Bolting Onions

[veggiechicken]

I'm still using last year's onions Going to leave the bolters in the ground for as long as possible. Some are quite a good size

[Kirk]

I think with over wintering ones you need to be careful and have luck.

If they go in early then they can register the first year as planting up to Winter. so that would make the following spring onwards their second year. And it is 100% natural for them to produce a seed head in their second year.

The other aspect is that for a similar reason it is better to plant the smaller (still healthy) ones. The bigger ones may have grown sufficent to have decided they are a year old so again the spring onwards is their second year and so they produce a seed head. Most people tend to pick out the nice big ones so more chance of a seed head.

[Zelenina]

A lot of my Silver Moon overwintering onion sets have bolted too. So I pulled them up to use as spring onions. I've read that bigger onion sets are more likely to bolt, and these were all quite big, so that could be true.

I've also got some bolting shallots. Don't know the variety, but they are red ones and the originals that I grew them from last year came from France, according to the label. They didn't bolt last year, but split and multiplied like they are supposed to. In fact I thought this type of shallot never flowered or produced seeds and could only reproduce vegetatively, so I'm rather surprised. I'm letting them flower to see what happens. None of my French grey shallots are bolting. Nor the overwintering onions from seed.

[Bal]

Hi I overhead wintered onions for the first time this year and a few of them have bolted. I put it down to not enough water after planting them up, out of their pots. I have just pulled off the flower..

[Taterhead]

I think a couple of ours have bolted too, they have a little bud on top. The bulbs are a good size, they are ones we overwintered. How soon should I use them? I have heard they don't store well once the have bolted.