Allotments 4 All

  I have grown onion for seed for some years but usually kept them close to the house so I could keep an eye on them as the heads mature.

This time they are in our community gardens and the heads are all maturing at different times.

At home I would bag them so as not to waste seeds when they blow but I don't want to draw attention to them where they are as they are in a very public place.. not on my plot but in a disabled area where many folks sit.

So my problem is.. if I pull them a little ahead of time to ensure they don't blow(I don't go everyday) will the seeds still be viable.

I just don't know  what to do.

Some seed heads are full size and some are only half size. The bees are loving them.

Help

XX Jeannine

If some are just about ready what about digging the bulb, pot it up and place somewhere safer like the greenhouse. Or pull the whole plant and hang up in the green house or balcony to finish ripening. If you have more than one seed head per bulb you may have to sacrifice one or cut the just about ripe one (and hang to finish maturing/drying) leaving the other/s to mature further. I found if you do have to pick them they continue to draw energy from the stem for a while yet.

Ok, so if I cut the bigger ones off and  leave the smaller ones on, if you remember some of my bulbs  multipled in the ground so I do have more than one seed head on each.

You better stand by with spare seeds for me I think LOL, I will take them off tomorrow.

I took a few garlic scapes off that had flowered from my new plot, I have no idea what they were  as they were left overs from the previous owner but they had put out good flower heads so I pulled up the whole plant and hung it up at home. Now I have tons of little bulbils.

Tania has told me to plant them in a gallon pot in the fall.. never done this before.

XX Jeannine

Jeannine..I save all my garlic bulbils and scatter them on spare bit of ground same time in late autumn as I plant the cloves. Next spring I have loads of garlic greens to harvest..just like chives...but the garlic greens have proper strong garlic flavour.
Like you friend said..you can sow them on pot too.