Daft (?) Onion Set Question?

[Shortie]

Afternoon all

I planted overwintering onions out last year and have started harveting them recently. When they first started growing, some sets automatically split so I gues these were just sets that were about to divide or something

Anyhow, some of my very large onions have now sent up baby onions at the base - are these to be used as sets for next year or will they just be onions for this year? If you know what I mean?

My onions have kept trying to flower so I've been pulling the flower buds off and I'm wondering if I've now forced them to make sets...?

As you can tell,I know lots about onions other that: plant them. grow them, pick them, fry them

[Snadger]

Ok Shortie, this is my take on it and I may be completely wrong but..............

Onion sets are just onions grown from seed very densely sown. This diminishes the size of the onions and at the end of the growing season you are left with what we know as onion sets.
The sets take advantage of the fact that an onion is a biennial flowering (your'e probably right that by taking the flowerheads off the onion is looking for another way to self perpetuate) in the second year, so the second year they are planted at the beginning of the year and should produce sizeable onions before eventually running to seed.
Some sets you buy are 'heat treated' to destroy the embyonic seed head and give more assured results.

I would just use the secondary sets on your onions in the kitchen and buy new sets for planting next year as they are very cheap and will give guaranteed good results. (ususlly!)

Another theory I have is that both onions and shallots are similar member of the allium family and somewhere along the line they could have cross pollinated giving interesting, to say the least, hybrids!

Unless of course, as most gardeners including myself do, try a few next year just out of interest!

[Shortie]

Cheer Snadger.... Makes perfect sense... I might jut replant the tiny side shoot asnd see how big it gets...

Answers another question about how onion sets are made too....

Thanks!