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What Animal Will Eat The Tops Off Onion Plants?

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EVP MAN

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Apr 17, 2010, 11:51:00 AM4/17/10
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My neighbor planted some spring onion sets in his garden last week and
told me that something chewed the tops off of two rows. We live in town
and have rabbits, squirrels and every once in awhile a possum passes
through. I'm about to plant my own onion sets this coming week and this
has me a bit concerned. Does anyone know of any animal that will bother
onions???

Rich

Freckles

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Apr 17, 2010, 5:33:35 PM4/17/10
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"EVP MAN" <White_...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:10486-4BC...@storefull-3173.bay.webtv.net...
----------------------------------------------------
When I was a boy and lived on a farm our cows would eat the tops off of the
wild onion plants that grew in our pastures.

I imagine most animals that are herbivorous would enjoy them as an
occasional snack

Freckles
-----------------------------------------------------


Frank

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Apr 17, 2010, 6:15:24 PM4/17/10
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Onions were my only vegetable garden plant that deer did not eat but
eating tops would indicate something like them. Groundhog is another
possibility. For those that really want to know you buy a trail camera
such as sold by Cabela's and other hunter suppliers.

tel

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Apr 18, 2010, 2:22:05 AM4/18/10
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Rabbits had the tops off mine


--
tel

Pat Kiewicz

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Apr 18, 2010, 8:15:55 AM4/18/10
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Don't overlook cutworms. They love tender onion shoots and they don't
always leave cut pieces behind when they hit your onions.


--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Vegetables are like bombs packed tight with all kinds of important
nutrients..." --Largo Potter, Valkyria Chronicles

email valid but not regularly monitored

Dan L.

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Apr 19, 2010, 10:44:49 AM4/19/10
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In article <10486-4BC...@storefull-3173.bay.webtv.net>,
White_...@webtv.net (EVP MAN) wrote:

Humans - I love onion tops :)

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

zxcvbob

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Apr 22, 2010, 9:30:45 PM4/22/10
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Mine don't have tops yet; I just planted them a couple of days ago,
very shallowly with the tips of the bulbs sticking out of the
ground. Something dug most of them up and scattered them about last
night. (I bet it was a squirrel.)

Bob

brooklyn1

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Apr 22, 2010, 9:59:10 PM4/22/10
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On Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:30:45 -0500, zxcvbob <zxc...@charter.net>
wrote:

Here in NY we plant bulbs in the fall, they begin to grow in spring as
soon as the ground thaws. Until they become established newly planted
bulbs should be covered with some sort of wire screen that can be
removed once more mature growth is achieved. My neighbor covers his
onions and garlic with a blanket of straw held down with a kind of
plastic screening. In spring once the bulbs show significant growth
then the screen and straw are removed. I've learned to do the same
with flowering bulbs, I place straw and chicken wire over my newly
planted daffodils. Even though critters won't eat daffodils some will
pull them up just to be sure. Once daffodils develop their roots then
they won't be pulled up to be checked, so it's only when first planted
that they need the protection. Daffodils and onion are in the same
family, alium.

Billy

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Apr 23, 2010, 1:16:17 AM4/23/10
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In article <gou1t5tpa919gj841...@4ax.com>,
brooklyn1 <grave...@verizon.net> wrote:

I have raccoons who browse the mulch looking for worms. I've had no
problems since laying down 2" X 4" wire mesh. I won't be taking it off
because everything that I'm growing can grow throug a 2" X 4" wire mesh.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

zxcvbob

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Apr 26, 2010, 12:11:37 AM4/26/10
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I checked on the onions today and a few of them were dug up again
(grrr), but not the whole row this time. A robin flew away as I
went out there; I bet he was pulling them up and I just thought it
was a squirrel. And it might be a bird picking the tops off of
EVP's onions.

I replanted them again and covered 'em with a layer of corn straw
that had been used as chicken litter. The chickens pretty well
shredded it, and it had a lot of dust and some feathers in it but
not much poop so it shouldn't burn the plants.

Bob

dewie....@gmail.com

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Jul 29, 2012, 1:07:03 PM7/29/12
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I had the same thing happen in my garden yesterday. We too are within city limits and have the occasional raccoon & skunks and also some turkeys, but no deer or rabbits. We have dogs and cats that come into our yard, but that's it. Any ideas?

Pat Kiewicz

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Jul 30, 2012, 7:39:56 AM7/30/12
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The only pests that have ever eaten onion tops in my garden are cutworms.
A single cutworm can mow down several baby onions in one night. It will
be buried in the soil at one end of its path of destruction.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

songbird

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Jul 30, 2012, 10:33:54 AM7/30/12
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dewie....@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, April 17, 2010 8:51:00 AM UTC-7, EVP MAN wrote:
^^^^^^^^

a long time ago...

>> My neighbor planted some spring onion sets in his garden last week and
>> told me that something chewed the tops off of two rows. We live in town
>> and have rabbits, squirrels and every once in awhile a possum passes
>> through. I'm about to plant my own onion sets this coming week and this
>> has me a bit concerned. Does anyone know of any animal that will bother
>> onions???
>
> I had the same thing happen in my garden yesterday. We too are within city limits and have the occasional raccoon & skunks and also some turkeys, but no deer or rabbits. We have dogs and cats that come into our yard, but that's it. Any ideas?

if it is a garden that you can rake, take i fine
toothed rake and rake it until the soil is fluffy
and smooth it out. next time an animal comes through
it will leave tracks.

otherwise, it might be a dog or cat as they can
eat greens from time to time (seems to make them
barf, but perhaps that is what they do when they
get an upset stomach).

good luck,


songbird

brandon...@hlwwschools.org

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Nov 22, 2016, 3:14:26 PM11/22/16
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The pinoglasiun smoll pond eats them to

Rox...@1950s.no

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Dec 21, 2016, 7:22:42 PM12/21/16
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On Tue, 22 Nov 2016 12:14:23 -0800 (PST),
brandon...@hlwwschools.org wrote:

>> My neighbor planted some spring onion sets in his garden last week and
>> told me that something chewed the tops off of two rows. We live in town
>> and have rabbits, squirrels and every once in awhile a possum passes
>> through. I'm about to plant my own onion sets this coming week and this
>> has me a bit concerned. Does anyone know of any animal that will bother
>> onions???
>>
>> Rich

I dont know for sure, but my guess would be rabbits. I think they eat
darn near any vegetation....

Kcnh

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May 12, 2022, 9:31:46 AM5/12/22
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Chipmunk. I just watched one do it.

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