Onions going to seed.

[esbo]

What do I do?


Do I chop off the bit going to seed to get a bigger onion?

[rustylady]

What variety are they and when did you plant them?

You need to nip off the flower buds as soon as you see them.

[esbo]

not sure exactly I think I got them from the pound shop, they are white normal looking ones
like the ones you see in Sainsburys (hope that helps lol)
I will see if I can find the packet top.

[rustylady]

So when did you plant them?

[esbo]

So when did you plant them?

OK here they are

Grow your own Stuttgarter Onion Sets 300g | ... | poundland bargains

The variety is Stuttgarter. I would have planted in early April I think, but now I think about it
more I may have had two different types, I think I also had some form Sainsburys but I am not
sure. These are more likely to be the Sainsburys ones as they were planted first then I saw some in poundland and thought they were good value so might as well get them.

Both onions look similar it is the first planted ones which bolted first unsurprisingly
I tried to find the onion sets sainsburys sell online but not had much luck.

[Tripmeup]

What size are they esbo... are the leaves falling over on any of them?

[esbo]

What size are they esbo... are the leaves falling over on any of them?

They are about 1 and 3/4 in diameter, the leaves have been falling over quite a lot,
but these grow in the shadow of a fence so that has an effect in making them get more light.
The main one with the seed head on it is not floppy but it is leaning to try and get more sun.

I have chopped the heads off a couple but I have left the most advanced one, might even get some free seeds from it

However have not had any luck trying to grow form seed before, it seem you need 2 years to grow from seed?

[Tripmeup]

Hi Esbo..

It depends what way you do it... You can sow seed shortly to grow onions that can be over wintered... I sow Hi- ball ( bought seed, not saved) in August and harvest it in June the following year...
You can also sow seed at the start of the year ( I do this also..Rouge Long de Florence this year) and then proceed from there, getting a crop later in the year...
Advantage of sowing from seed includes better choice of variety and reduces chances of imported disease..

[Tripmeup]

Couple of other points I should have mentioned..

I also use sets as well as seed...
The ones that have the foliage falling over or browning are probably ready to harvest..
In my experience once onions go to seed, they don't bulb up a huge amount thereafter..

[kathyd]

Most of my onions went to seed this year due to the weird weather we keep having, although the autumn-planted ones fared better than the spring-planted ones (as usual). If you remove the flower heads they may grow a bit more if it's early in the season, and provided the leaves aren't turning yellow or brown, but they won't get as big as normal, and they won't keep as long so you'll need to use them fairly quickly or freeze them. I pull mine when the stem folds itself over near the bottom, and/or when the leaves yellow. I've already pulled most of them up, and the rest are coming up over the next few days.

[esbo]

Most of my onions went to seed this year due to the weird weather we keep having, although the autumn-planted ones fared better than the spring-planted ones (as usual). If you remove the flower heads they may grow a bit more if it's early in the season, and provided the leaves aren't turning yellow or brown, but they won't get as big as normal, and they won't keep as long so you'll need to use them fairly quickly or freeze them. I pull mine when the stem folds itself over near the bottom, and/or when the leaves yellow. I've already pulled most of them up, and the rest are coming up over the next few days.

I am not sure from that whether I should be removing the heads of not.
The leaves are not turning yellow.
A lot of the leaves on them are not standing up to well a lot have flopped over in a mess especially the more shaded ones. It might have improved a bit since I gave them more water.
A lot have not had a flower on yet, I noticed a new flower on one not sure whether to chop it off or not.

[veggiechicken]

You remove the flower heads then, as kathy says, the onion may grow a bit more. If you don't remove the flower head, the onion will put its energy into producing seeds.