Summer Onions

[finney]

hi all,

does anybody know wot time to pull your summer onions,planted my sets on the 2nd march and on the weekend of 20th of june i bent the tops over because they looked like they were bending themselves,
was i right in doing this,do i now leave then for 2 weeks bent over,and do i then ease them to the surface for another 2 weeks,or do i just pull them up now,

Finney

[Creemteez]

I thought you were just supposed to leave them until the foliage begins to die back before lifting them and allowing them to dry of for as few days on top of the soil. I seem to remember that's what my dad used to do, and I was going to do the same!
I'd be very interested to see if anyone else has differing advise as some of mine are showing signs of coming into flower and I'm not sure if this is normal or a sign that they are bolting.

[finney]

Thanks creemteez,

i will just leave thenm for a few days,do i lift them first or do i just pull them out,

[Mchanen]

I'm sure i read that if they are going to flower you take the flower stalk off as it will make the onion less edible?!

[kentvegplot]

I realise you're already bent the tops over, but the advice now is not to, because it can make the onions more subject to rot.....but don't panic, chances are yours will be fine. Mine are all bent over too - I suppose it's the wind, but odd, because they're in a sheltered place.

If it looks like they are going to flower, take out the flower stalk and use that onion fairly quickly - it won't store. As far as harvest goes, once the foliage begins to go brown, lift them with a fork to break the roots but (assuming nice weather) leave them on the soil for a few days. If it's wet, bring them under cover. Once they're completely dry, string them.

Good luck with them. Mine are looking a bit small - I think that's because we've had so little rain.