Snip onion leaves very sparingly. Each of those leaves corresponds to a "layer" of the onion, as an onion is just specialized leaves. Taking off some of the leaf means that the leaf below ground won't get fed as much.
Gonna put in a plug for Egyptian Walking Onions here...
EWOs grow green onions, tiny pearl onions, and shallot onions. I can have alllllllll the green onions I want, right now, snipping a leaf or two from each clump. When I need "regular" onions, I'll dig up half a clump, here and there. The tiny pearl onions are good for a stir fry, or a in a salad, or as pickled onions, if you make those.
Here are some pictures, with more info.
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This is part of my EWO bed, in its 3rd year, last fall. See all the green onions?
All I need/can use.
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Here are some that I dug up. No, not a big onion down there, by any means; as I said, more of a shallot type. The brown stalks are what grow the "topsets." The topsets are little onions, about the size of my thumbnail. There will be 4-10 at the top of one of the stalks, and it'll get so heavy that it falls over to the ground, and they will root and start a new plant, "walking" its way across the ground. Hence the "walking" part of the name. No idea where the Egyptian part comes from.
I bought a pound of the topsets three years ago last fall. I now have a bed of EWOs 3x15(?) feet.
They come back every year, and spread and fill in. That's why I dig a half a large clump, so I don't kill off that particular bunch. I just dig where they need to thin out.
Fair warning... they will spread and take over their area. Some of mine have started a clump in the walkway. When I need onions, I'll dig those up first.
If you're interested in growing some, let me know. I've sent bunches of topsets to several people here to start their own colony, and I'd be glad to send you some too. It won't be until late summer/early fall, so you have plenty of time to think about it.
