Allotments 4 All

My onions are coming along nicely but I have noticed that they have bulbs growing from the top of the leaves which I guess are seeds.  Is it true that this means when I actually come to harvest them that I cannot keep them for any lenght of time - I was hoping to tie them up and use them when needed?

Sounds like they could be flowers developing which will produce seeds later. Think you need to remove these ASAP.

Do you do the same for Garlic??  I have some Garlic with floers coming up...

Yes!

Pinch out the flowers and make sure you use those onions first.  I have had a few send up flower stems already - I blame the dry Essex weather!

Nip off the flowers as soon as you see them with all onion family including chives!!

yes remove to allow bulbs to expand ;D

You'll also find these stems are great chopped up in salads instead of spring onions.

In my hazy brain it seems to nag that there are a certain type of garlic that flower before you harvest them???  Now I am going to have to research! :-\

Yes Doris, these are the hardneck varieties.. If you want yhe bulb to get more garlic, than leave the flowers, the scapes, leave them till harvest time and dry them.

Quote from: johcharly on May 26, 2005, 00:17:27
Nip off the flowers as soon as you see them with all onion family including chives!!

Most of the books I've read recommend this, but I keep my chive flowers, as they make a beautiful (edible) garnish on salads ;D
I've also served them frozen in ice cubes, in chilled fennel tea :P Very pretty.....

can anyone answer this for me?
i went to our village(about a mile away and when i parked there is someone who has a  lovely allotment type garden..very workmanlike it is.anyway-i say onions ther as big as a babies head..well..almost!so when did he plant these?are they sets or seeds?
he also has the sets(or looks like)like the sort i've planted-they are as far on as mine-which isnt very far...
so?any ideas?

Seeds sown around Christmas time, they get very large indeed :o

Japanese onions sets put in at the back end of last year are bulbing up nicely. Do I need to feed them and with what can anyone tell me?

Thanks

Wardy

I have heard a bit of chicken poo does them good at the end of May so that is what I have done.

are these japanese onion sets available in gc's then at the end of the year?
winter hardy then?

Yes Kitty.  I get mine mail order - Marshalls or Tuckers - they arrived around October time and I finally got them in sometime in November.  I pulled my first 2 today and they area about twice the size of a tennis ball.  That is good for me as they appear to have beaten the bl**dy rot!  ;D

aha!
not heard of tuckers..i shall have to get some!ta ej!