Oh, the Lord is good to me,
And so, I thank the Lord,
For giving me, the things I need,
The sun and the rain and the apple seed…..
I learned this song in Girl Scouts. It’s called “Johnny Appleseed,” and it meant nothing to me at the time, just a fun little tune.
Fast forward (very fast) almost 50 years and this song and the lore of Johnny Appleseed means a whole lot more. Feelings and experiences have happened over those years that have made a simple song and a simple idea turn into something so deep and profound – it’s hard to put into words (but here I am blogging, lol, so I’ll do my best).
Let me start with the concept of sharing, but with one little change…let’s use an onion seed instead of an apple seed (bear with me, I don’t eat apples every day, but I do eat onions or onion salt or onion powder nearly every day). Johnny shared his apple seeds, and I’ve been sharing onions…..special onions called Egyptian walking onions. I entered the onion-sharing world when I met Ray Eicher, aka the onion man. Ray loved John Denver music and came to our concerts whenever he could. When he learned about my love for gardening, Ray promptly gave me some walking onions and told me that he had been sharing these unique onions all over the East coast and as far West as Nevada.
My adopted onions plants thrived in California, and so I’ve shared them with friends in Florida, Alabama and a new generation of gardeners (my son and his friends) in Idaho. The plant is perennial, and every part of the walking onion plant is edible. The onions are called walking onions because they grow new onions at the very top of their stalk. The new onions eventually become too heavy for the stalk, then the stalk falls over and the new onions root themselves to the ground wherever they fall…one step away (walking) from the parent plant.
Sadly, I just got an email from the onion man’s wife Adele. Ray has passed away, but I proudly keep the gift he gave to me and have shared it with others who will continue to share with many more.
The Lord is good to me. He has given me friends that share their gifts, talents and time with me. Step by Step, I do my best to pass along whatever I can. Together we plant the seeds that become the spice of life.
Thank you, Ray!
Hi there! I’ve never thought about growing onions beyond scallions. I’ll have to try that. We have some tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini growing up in our back yard. Our first time trying to grow these. My son installed a drip irrigation which makes it easy. I also planted some cantaloupe, watermelon, squash and cucumber seeds and then are growing. But I think I overwatered them so am backing off a bit.
Looking forward to seeing you on July 13!
I was telling our new executive director at Temple Beth Tikvah about your concerts. She happens to know Gordon. We’re starting to talk about the possibility of hosting a concert! Wouldn’t that be fun! We don’t have fixed seating but could probably seat 250-300 comfortably. We can figure out how to do the seating with your expertise!
Let’s talk!
Hi.. I am happy that you enjoyed Cheshire, CT, yes Spring time is very beautiful there! It was my first time at the Nelson Center, what a wonderful place.
I brought my sister to the Friday 2pm concert and of course, we both enjoyed it immensely!
Thank you Jim for taking time out of your break time to speak with both of us.. Anne, you do the Flyaway song beautifully 🩷still would like to hear your Miss Piggy voice though , just kidding, lol…
I hope to see you all again soon in Pa. And Ohio in September .
Thanks for the walking onion info. I’ll have to plant some.
Safe travels and stay well..
I absolutely hate,,hate, hate onions and their whole darn family;`chives, scallions, leeks. I have a HUGE adversion to onions and can’t even be around anyone eating them because even the smell makes me feel sick! So everyone who goes out to lunch with me have to request NO onions because they know if I even get a whiff of them, I will feel nauseated. Yep, that’s my story about onions.
I have been given several walking onions over the eyars from Anne and I’ve shared with neighbors in our community Hawthorne at Leesburg, Fl….they are wonderful in soups, sauted and taking the tops and maing chives out of them…I will cherish the onions and think of your friend Ray “the onion man” man when I weed in and aorund them, take them out to eat and enjoy and watch them walking from garden area to another. Ray is walking around in Heaven trying to find some good spots for the walking onions! Thank you and I’m so thrilled that I could get into your blog this time.
Carol Devlin,
Leesburg, FL
A wonderful story to share Ann… we look forward to seeing you again in Saint Cloud, Mn in August.
Keith and Alice
My house is 144 years old. I have walking onion here and have a feeling they always been there. It’s a nice feeling knowing if I am out of onions there always there. I was told onions are good for the heart. I believe that’s true.
What a lovely story, Anne. With your music, you plant seeds that become the spice of life – your tribute to us. And someday I’d like a sample of your walking onion seeds.
I also enjoyed your photos & the story about Bobbi Johnson, inspiring the For Bobbie song, which gulfed into another.
Planting has always been therapy for me. There is something to be said fir getting your hands in the dirt. I am not doing vegetables this year,trying sunflowers instead.
Although my flowers got in late due to my husband’s illness and death, it’s in now and and trying to keep them alive through the heat wave here. Flowers just make me happy. I sing inch by inch row by row Father bless these seeds I sow…..
Keep on planting Diane! Sunflowers are fun and cheerful, you are doing good therapy! Much love to you!