Onion questions

[bellzeybubba]

Hello folks :)

I have quite a few sweet onions I planted several months ago from onion sets. They are bigger than they were when I got them, but they're not making bulbs at all. I planted them a bit closer together than I thought they would need to be at the end, figuring I could thin them out occasionally and eat them like scallions. But, since they haven't gotten much bigger, I haven't done that yet.

Because their green tops have sort of fallen over, I was thinking about topping them. I was thinking of cutting them down so that about ~3 inches or so of green was left. Is that a good idea?

Also, should I thin them now or wait until they get bigger? Are they not getting bigger because they're too close to their buddies? They're about 4 inches apart (in a diamond grid).

Thanks for any help :)

[lorna-organic]

Did you plant them so that when they began to grow their shoulders would be above ground, Bell? Onions don't like to be buried too deeply. No, you don't want to cut off the green until they go to flower. The bulbs need those leaves to feed themselves, to grow. They will grow faster when the weather is warmer.

[bellzeybubba]

I'm not sure if I did the right depth. I planted them about 1-2 inches deep, is that about right?

[LuvsToPlant]

You are doing just fine!
The recomended spacing is 3-5 inches apart in beds
(30-40 days maturity from sets)
You can harvest for scallions when about 1/4 to 3/4 inch in diameter.
For storage, harvest when the tops fall over and TURN BROWN.

As the tops yellow, push the tops over with the back of a rake.
This will force the bulb into their final maturing and more growth.
About 3 weeks after bending the tops, dig up the onions.
To cure: onions as well as garlic keep best if cured before storing.
Lay on newspapers in a dry shady place for about 7-10 days.
The tops and roots then can be trimmed and stored.

You should plant them about a 1" deep....you should be okay..
Loosen up the dirt around the bulb so they can expand and grow.
When they are at a mature stage they will be about 1/2 out of the ground.
You'll be fine
:)
The sweet onions do not store as well as others.

[shoelessryan]

ive found planting onions in raised rows works well, you can water in the troughs if its too dry and the dirt seems to stay looser, giving the little guys easy expandability

[Train]

Ya!
Now comes the great confuser!
I tell ya one thing about large type
onions is that they never like to dry out
so this business about watering every
2nd or 3rd day or just whenever the mood
strikes us is out.
You water the same amount of water
every time you water and you water the
same time every day because like all animals,
onions too like to be fed on time.
I never plant my onions underground because
that's one crop I don't have to worry about
loosening the soil for. Onions like most other plants
do have a life span or I should say cycle and when
they reach that ripe old age they stop growing
just like us.
Now, when my onions reach the half way mark, I use a
horticulture lime to sweeten them up a little but mostly
because they fatten up better after that treatment.
You might be able to plant a second planting
and I would advise that.
However, if you consume a lot of onions then
it becomes prudent to start them all from seed.
Confused now?
Hope not.
Train

[Izzy]

Bubba,

You don't say what type of onions you planted. I went to the nursery earlier this winter and the employee told me "white" and "red" when I asked what type they had. Didn't get those. I want to know the onions I get are short day type onions so that I'm not wasting my time growing something that will not bulb in my area. It's been discussed in several threads - might want to do a search.

The size of the onion bulb depends on how many green leaves (green onion tops) form before the bulbs mature. For each leaf there will be a ring of onion; the larger the leaf, the larger the ring will be. For the type of short-day onions I planted, there should be about 12-13 leaves for a fully mature onion. It's been about 5 weeks since I planted, and most of my onions have about 6 - 7 leaves on them. That should give you some idea so that you can make a guess on how big your onions will get. If you're not seeing any growth, lightly fertilize them or add compost, and, as Train said, keep them moist. You might not see the bulbs get big until the temps are a little warmer, but you should see the necks get thick and the green tops getting bigger.

[bellzeybubba]

Thanks for all the comments & advice :)

They are Texas 1015 onions, they should do ok in my climate and I do love to eat them so :D.

I might have to try some other sets now also though, and follow your advice about watering intervals and lime Train. I might also have to start some from seed, probably this summer though for fall planting. I do eat a lot of onions!

[bellzeybubba]

Since there are so many other onion threads around lately I thought I'd bump mine :p

They're finally starting to bulb! I was about to give up hope... I pulled out about 1/3 of one of my two patches to make room for other things last weekend. The ones I pulled out were big lovely green onions but were not bulbing at all... but there were a few starting to swell at the bottom. Today there are even more! Hooray!

[bellzeybubba]

Picture!

Should I be worried about how they're lying down like that? Been doing it for a while. I figured it was because of the lower light.

[Moschell]

They look good to me. Another few weeks and I'll be coming over for a bloomin' onion or two :)

[bellzeybubba]

I harvested one of my two patches today!! :D The tops were getting soft & mushy near where they join the bulb. They're not big, certainly nothing like the 1015s at the grocery, but there were a lot of them! I haven't tasted them yet but they smell sharp and delicious. The other patch hasn't made bulbs at all, conditions were identical except location so I guess the sw corner is especially shady.

Here's the pre- and post-harvest. My little friend there wanted to help dig them out but she's not allowed inside the garden fence :p.

[LuvsToPlant]

Hooray for you!

It could be the lack of light...
but they only need 5 hrs of sun, are they getting less?

[bellzeybubba]

All my light is filtered... under very tall pine trees. I haven't been able to measure how much light my garden actually gets, but there are definitely portions of it that thrive better than others.