Red onions going to seed!!

[Phill]

Most of the red onion sets I planted back in march have started to flower.

None of the 2 other types of onion, Stuttgarter & Sturton seem affected yet (touch wood).

Has anyone else's red onions started to flower and is this typical of onions grown from sets?

p.s what can I do with them, will they continue to grow or do they need to be pulled out?

thanks for answers.

[di]

our lottie neighbours red onions have done the same;according to lottie wise one~nip off the seed head & leave to "hopefully"carry on growing.not sure if it the reason but when it was really dry we watered ours(they havent gone to seed)but our neighbour didnt.dont know if the early warm\dry spell bore any significance or not?

[oldie]

As I understand it, the warm spell followed by cooler wet weather can confuse the onions and they think it is autumn so start to flower to produce more seed. I was advised to nip off the flower buds and the onions would continue to grow. They do seem to be doing fine.

[Snadger]

I've stopped growing red onions from sets as in twenty years of growing them I think I've only had one year where I got a reasonable crop from them!
For some reason it's always either the red onion sets or the japanese onion sets which throw up premature seed heads.

I now grow my red onions from seed and for the past three years have had no problems.

[SarzWix]

Yup, red onion sets are notorious for going to seed early Thompson & Morgan had quite a few varieties on offer this year, some of which are supposed to be much improved, so perhaps it will get better in the future. I'll be trying Snadger's way next year & sowing seed!

[marigold007]

Can't one buy heat treated sets that prevent the onions from going to seed?

[vegnut]

I sowed red onion electric sets last september and they are doing very well at the moment, some are pretty big for reds. So if all goes well i will be planting them this autumn too. Fingers crossed.

[fiveravens]

Every one of mine (Red Baron) put up flower shoots. I nipped them off, but I don't know how they'll keep. I've grown them fom seed in the past with better results, but I'm beginning to think they're not worth the bother: ordinary onions are just as good - and better!

[Two_Sheds]

Every one of mine (Red Baron) put up flower shoots...I don't know how they'll keep.

They won't. Use them up. I'm eating mine as spring onions, in stir fries.

Bolting is caused by fluctuations in temperature. Watering has nothing to do with it.

[Dobby]

you could always freeze them we did last year cos they had gone to seed, 2 of our garlc have also started to go to seed? the one from the garden center but the ones we planted from last year seam fine even better so i dont think we wil be buying garlic again just re plant what we grow

[DIGDEEP]

I have about 40 Red Baron onions. All are very big with huge top growth and fair size bulbs. As I planted these in September I thought setting seed was normal at this time of the year. About half of my onions have started to set seed. I was going to save seed from the largest for growing next season. Am I to believe that this is not worth it.
I am fairly new to growing vegetables so I do not know what is normal expected growth

[hawthorns]

i have red karmen and several of these have gone to seed. ive also had grey mould on them after last weeks rain, so ive cut off affected leaves.

[gojiberry]

As TS said bolting is caused by fluctuations in temperature. Red onions are usually more likely to bolt than white ones. Try to hold off planting red onion sets till the last minute. If you remove the flower spike the onion will go on growing and will usually produce a normal sized onion. The problem is that the bottom half of the flower spike is still in the heart of the onion and will start rotting after lifting. This is why onions that have bolted wont keep. They will freeze well or you can slice and dry.

Ian

[Macka]

i got my red onions from Suttons(heat treated ones) bit more expensive, but seem to be ok at the moment. I plant my onions (red/white)at the end of April and never had a problem yet.

[Snadger]

.....................ordinary onions are just as good - and better!

I grow Hungarian Red Ham onions from seed and I don't think they can be surpassed for taste! They have a distinctive taste similar to a shallot but far nicer in my opinion, especially in gravy!