Found an ‘onion’ type plant in son’s garden; need help ID’g it and when/if to harvest

Question

I’ve recently been cleaning up a flower/vegetable garden on my son’s property that was initiated by the former owners. He is not a gardener; I’ve been gardening for about 15 years but have never grown onions, shallots or leaks. I have grown chives. After uncovering about 3 years of neglect (overgrown with giant thistles, golden rod and other large weeks) I discovered a small patch of ‘onion-like’ plants. Unsure of how to ID them; no site I’ve found so far is helpful. Should I harvest just the tops as winter is fast approaching? Will whatever is underground regenerate next spring? Should I mulch these ‘volunteers’? Is there any way to tell from just the tops what species this is and therefore be able to research what the next step is? (Sorry, I am tech-challenged and cannot upload any photo on my own; no one here to help at the moment!)

Answer 1

Cut one and see if it smells like onion or garlic. (Do not taste unknown plants.) These may be grape hyacinths which send up almost tubular grass-like foliage in the fall. There is also a very poisonous plant with onion-like leaves, Death Camas, aka Death Lily. The bulb looks like an onion but there is no onion smell. Nodding onion is a native plant in much of the US. Wild onion and wild garlic are other possibilities. You might dig a few up to investigate further. You can always replant them. Have your son post a picture or wait to see if they flower next spring. Sounds interesting!