Onion

[Sloane]

Hey ya'll,
I planted onions in the fall. I was so excited to see them
bloom...they are blooming and awesome! BUT...was I supposed to pinch
them back? Am I going to have immature bulbs?

[GrubBoy]

Excellent question. I'm new to planting onions and have been
wondering a few things myself;
- planted my sets in April, when will they be mature enough to
pull? The whole long-day, short-day thing has me stumped.
- planted garlic first week in May, will I get some this fall or
will it be next spring?

The onion sets responded about 75% - they were not the best to start
with, but I thought if I got 50% on my first try it would be a
successful endeaver.

The garlic is doing GREAT. Bought a head at the grocery, peeled off
the cloves (careful not to break the outer sheath), and planted until
the tip was just below the surface. And viola, stong greens erupted
within 7 days and are almost 12 inches tall in just over 4 weeks.

I'm very disappointed in the bunching onion seeds though, but that was
mostly my fault. I eventually figured out that I didn't keep the
seeds moist enough to germinate properly and nourish the young
sprigs. Only 7 of the 20 seeds are still going. Let's see, that
lesson learned #21 in just my first year of square foot
gardening. :-)

At least I figured that out and was able to apply to the other onions
and garlic.

Cheers,
GrubBoy

[Sloane]

I also palnted some onion sets in the spring to see the
difference...they are blooming now also. The grennery and flowers are
a 1/4 of the size of the ones planted in the fall. I am curious on the
bulb sizes.
The garlic planted in the fall is withering now. So I am guessing it's
time to pull it?
I'll keep you posted.

[The Useful Gardener]

Hi, Gang!

We've been down for almost two weeks with a horrible, horrible cold -
missing the most delightful weather of the spring - but I tottered out
to admire my weed harvest (good grief) and am happy to see that the
onions look great. The bulbs are not nearly as large as the fall
planted ones I had last year but I "just" forgot this fall and had to
wait until February to get them in. Gardeners are supposed to cut
off the flower stalks, which can decrease bulb size. I've tried
bending them over, as some of the old texts recommend but they always
snap in half anyway. I worry that rain and bugs are going down the
open stem - I think this year I'm going to cut the flower stalks close
to the bottom. Once the bulbs really begin to swell, the traditional
method of bringing them the rest of the way is to lightly move soil
away so the top of the bulb is exposed and cut back on watering. The
onions will go gradually go dormant. Once the tops are turning brown
and getting limp, you can pull them and lay them out in the shade (I
use our barn) to finish drying and curing. I wouldn't cut the foliage
& roots off until the bulbs are completely dormant and everything is
dry, dry - otherwise you risk damaging the bulb and exposing it to
bacteria that will cause it to rot.

Mine have GOT to finish off because I need the space in the raised bed
they currently occupy. Normally, they are huge and ready to go by
second week in June and I can roll it over to beans. This year I
think it's going to take longer.

My garlic is looking uninspired. It's an Italian hardneck that has a
lot of flavor but also should have been fall planted. Looks rather
anemic and I think the bulbs are going to be quite small. Phooey.
We'll see how the elephant garlic does.

[The Useful Gardener]

Check the picture from the Irish gardening website on the front page
for the Useful Gardener blog (www.usefulgardens.blogspot.com ) - see
how he's (she's?) moved the soil away from the onion bulbs? I'm sure
they're in a wetter climate - well, maybe not.... but I understand
that makes them swell and finish better. If I was planting in-ground,
in our clay, I'd have to do it... can't imagine how the poor onion
bulbs could achieve any size in that hard stuff. <laughing>