Onions

[KEEFS CUFC]

Does temp change cause onion sets to bolt? Saying that. Not all

[Small pumpkin]

I find that everything makes onions start to bolt! They are funny, temperamental little..........
If they do start bolting, I use them first straight out the ground ( if they've started to bulb ) the outer layers are fine. I just remove the hard centre core.

[KEEFS CUFC]

So much for them being heat treated to stop bolting haha

[Small pumpkin]

Are the Red Baron by any chance?

They are always bolting for me! But I still grow them
I like the challenge. See if I can get a couple to a useable, storable size.

I'm expecting lots of mine to start bolting soon. After that lovely hot weather has gone and it's back to cool, wet and windy.

[KEEFS CUFC]

Iam growing red baron. But as of yet. They are ok. Probably put the kiss of death on them now!

[lottie dolly]

some of mine are starting,cut the stalk off,i think it's all the very dry weather we are having,it would be interesting to know if it's only sets that do this,or if growing your own from seed IS the way to go.

[Small pumpkin]

some of mine are starting,cut the stalk off,i think it's all the very dry weather we are having,it would be interesting to know if it's only sets that do this,or if growing your own from seed IS the way to go.

I tried last year lotty. I grew from seed and sets. The ones from seed were really bad for bolting! Which surprised me because I thought there was less chance of bolting when grown from seed.
I'm having another go this year

[chris_m]

My Senshyu's that went in at the end of August grew beautifully all winter, then we had a warm spell followed by a cold snap early in May and every single one bolted. I think it was the temperature change that made them think it was autumn.

Conversely, my Troys that went in at the end of September are still growing well and nary a sign of bolting.

When I spotted the flower heads forming on the Senshyu's I snipped all the heads off, pulled half of the onions and left them to dry whilst leaving the other half to see if they'd still swell up or not. They do appear to be doing so, therefore I'm leaving them until the foliage dies down before pulling them.

I gather that bolted onions don't store well so I've chopped, cooked and frozen the first half and will probably do the same with the other half. They'll be fine for in stews, etc.

[Jay-ell]

Here's a useful page talking about onion types. Apparently Red Baron bolts if it's grown South of London - SP pin an atlas with a "You are here" pointer next to the onion bed next year, they must be confused.

https://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vege.../varieties.php

Bolted onions are usually either used straight away or chopped and frozen. Some years the freezer is fuller than others.

[KEEFS CUFC]

Just to be awkward. My onions grown from seed are fine. Haha. We just cant win

[Martin H]

The theory is that onions put up a flower stalk when they think they are in their second season.

Onion sets are created by putting young onion plants into a kind of suspended animation, so that when they are planted out in spring they don't realise that winter has happened, they just carry on growing from where they left off. So one cause of bolting is planting onion sets too early; a spell of cold weather can make them realise your trickery and trigger them into flowering. I expect bad treatment of the sets in store rooms and shops doesn't help either.

I don't know why red onions seem to be more sensitive, but certainly the only time I grew Red Baron sets they all bolted.

At the other end of the scale, overwintering onions seem able to cope with all kinds of temperature fluctuations when the plants are small. But if they get too big before spring arrives they will bolt as well.

[ESBkevin]

Any dramatic and prolonged changes in the weather seem to start the onions off. Many of the sets are bolting although the seed started onions are yer to be interferred with.