Help! my onions are beginning to bolt.

[vicki lorraine]

I noticed yesterday that there are some flower buds beginning to appear on some of my overwintered onions.
Have i done something wrong or is this normal?
I have snapped the flower stems off but no i do not know what i should do. It is not all of the onions just some.

[Paulottie]

Hello again vicki! i must be doing the same thing wrong! about 10% of my Jap onions bolt each year. You've done the right thing by snapping em off but i've heard arguements against it. Use them first as they won't store. I always cut them in half to remove the stalk before use as i dislike the flavour

[Flummery]

It's possibly stress due to the dry weather. They are ok to eat but won't store very well. Make them the first onions you eat up.

[vicki lorraine]

Thanks everyone.

[Slug]

Hi guys,

Same problem here!! Was looking today thinking aarrgghh what now?

So you reckon.... flower heads off, but leave them in the ground until their normal harvest time? Will they continue to swell or stay this size?

[vicki lorraine]

Good question Slug.
Have i caused this to happen by watering them in the dry spell?

[Snadger]

Hi guys,

Same problem here!! Was looking today thinking aarrgghh what now?

So you reckon.... flower heads off, but leave them in the ground until their normal harvest time? Will they continue to swell or stay this size?

They won't continue to swell. Use them quickly!

[vicki lorraine]

Oh no Snadger,
thats disappointing. Some of the onions which are bolting are still only small.
Is this common with overwintered onions should i stick to shallots and summer onions?

[Slug]

That is disappointing but thanks for letting us know snadger - saves wasting a few more months waiting for nothing to happen!

I had high hopes for this year's crops as they were looking great until recently - oh well... these things happen I suppose.

I haven't watered my onions AT ALL in the dry spell, so unless the brief bit of rain we had about 2 weeks ago caused it.... then I'm not sure why they bolted and whether your watering caused it...

Frustrating...

[jondanie]

Hi all, Just joined this forum at the weekend and I wanted to add something to your bolting debate!

Onions are a bi-annual crop, so over-wintered onions will naturally go to "seed" at this time of year. It is usually triggered by a cold spell (spring weather). This also happen to onions planted too soon in the spring, where they get this cold "snap" and the plant gets really confused and decides to set seed in order to preserve the species. Nature is a great thing!

Another sure way to bolt onions is a drought, it's the dry period rather than the watering that is the problem. Again the plant is stressed and gets confused!

I've been growing onions for years and I always plant new "sets" and shallots in the spring. I never over winter any onion crop.
Buying heat treated "sets" will almost eliminate bolting as the heat treatment destroys the flowering stalk. If you can;t get them, just don;t plant your sets too early or protect them from getting this cold snap which will trigger bolting.

It's worth pulling out the flowering stalk but as the previous posters ave said, they won't store well and are best used in the kitchen as and when you need them.
hope this helps,

[Snadger]

I wouldn't like to put people off growing over wintered onions. I personally haven't had any problems with them and I have been growing them for about 10 years now. They were originally termed Japanese onions and they should overwinter naturally(Some of mine are Senshui which were grown from autumn planted seed) but the majority are sets.
Because onions are a biennial they will flower the second year but not before making edible bulbs with the foliage dying off and starting to grow seed heads later on in the season!
This winter has been a strange mix of weather and has not been a 'normal' winter so plants are not growing 'normally' and we may find strange growth patterns.

I grow Japanese onions for an early crop followed by spring planted onions maturing 2 or 3 weeks later!

[Nykied]

I've just found this thread, because one of my onions (Stuttgarter Giant) has thrown up a seed head.

From the previous replies, I'm sensing that this one has finished growing and can be pulled up. How about the others - can they be left to grow a bit? None of them are very big.

I grew from sets this year. Maybe I'll grow from seed next time. Heat-treated set don't bolt - pah!

[chris]

One of my SG was bolting last night. Nipped the flower head off, will pull it tonight.

[Flummery]

I've just found this thread, because one of my onions (Stuttgarter Giant) has thrown up a seed head.

From the previous replies, I'm sensing that this one has finished growing and can be pulled up. How about the others - can they be left to grow a bit? None of them are very big.

I grew from sets this year. Maybe I'll grow from seed next time. Heat-treated set don't bolt - pah!

It won't grow so I'd eat it. They still bolt from seed you know!

[kingkano]

Loads of mine (red and brown) have bolted this year Very small too. Still, they make nice enough salad onions I guess.