Topic: Potato Onions

[Jayb]

My potato onions growing from seed are doing ok, I'm not sure how much of a problem Allium leaf miner is going to have, fingers crossed they missed the worst of it although I think second generation won't be far away...
Interesting the variations in plants, some are single bulbs and others are splitting into two or more. A few look to have a nice red/ink tinge to them.

[squeezyjohn]

Sounds great ... the original ones I grew from seed only made a single bulb in the first year.  Then they divided in the second year.

Mine have not done so well this year - making far smaller onions and dying back at the beginning of July - I don't know whether that's because of the conditions or the different area of the allotment I'm growing them on.  One particularly large one I saved from last year split in to about 20 but those onions were so tiny that I'm not sure they'll keep through to next year!

[Robert_Brenchley]

What size are the bulbs? My seed-grown Green Mountain descendants are small, and only have a single bulb. So far they all look similar, but I haven't disturbed any of them at all.

[Jayb]

Sounds great ... the original ones I grew from seed only made a single bulb in the first year.  Then they divided in the second year.

Mine have not done so well this year - making far smaller onions and dying back at the beginning of July - I don't know whether that's because of the conditions or the different area of the allotment I'm growing them on.  One particularly large one I saved from last year split in to about 20 but those onions were so tiny that I'm not sure they'll keep through to next year!

Wow 20 that's some cluster! It kind of makes them sound similar in size to a perennial  bunching onion? I wonder if they will continue to produce lots of smaller ones or if the size will come back? Hope they keep for you.

[Jayb]

What size are the bulbs? My seed-grown Green Mountain descendants are small, and only have a single bulb. So far they all look similar, but I haven't disturbed any of them at all.

I guess the largest of the single ones at the moment are about 2 inches across, but they do seem to be developing well now, I'm hoping they keep growing for much of August. I haven't counted but quite a lot of mine have split into two or more little clusters. None have made a seed head.

[squeezyjohn]

Last year mine made 4 inch onions - but this year none are bigger than 2 inches and they have all completely died so I harvested them ...

That one that split in to 20 looked like a bit of an oddball - it can't be genetically different to the others as it came from the same seed.  My guess is that if they keep then they will act like onion sets - each one making a single bigger onion next year - but I might be wrong.

[galina]

Last year mine made 4 inch onions - but this year none are bigger than 2 inches and they have all completely died so I harvested them ...

That one that split in to 20 looked like a bit of an oddball - it can't be genetically different to the others as it came from the same seed.  My guess is that if they keep then they will act like onion sets - each one making a single bigger onion next year - but I might be wrong.

My 'Giant Shallot', which I have since found out is called 'Giant Red Breton Shallot' also had smaller bulbs this year and more split-offs than ever before.  The plant with most had 14 with 5 of them flowering, others between 5 and 11.  I have replanted flowering shallots for more seed.

My plants from Red Breton Giant Shallot seeds did well and I am in the process of harvesting.  They are all singles of variable size.  Some are larger than the largest of the shallots, but not huge, just over 2 inches.  Most look very similar to their parents.  However 2 bulbs are pure white, a lovely surprise.   
 
SqueezyJohn, or they could stay small and each could start to flower or to split into more small shallots.  Worth keeping an eye on. 

I was given a few potato onion seeds, but I sowed them late and only have one plant, which I am keeping in the conservatory because it is still so weak.  Hope to plant out next spring.

[galina]

Isn't it always the way ........................   
as soon as you write something, nature takes over and calls you a liar!

I really needed the space for autumn veges and have just dug out the rest of the  Giant Red Breton shallots from seed.  By the way, if anybody wonders why I am writing about my shallots from seed under the heading 'Potato Onion', it is because they are assumed to be one and the same species, among others by Kelly Winterton, the potato onion breeder.

And in the rest of the patch I found: several more white ones, one red that looks oval and you can feel a second bulb inside the outer skin and a small one that has split into many.  I never noticed this because the bulb was practically underground with only the top showing.

I am attaching a photo.  Top left - most shallots were like this and this is very close to what Red Breton looks like.  Top right - the pretty white ones,  Bottom left - the shallot that had split, Bottom right - The double.  bulb. 

[squeezyjohn]

Those do look very much like my potato onions (grown from seeds sent by Kelly Winterton) - particularly the white ones!

It looks as if they did survive in Europe as well.

[Jayb]

Your shallots are looking great 

[Robert_Brenchley]

My Green Mountain are thriving. They're not that big - the biggest bulb is about 2 1/2 inches across - but they were planted late. They're not showing any sign of dying back so maybe they'll just grow straight through.

[Jayb]

Mine seem to be still growing well too, but similarly they were late sown. I've just noticed signs of another wave of Allium leaf miner, fingers crossed it wont be too bad, I couldn't cover them incase there were already some in the ground. I'll have to make an allium cage/tunnel this autumn.

[galina]

Your shallots are looking great 

Thank you!  Interesting that so many are still green and lush and going well.  Are potato onions less daylength sensitive than onions?  Or is it all a matter of selection and different ways of growing over a long time.  Looking forward to harvest pictures whenever that is 

[Jayb]

Interesting that so many are still green and lush and going well.  Are potato onions less daylength sensitive than onions?  Or is it all a matter of selection and different ways of growing over a long time.

I think in this instance it's because they were sown on the late side. The one Red Breton I have growing outside is also still green and growing as are the bulk of the potato onions.

[Jayb]

I've not harvested yet as the Potato onions mostly seem to be growing still.

 

[Robert_Brenchley]

The ones I planted as bulbs have all died back, but the Green Mountain I've grown from late-planted seed are still growing. These are White Potato Onion from eBay.

[Jayb]

Anyone harvested their potato onions from seed yet?
The bulk of mine still look to be growing quite well, I don't want to leave them too late so they don't harvest/store well, but whilst they are still growing it seems a shame to bring them in to early?

[artichoke]

I have just received 10 white potato onions from the onion man on ebay, and they are larger than I expected, and uniform in size, rather better than his illustration.

Would anyone plant them this month, like shallots? Or do I have to wait until spring?

[Jayb]

I've planted potato onions both autumn and spring with good results. Whether different varieties of potato onion (like shallots) do better at one or the other planting, I don't know.

Garden organics have a good fact sheet, https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/sites/www.gardenorganic.org.uk/files/resources/hsl/15_Multipliers.pdf

[Jayb]

Are they white or brown skinned?