The Pregnant Onion

That is interesting I am off to look at the pictures

Have you tried crossing them with a carrot? Great story and very interesting Mariana. Are they just a plant or can you really eat them?

Interesting plant

Thanks Miz Cinnamon! Thank you Miz Connie! Ron, they are poisonous! Just decorum...or conversation piece but I do like the crossing idea - lol. Thanks! Salud.

A friend gave me an onion offspring and now it gets watered with leftover gritty chicken water when I empty their fountain - such abuse - but this little onion can take it!! It earned a place of honor in my favorite planter in the yard...a LAVENDER pedestal sink that I rescued from the parsonage of a church. (looked more like a sink one would find in a bordello...buts that's another story)

Miz Judy- oh your garden sounds like mine (I just showed the good parts - lol) - it goes on and on - I'll post more pics later - tell me the bordello sink story - I love purple - uh I mean lavender!!! Salud.

Maiana!

A lot of great philosophy in this article! The friendships that grow in the garden is my favorite part!

Cheers to pregnant onions!

Colonel Possum

Miz M. I have never heard of such a thing. I love going to flea markets. There is one close to me, and we often go to see if there are any treasures to be found.

They are poison. Oh My. That changes things.

Mariana - nature is as fascinating as your thought of friendship that would continue to grow in the garden. I'm too far away to take you up on your offer. LOL

Rather a pregnant, unwed onion then a pregnant unwed daughter! And, how Miz Mari, would you send one of your pregnant girls to New England?

I'm glad you told us that it's poison! I love your philosophy about sharing plants and friendship, I wish I had more room to plant everything!

I've never heard of this plant before. I'd take one, but kitty would make sure its life was short lived. Plus, I don't want ANYTHING pregnant in my house!

i love your memory/horticultural stories! and like so many others, i have never heard of this plant either. do you think it could survive my upstate new york weather cuz i'd love to have one?!

wow, miz m!! i never heard of that one. so cool!

Yes I do. I love onions. Are these for cooking with too?

It depends, Charles, on if you want to poison your guests or not!

Thanks for sharing, Mariana. I have never heard of these either. How neat that you have had it for so long.

I hope the Funny Guy comes along and comments. What could he do with a pregnant onion story???????? Not sure I want to hear! (Maybe he's the father?)

Hello sweet miz Mariana.Another delightful story that adds to the tapestry they make of the person you are.I'm lovin getting to know you.lol

I've never even SEEN one of these before....will they even grow in the north, I wonder?

I really liked your description of passing on "snippets of plants" because I do the same thing with my cuttings. It's wonderful way of turning new neighbors into life-long friends :)

Good Morning Folks! I'm thrilled to wake up and find so many plant lovers! Yall are giving me a brilliant idea...Miz Jeannie, they will grow anywhere as they are pot plants - I just have so many plants that I grow everything outside including orchids...
Bluey: Oh bless your heart - I needed that kind of reassurance this morning!!!
Miz Jadan - girl, you had me spurting coffee on the keyboard. I can't wait to hear from The Funny Guy!
Miz Vicky, do you keep growing the babies? Thanks for letting me know you have one - I thought they were rather common, but guess not!
Charles, oh no, hon - these pregnant onions are very poisonous!
Thank you Miz Jessie - appreciate!!
Miz Mona, oh they'll grow in a pot - Will you join the Pregnant Onion club? I'll send you one. They start out as tiny bulbs as the one on the side and as years go by they grow bigger...isn't that precious!
Rob! Typical bachelor - nothing pregnant in your house - hahaha - guess you could have it spayed!
Miz Dorothy - I don't have a regular yard - no grass! I have dogs that dig everywhere so my plants take a beating - I use my window sills for lots of smaller ones!
Vinay - can you imagine telling folks you just received a Pregnant Onion from the United States! hahaha sounds like a good story.
Connie, well, like many house plants they are poisonous if ingested!
Miz Sue - back in the 70's, I could pick up lovely vintage clothing - like the jackets with the shoulder pads for next to nothing and hats as well. I haven't even begun to share pictures of those days yet! faded jeans, and a vintage jacket - great hat and spiked heels - lol...!
Colonel Possum - have you ever heard of The Secret Life of Plants - great movie, great album by Stevie Wonder...you'll never look at a plant the same way again! Most of my plants have names! Thanks to each and every one of yall! Salud.

As much as I love plants, I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would want an onion as a house plant?

Moggy, that's funny - well, it does make a pretty plant and is fun! Salud.

Is it pretty? Does the foliage look like a regular onion?

BTW, I have a yard full of wild onions if anybody wants them! LOL

Miz Moggy - the foliage (leaves) hang down - as in the picture so I group the big ones together like a hanging plant - will try to post pictures later. They grow on top the ground - oh I love wild onions - send me some lol...I use wild onion tops for salads - also, I grow potatoes, onions, garlics, tomatoes, and ginger in the garden! Salud.

That's great, Mariana! The gift (or purchase) that keeps on giving!

Hi Eric - oh gift absolutely - one thing I can always give to folks is a tiny snippet of a plant - that's how you do it - you visit a place and collect seeds and your journey forever grows in your garden - or else you visit someone and they give you a plant and you are always reminded of that visit and all friends have each others plants - oh that's a southern thing but we do it out in California as well. I rarely buy plants though I did buy some gourd seeds the other day and am fertilizing them with coffee...waiting for sprouts now! Thank you Eric! Salud.

Mariana, I used to love the Goleta Swap Meet. I bought pots there with macrame hangars and plants to fill them! I was always looking for old cookbooks though. Oh, you recall a very pleasant time in my life for me. Thanks.

Madame Donna C. Thanks for the comment - oh yes, those were the days - I also purchased many old books and magazines there. I still have most of my purchases! I used to do macrame hangers and sell them when I lived in Atlanta in the early 70's. I moved to Santa Barbara in 1976 and graduated from UCSB in 1980 and then C.T.C. in 81. I also went to College of Creative Studies during that time...lots of pots...all kinds! Salud.

Interesting plant! My own backyard is a curious unkempt hodgepodge of roses, herbs, grapevines, boysenberries, potted geraniums, potted succulents, and old patio furniture. Whisky barrel water gardens line the flagstone to the patio, and stepping stones my Dad made when I was a kid that I stole from the house after he died lead to a country blue clawfoot bathtub made into another water garden with little garden statuary amongst the plants. Little manmade stones a friend described as miniature coffins are from my neighbors pond and now serve as little patio with weeds and clover growing between them. A climbing rose arbor covers a rotten canvas canopy shading an eating area for 4. The flagstone patio itself is viewed from the sliding glass doors of my family room, with an old redwood table stainec country blue to match the tub, standing against the brick wall holding old clay pots and little birdhouses, a broken bench stands atop the table serving as a shelf for the birdhouses now. A potting bench made by neighbor full of more gardning memorabilia with an open shuttered old window back, is kitty cornered from there. And 5 "motel" chairs with peeling paint wait for my friends here at gather to come over & join me in a cup of coffee ;-). It's gone to the Maggie Ho dog lately, when I seperate her from our 15 year old dog Jake, and she keeps trying to dig up the little walkways I've made. A lemon tree is nearby, that I try to shape round like a topiary, unsuccessfully. Water fountains made from old cast iron water pumps stand dry right now.

Hmm.... don't think I have room for a pregnant onion I already appear to have a pregnant garden..hahahahah! It can be a jungle when I tend to it and everything is growing and blooming. Since most of the time the dogs are in their yard of dirt seperated by the rose lined chain link fence, the birds, butterflies, hummers, and even the neighbor hood cats find haven. Of course the neighbors are after the catnip I grow out there.

I think mine is a memory garden because the junk comes from friends and family and neighbors, and plants were planted that remind me of all of them.

Mariana~ This onion is quite unique and I love the foliage...are you sure it's pregnant and not just bloated...LOL!!! You have a beautiful garden:) You have ginger too??? Oh my...my favorite:)

Miz Cecile your garden sounds absolutely wonderful and carefree - I love the fact that it's a memory garden. Also, I love the fact that you grow grapes and cat nip - I'd love to but too many cats here! I have to buy the dried out stuff instead - I look forward to that cup of coffee! Salud.

You never can have too many onions! Now I just need a pregnant garlic...

Miz M. What a lovely Southern tradition!! When can I get my onion? Great picture.
Madame Mozzzzzzzeeeeee

hi Madame Mozeee - oh I'll send you one - it's a little tiny guy though - but they grow just as friendship grows - starts off small and you give it lots of sunshine and love. send me your address - ok! hugs, Salud.

Mariana, the steps leading to the herb garden from the patio used to be lined with catnip, and catmint alternately, and we called it the catwalk. Now with the Ho Dog in my yard so much instead of hers, it's gone. But we get catnips volunteers everywhere growing in odd little spaces here and there. No problem with neighboring cats very often... Maggie Ho keeps them at bay ;-)

I'm just over the Verdugo Hills from Burbank nestled at the mouth of Big Tujunga Canyon beneath the San Gabriel Mountains. Coffees on.....come on over and sit a spell, we'll compare gardening notes and swap stories.

Miz Cecile - because of the way I live and all the places I live - when I'm here I'm here - next time you go to Ojai plan on coming this way - I have a sofa - you can squat for the night! My house is like a barn - no apologies - it's how we live...We'll be going up to Eureka in early May but it's a 12 hour drive and we'll be motoring through...but someday I'd love to see your garden - it sounds so wonderful - SAlud.

Hey Jadan - I seen that little comment you made wondering if I was going to come and comment (thought you could squeeze that one pass me - well it didn't work)

Well since I'm here, I might as well say something. "HELLO"... "HOW ARE YOU"... "WHAT TIME IS IT"... "NICE DAY IF IT DOESN'T RAIN"... "MY TOE HURTS"... "I'M IN THE MOOD FOR CHERRIES"...

Oh, yeah I forgot - I'm here to talk about this pregnant onion thing. Well Salud, sometimes in life you have to learn from your mistakes the hard way. When your young and stupid (no offence Salud - I'm just talking about teenagers in general but I could see how you would take this personally).

Now being a WISE guy (not like in a mafia wise guy - more like super smart guy)
I can explain to you some life lessons (I would go get a piece of paper right now and right these down just in case your computer blows and you lose this information) that will help you from making the same mistake twice.

You said "I chanced upon a guy selling these unusual looking plants. It was all he sold. I asked him what those things were called and he said, Pregnant Onion".
RIGHT THERE! flags should have been going off in your head that something is not right here.
Why would a guy be selling JUST ugly plants? and call them "Pregnant Onions"??? He knew you were a sucker and he could have told you any name and you would have believe him.
Lesson #1 - If you see some guy selling just ugly plants - call the police.

Did you ask him to see his vendor permit? The guy was making millions of dollars rent Free! Did you bother to check and see if the plant was safe to buy?

Lesson #2 - Any guy selling ugly plants without a permit hung around his neck is a scammer and wants your money - Call the police again (if they didn't come the first time)

"As the seventies became a distant memory, my original pregnant onion has given me hundreds of babies".

Lesson #3 - Plants don't last 37 YEARS !!!!! - wake up and smell the coffee

That guy didn't sell you a PLANT, he sold you a disease that you now have spread all over the United States. I haven't heard of it so it hasn't hit Canada yet. It's not to late to save the people you infected. Write another article (NOW) called "If you have had any contact from "MY" (because your the only one dumb enough to buy it) Pregnant Onion Plant - GO TO THE HOSPITAL ASAP or you may DIE"

Not alone will you be doing the right thing (saving thousands of people's lives) but you'll get a ton load of points too!

keep laughing
The Funny Guy

OMG - this is too much and I was just about to turn this thing off and wonder off to dreamland and my alter ego - The Funny Guy chances by and make me feeling guilty - is that an Italian for you - No offense - it's just that oh well - I've had experience in dealing with guilty folks...well, you know what - I ain't that dumb - I am smarter than my font appears - plants do last longer than 37 years - people last more than a hundred years - you know why - because we continue to leave parts and parcels of ourselves, our thoughts, our ideas, our inspirations...those live forever...and that's parts of us...so you know what - my plants - are alive and well in the physical sense and I'm alive and well in all arenas as well...ok now you can't contradict what I'm saying - I have living proof of a plant that has lived many many years and also here I am - and I'm not a spring chicken...but I'm still blooming! hahaha you're killing me but not that quick! Salud.

What that is girl??? No. We don't shoot does and we ain't about to cut nuttin' offn' no pregnant onion. I bet her old man was a yeller onion...wasn't he?

I think the Funny Guy is trying to harass you, Miz M, just to cover up his own involvement here. The more I study your picture of the afore mentioned pregnant onion, the more the side growth appears to resemble Mr FG. I think he is the FATHER of this little fellow. Possibly, it was Mr FG's FATHER who sold you this plant in the first place. This genealogy stuff is too much for me in the middle of the night but I am sure I am onto something. ( And it's not drugs!)

If you have had any contact from "MY" (because your the only one dumb enough to buy it) Pregnant Onion Plant - GO TO THE HOSPITAL ASAP or you may DIE"
Jadan, now you know why we keep him around for entertainment! Huh! lol
You know I think you're right Miz Jadan, sorta a resemblance huh - round head and all! Salud.

Eeek, no , I wouldn't have a poisonous plant - but I do have a very prolific bed of Egyptian onions, which multiply like crazy. You can use the bulblets like shallots......

someone spoke of wild onions
and I sank into
the July garden like a lover
ignoring
for one moment
the icicles outside the window....................

Miz Katrina - what a lovely poem - thanks so much - I hope you've joined the group! Miz Anna, you are an earth sister after my own heart...I'm sitting here with some lovely red camellias (old as the hills) and I need to use some of that root-on stuff - I forgot to buy some today - I love gardenias and will do same as you from an old one from next door. Miz Katrina, most house plants are poisonous! I do like regular onions and have lots of them! Salud.

Perhaps just the smell of the dirt was enough to generate the memory, eh?

I'm so jealous that you're already in your garden! Maybe I'll put on my snowboots later and go look at mine. :(

Great story and I especially love the idea of you browsing that 70's flea market.
(I used to drag baby Mona to the northeastern equivalent-such fun!) Now all I have to do for vintage clothes is dig out my own old stuff!

Miz Krista - Oh, I know what you mean about the Vintage clothing! I have loads of that stuff meself - wish I could still slide into those bell bottoms - everything has come full circle!
Miz Ina - oh yes, hands in the dirt and loving it - I am not much of a gardener - just a grower! Hi Jack, yes, indeed you are so right! Salud.

I'm one of those southern plant-passer-onners, too...But I think I won't do this particular onion-share!
Plant snippets, garden produce, and recipes - Yep!

greetings Miz Carolion - wow - ok - well, these are really pretty plants but ok if you insist lol...have a great day! Salud.