Allium cepa
Origin: Ireland
Improvement status: Cultivar
Seeds per packet: ~100
Germination tested 10/2025: 96%
Life cycle: Biennial
Buan' is a large, pretty, golden-brown storage onion bred in Ireland in the 1980s by onion enthusiast Barnie Crombie, and popularized by the Irish Seed Savers Association after they retrieved seeds Mr. Crombie had deposited in British and Russian seed banks. It's name means "long life" in old Irish Gaelic, and it is indeed noted for its long storage ability, lasting all the way through winter.
We were introduced to 'Buan' by our friends at Brown Envelope Seed Company in Cork, Ireland, and our stock seed was imported to the US using a USDA small lots of seed permit by our American friend Kyla Lang, a longtime colleague through the Cooperative Gardens Commission free seed distribution project. The seeds were offering for sale were produced by our friend Jennifer Williams of Wild Dreams Farm in Vashon Island, Washington.
GROWING TIPS: Onion seeds, like other alliums, should be started indoors many weeks before last frost for optimal results. Seeds can be surface sown, with a dusting of medium on top, or planted a quarter-inch deep. Once plants are big enough to transplant, and all danger of frost has passed, plant onions spaced at least 6 inches apart, but 8 or 10 inches is better better for a large onion like this one. Bulbs successfully stored through the winter can be replanted in the spring for seed production.
