]

you are a really good forager

[@Jefferdaughter]

It depends. :) But many are easy to learn with the help of a good set of reference books and a class or two with a local expert, like Green Dean. His website lists teachers around the US. You already know a bunch of wild edibles: dandelion, plantain, clover, violets, birch tree, etc. Check out his website for lots more that you already know!

[@9999plato]

Good music choice.

[@priscillasousa6214]

These must be excellent pickled

[@drabacal65]

Can they be found in Hawaii and are they like green onions

[@Roarkethemerciless]

Why that all the wild galric that i found near a river had almost all the leaves brown and wither, before flowering (already purple unopened flowers) ? It was month of april. Now i don't see any.

[@fouroakfarm]

Wish we had those; all we have are allium triquetrum

[@gailreese4699]

Hello there . I found your sight by axident. I have been trying to find some wild garlic and wild onion bulbs . Do you know where I can buy some / I have been looking for years.

[@floridahiker1503]

If you live in Florida try Whitwam Organics. They sell wild onion bulblets. I see our native onion/garlic in the ditches where you can spot the flower stalk with the bulblets in May. They are summer and winter dormant.

[@gailreese4699]

@@floridahiker1503 Thank you I will check them out.

[@aratakitheoneandoniitto]

That's really interesting actually! I always see tons of wild garlic and onion but when I pull them up I was always confused with how small they were compared to the in store onions and garlic and assumed they must not be "ripe" yet. Good to know they are perfectly fine when that small. :)

[@kirkhupp8886]

They're same size& smaller depending on location etc...

[@CearaQC]

Then you are looking for what they call a ''top setting'' onion. I think the Walking Onions have something similar. It may not be ''wild'' but it grows in a similar way.

[@itatane]

Love these invasive little beggars! I have a friend who keeps a family garden on her grandparent's homestead in Ohio. They were having a hard time getting rid of them around the garden (the front cornfield, ALL 35 acres, was totally filled with these "weeds"until they plowed them under) until I offered to take any they dig up. I just clean off the big ones right away, sift the dry dirt for the little ones and return the clean dirt. Man! Do they go well in just about everything!

[@thehomeplatespecial597]

what does the word "Canada" mean or come from? It is part of this onions name...

[@LSFprepper]

can the little cloves be dried/saved as seed, or do they need to be planted immediately?

[@greendeane1]

I've saved them in the frig for months then planted.

[@litaknowes7294]

I gather them every year n use them in cooking and salads

[@healingbyGod]

If I were to miss identify a herb or weed and ate it. Would I just get sick or could it do me in?

[@annielou2010]

do you sell seeds?i tried to find it on ebay whith no luck!what color do they flowers bloom?i think i found it!

[@TheAverageWhiteGuy]

There are a few places online that sell the allium canadense seeds. I have a thousand seeds I got online from a rare seed website for less than 10$

[@pattiannepascual]

mine all have hollow stems,so what are they? it's confusing calling them wild onion or wild garlic if they are 2 different plants?

[@greendeane1]

Onions and garlic are bothe Alliums, and what they are called vary greatly, these smell more like garlic than onions but are called wild onions.

[@lisachubrilo]

I have wild onion it looks like onion smells like garlic but mine is kind of spiraled or curly.......?

[@CarrieGerenScogginsOfficial]

What shocks me about this plant is the top "seed," is baby onions, and not really a seed head. It reminds me of an Egyptian walking onion, that the top seed head is baby onions, can transplant them and make lots more off just one plant, or just eat the baby onions off the top. A bunching onion is akin to a garlic, lots of baby onions gather around the bottom, and you have to separate them like one would a garlic plant... Which does create more in that one onion's place, but is more trouble to replant the babies, than an Egyptian walking onion is.

[@williamquilitzsch4174]

Thought the video switched over to Food Wishes.

[@williamquilitzsch4174]

Hey Deane maybe youcould do a video with chef John and see what cooks up.

[@alya4064]

Hi, how many days does wild garlic need to harvest from the date of budding or planting?! Can he handle high scores?Its seeds have been found sold on websites! Do you recommend growing it at home or not?!

[@greendeane1]

I put the cloves in the frig for a few weeks as it is not cold much locally. And even if you plants them in May they won't come up until December or so.

[@anita-jo7op]

they look like a miniature version of the egyption walking onions i just bought and planted.

[@BlueBirdBaby]

Wow 🙏😍

[@Tehstool]

Do we know if he was ever able to establish a wild onion patch somewhere like he wanted?

[@greendeane1]

I have some growing in a pot.

[@shaneandelizabethmagnus1451]

A friend and I are havng a friendly debate. Do you dry the top or bottom for a new crop?

[@aratakitheoneandoniitto]

shane magnus I think both can be used, honestly. Depends on how you want to grow them.