Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Jayb on April 16, 2015, 08:46:19
-
I've seen Green Mountain potato onions mentioned a couple of times on A4A :icon_cheers:
I sowed some on 5th April, germination is quite staggered and once through they are growing well. But I have several yellow and albino ones anyone else had the same?
Really looking forward to growing these
-
Where do people source the seeds or bulbs - I'm after these?
-
Where do people source the seeds or bulbs - I'm after these?
I got half a dozen bulbs from Gavin Conway a couple of years ago and they soon multiplied but sadly you are a bit late to get some from me now because I have started the ones I saved into growth.
Ask me again around Sept/Oct and if I my crops is a success I might have some to pass on...Tg
-
I had the Green Mountain landrace seeds from Kelly Winterton. In the past I've had Potato onions from http://www.poyntzfieldherbs.co.uk/.
-
I have grown a few different potato onions, but those Green Mountain Multipliers that Mr. Winterton created are by far the best.
If you grow out some of his seeds they will not be the exact same. There will be some variations. Some may end up being better, but so far I have not found any better than the originals.
It is worth trying the seeds if you can not source the bulbs in my opinion.
-
I have grown a few different potato onions, but those Green Mountain Multipliers that Mr. Winterton created are by far the best.
If you grow out some of his seeds they will not be the exact same. There will be some variations. Some may end up being better, but so far I have not found any better than the originals.
It is worth trying the seeds if you can not source the bulbs in my opinion.
in what way are they the best, please? Did you start with onions or with seeds? How large are your onions? How many off one planted bulb? How long have you been growing them? Are yours also whitish looking with a bit of green? Sorry for all the questions, but I am sure, there are several others who are also interested in your answers. :wave:
-
I have grown a few different potato onions, but those Green Mountain Multipliers that Mr. Winterton created are by far the best.
If you grow out some of his seeds they will not be the exact same. There will be some variations. Some may end up being better, but so far I have not found any better than the originals.
It is worth trying the seeds if you can not source the bulbs in my opinion.
Hi LonghornGardens, I'm pleased to read you rate Green Mountain Multipliers so well. It's a shame but I think bulbs would be very difficult to get in the UK. I'm really happy to have the chance of growing his Green Mountain Landrace from seed though. I'm interested to see see the diversity and choose those that grow and taste the best here. Look forward to hearing more about them.
-
I've got some sprouting in a pot, but it's going to be a couple of years before I've got seed to share. Mine came from a source in Australia.
-
They get a lot bigger than the other potato onions. One of my main complaints from growing potato onions is that they are rather small. These however grow to an acceptable size. That is the primary reason I think they are the best. They taste the same to me as the more common yellow potato onion.
I started with bulbs and I believe splitting into five to seven new bulbs is about average. You asked how long I have been growing them and this year is the fifth year, but I took a year off from growing them in that time span.
They start out white with a little green and the outside wrap turns yellow in storage.
Kelly has a real nice little web page with pictures and more details. I am on my phone or I would provide you a link.
-
Yes getting hopefully bigger bulbs, than the ones I've grown previously, is one of my aims. Some of the pictures Kelly Winterton has of his first year bulbs from seed look very big and even when they split they are of a good size. Nice to read they have done well for you and size is improved
I love the white green colour combination, but have looked for ages for red potato onions. Kelly also very kindly sent me some Dakota Red seed which I hope may will give some interesting selections and I'm looking forward to comparing them with Green Mountain.
I hope this is the link you intended, great information.
https://sites.google.com/site/kellysgarden/potato-onions
-
I've got some sprouting in a pot, but it's going to be a couple of years before I've got seed to share. Mine came from a source in Australia.
Any yellow/albino seedlings?
-
They get a lot bigger than the other potato onions. One of my main complaints from growing potato onions is that they are rather small. These however grow to an acceptable size. That is the primary reason I think they are the best. They taste the same to me as the more common yellow potato onion.
I started with bulbs and I believe splitting into five to seven new bulbs is about average. You asked how long I have been growing them and this year is the fifth year, but I took a year off from growing them in that time span.
They start out white with a little green and the outside wrap turns yellow in storage.
Kelly has a real nice little web page with pictures and more details. I am on my phone or I would provide you a link.
Very interesting, thankyou LonghornGardens. :sunny:
Many years ago I was given seed named 'Giant Shallot' and I have only just found out from a mention of Kelly's potato onions here and subsequent reading of his blogs, that what I have is very similar.
If you are interested, here is a write-up of my 'adventures' with shallots/potato onions:
http://www.growingfoodsavingseeds.co.uk/forum/breeding-and-genetics/new-channel/1902-giant-shallots
Yes size does matter in the kitchen. Do I interpret you correctly that you are getting the same sizes and numbers as you got when you first grew vegetatively after the start from seed? In my case, both size and numbers of vegetatively reproduced 'shallots' (after initially growing from a seed gift) are increasing and have increased steadily over the years. I was really surprised to find a plant this spring that is developing a nest of 9 onions! Never had that many. And the size of the onions has also increased over the years.
This year I am also growing Red Breton shallots from seed that I have taken from my own plants and I am looking forward to comparing notes with everybody who is growing Kelly's potato onions from seed. My first batch was from the USA, but with the name of 'Red Breton' there is a suggestion, they might hail from Brittany originally.
In parallel I am currently growing Red Florence onions as if they were shallots (following a comment that they are a shallot - perhaps). Last year they all flowered, I separated the cluster and (don't have my notes in front of me) I had about 5 'shallots' from one large onion, fewer from smaller onions. The largest onions produced the most in a cluster. They are a bit behind the Giant Red Bretons in the garden right now and I can't yet see how many splits I have this year, but there are at least 3.
Like others I am coming to the conclusion from my own experiments that onions, potato onions and shallots are really all the same - allium cepa - and that non-flowering shallots are only non-flowering because they were propagated vegetatively (and planted in spring rather than autumn) over many years. All Red Breton Giant shallots flowered in the early years, now only about half flower for me (I cut off the scapes and storage is not affected). Kelly writes the same in his blog from his experience with potato onions.
I expect all UK growers of Kelly's seed will see not only diversity in what they grow from seed in the first generation, but also further favourable adaptation over the years, like I have seen with the Red Breton Giant shallots. Comparing notes over the coming years will be interesting. :wave:
-
It's well worth reading Kelly's potato onion booklet:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jnqst7-9YfWFovhqjARtcZZVJC0TPzKsow_5mdAwnyA/edit
I don't think I've got any seedlings which are deficient in chlorophyll, but I can have a look in a bit when I get to the allotment. I get these with all sorts of veg, and don't take much notice as they don't last long.
-
I've had a look at my seedlings; definitely no chlorophyll deficiency. There's none in my Welsh onions either, and the everlasting onions haven't come up.
-
Thanks Robert, I guess it is just this batch then. I have around 9 out of 27 of the ones that have germinated. Perhaps different generations if yours came from Australia.
-
If you are interested, here is a write-up of my 'adventures' with shallots/potato onions:
http://www.growingfoodsavingseeds.co.uk/forum/breeding-and-genetics/new-channel/1902-giant-shallots
I expect all UK growers of Kelly's seed will see not only diversity in what they grow from seed in the first generation, but also further favourable adaptation over the years, like I have seen with the Red Breton Giant shallots. Comparing notes over the coming years will be interesting.
Yes, I hope they do as well as the Giant shallots have for you.
-
My Green Mountain seedlings are making progress. Pretty much all the yellow ones have died, just one or two yellowy - greens still struggling on.
-
Dakota Red are doing well, starting to look like little onions :happy7:
-
Not very big yet but coming along, hopefully they will get big enough to store for next. I'm looking forward to seeing what colours the bulbs are :happy7:
-
My Green Mountain are still small, but growing fast. The fox dug some up, but there are still a fair few survivors. Next year I'll plant them earlier. Meanwhile I've got buds on white and yellow potato onion and the odd shallot.
-
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.
-
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!
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Isn't it always the way ........................ :BangHead:
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.
-
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.
-
Your shallots are looking great :icon_cheers:
-
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.
-
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.
-
Your shallots are looking great :icon_cheers:
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 :wave:
-
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.
-
I've not harvested yet as the Potato onions mostly seem to be growing still.
-
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.
-
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?
-
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?
-
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
-
Are they white or brown skinned?
-
I really would like to get these potato onions going in my veg garden , could anyone spare me just one bulb or a few seeds ? Pleeeeeeeeze ?
I have Amish Egyptian onions that I could swap you for them ....either bulbils ...or in the green now :) Debbie
Private message me !
-
"Are they white or brown skinned?"
I ordered white, but these are in fact an attractive light tan. Thanks for the Garden Organic sheet, very useful.
-
So sorry I thought I'd pm'ed you back :angel11:
-
They're probably like the ones I posted a little way up the thread, since they came from the same source. Mine were shallot sized when I originally got them.
-
Big shallots, then.... Looking forward to planting them later this month and seeing what they do.