growing onions

[chaza]

i am new to gardening, i started to grow some onions. i bought some sets called stuttgarter, the picture showed nice sized onions so off i went and planted them. the plants were growing nicely they got to be as tall as 2ft. i was concerned that i could not see any big onion bulbs so i pulled up a few and what i got was spring onions. while they are quite nice size they are not what i wanted i have also grown some spring onions from seed which are out in the containers now. where did i go wrong and why did i not get what i expected.


thanks


chaza

[RaptorUK]

i am new to gardening, i started to grow some onions. i bought some sets called stuttgarter, the picture showed nice sized onions so off i went and planted them. the plants were growing nicely they got to be as tall as 2ft. i was concerned that i could not see any big onion bulbs so i pulled up a few and what i got was spring onions.

Welcome to the Vine

The last thing the Onion does is build the bulb . . . wait till it goes brown and falls over from the top then you should have some bulbs.

[WendyC]

You have pulled them too early! When did you plant them? I would expect onions planted, say early March to be ready for harvesting in late July to August. Did you pull all of them of have you some left? If you have some left you could try giving them a general feed to help them on their way.

[chaza]

hi wendy, no i pulled the whole lot, they are all spring onions. am i missing something here, do all onions look like spring onions as they grow or did i just get the wrong type.

chaza

[WendyC]

They look like spring onions at the moment but if you had left them to grow the bulb would have started to swell, above ground, and the onion form. The leaves and roots grow first, then the bulb swells. Have another go in September when the Autumn planting varieties are available. Stuttgarter is a well known brown bulb onion.

[chaza]

well I planted them in march, so how long would I have to leave them. could I cut the greenery down. what is the difference with a spring onion then?

chaza

[Alison]

well I planted them in march, so how long would I have to leave them. could I cut the greenery down. what is the difference with a spring onion then?

chaza

Spring sown onion sets make bulbs and although you can harvest as immature onions, you really want to wait until about late August when the leaves die down and they are at maximum size. You then lift them out the ground and let them dry out for storing. I do this in my conservatory as it's light and airy. If you cut the leaves back before this then the bulb won't swell properly and you'll get small onions.

Spring onion are quick growing (in theory ) onions which don't bulb up and are eaten in the green. Think about them as you can buy them in the shops, bulb onions are the ones with dried papery skins that you peel off.


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[Fleurisa]

If you don't know what to do with something you are growing always google it before jumping in with both feet and a spade!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Onions don't really start to bulb up until after the longest day. Until then you want lots of leaves, the more leaves the bigger the final onion.

Like others have said leave well alone until after the leaves have turned brown and are falling over.

These are my mate TK's onions from last year just before harvest.

[Alison]

If you don't know what to do with something you are growing always google it before jumping in with both feet and a spade!

Or ask the question on here before you chop / dig or whatever


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[chaza]

all my other vedg plants are doing great. but just to recap, am I right in saying;
I plant the sets and let them grow till the foliage turns yellow and die back. then I let them grow on to fill out the bulb.
I have to say im still confused as to why they look like spring onions.


chaza

[chaza]

did tk's plants look like spring onions,

chaza

[WendyC]

Yes they will look like spring onions. The leaves grow, the bulb swells as it is fed by the leaves, when they have done their job the leaves start to yellow and fall over. Then your onions are ready. Harvest late July into August. You were about 10 weeks too early.

[chaza]

thanks wendy that makes it all clear now, I understand where I went wrong. at least no harm was done I at least got some spring onions out of the exersize, they are now chopped and frozen.
thanks again
chaza

[RaptorUK]

all my other vedg plants are doing great. but just to recap, am I right in saying;
I plant the sets and let them grow till the foliage turns yellow and die back. then I let them grow on to fill out the bulb.
a

The last thing the Onion does is build the bulb . . . wait till it goes brown and falls over from the top then you should have some bulbs.

I have planted sets and harvested them early to use as "Spring onions" . . . you can do that if you want spring onions . . . if you want a bulb you need to let the Onion grow, photosynthesise, store energy and make a bulb . . . it takes time.