About Us and the Onions

How it all began

In 2005 (or thereabouts), I was wandering the Moscow, Idaho farmer’s market when I spotted a small pot with little onion plants in it. I glanced at the label expecting something ordinary, and instead read: “Egyptian Walking Onions.” WHAT! I had never heard of these before. Of course, I had to have them, just because of the name if nothing else! So I bought them and planted them in my garden.

They grew, and soon the first topsets formed — clustered bulbils perched at the top of the stalk like a crown. I planted them. Then planted more. Year by year the onions multiplied, “walked,” and gathered into dense colonies. Within a few seasons I was completely enchanted. Hardy, generous, and a little mythical — the kind of plant that turns an ordinary garden into something discovered.

I searched for everything I could find about them, but the internet held surprisingly little. So I began compiling notes, observations, and photographs, eventually creating this website as a living record — part field journal, part gallery, part love letter to a plant that refuses to be forgotten. This website is an ongoing evolving project. It's a place where I can share photos of my onions and also my own knowledge and experience I have had with these plants over the years. I am forever trying to find information about these plants. One time I contacted an onion gene bank back east to ask for any information they might have on this onion. Several days later they responded with a referral to my own website! I was hoping to trace them back to Egypt, but the history of this onion still remains a mystery.

The woman behind the onions

My name is Tracy and I LOVE Egyptian Walking Onions! I also love tigers, lions, leopards, mountain lions, jaguars, Pallas's cats, all big cats, all small cats, dogs, horses, cows, yaks, chickens, pigeons, Bluejays, birds, fish, trees, shrubs, all plants, bees, and the list goes on, and on. I was born and raised in Massachusetts until the age of 7, then moved to New Hampshire. When I turned 21 I set off to explore the country with my horse and dog. I rode through 23 states over 4 years and wound up settling in the state of Washington.
More about Tracy's horseback journey.

I went to Grays Harbor Community College soon after my horse trip and then on to Washington State University. I got a BS in Zoology, but I wish I had studied horticulture. I went with zoology because I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian, but I never made the cut into vet school. I probably wouldn't have made a good vet anyway because I am highly sensitive and emotional. Despite my backfired schooling plans, I still found a way to spend my life working in the company of plants and animals.

An edible arboretum

As you already know, I grow Egyptian Walking Onions. But I also grow many other plants. I have developed an "edible arboretum" with many kinds of fruit trees, native trees, shrubs, and perennials. The arboretum contains just about every kind of cold hardy edible plant I could think of. I planted about 90% of the trees, shrubs, and plants myself. The other 10% are natives and volunteers. Every plant is cataloged and has a permanent identification tag. After over 20 years of planting, my dream to walk around my own edible arboretum and forage for food is finally coming true! As for the winter, I have a few hundred houseplants inside to melt away the cold days during hibernation.

Casting what we love

I also create Pet-Paws — solid bronze paw prints cast directly from impressions of dogs and cats. I learned bronze casting during my university years and fell deeply in love with the process: fire, metal, patience, and the quiet transformation of something fleeting into something permanent.

Many of the paws I cast are memorials. People are grateful to hold their companion’s paw again, to feel the pads beneath their fingers — something tangible in a moment that often feels unreal. Within our local community, I also provide a free service through Pullman Regional Hospital, casting tiny feet for parents experiencing fetal loss so they have something real to hold.

So that is what I do — I pat cats, I plant things, I cast things, and I continue learning. This site exists because some plants deserve more than a passing mention. Egyptian Walking Onions are one of them.

— Tracy Paine