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Onion about to flower?

Stephanie newish gardenerStephanie newish gardener Posts: 516
edited June 2018 in Fruit & veg
Hello
One or two of my onions - red baron - look like they might be about to flower. Should I leave them or lift them, or is the thing on the top something else? It's the first time I've grown onions from sets, having had a poor crop from seed last year, though the weather was quite a factor I think. The sets have grown really well though some are really thick stemmed, including the one with the pixie hat in the pic. Oh, and they all lean as well, though I was told this is normal.
As usual all thoughts welcome. Thanks

No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.  B) 

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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 30
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  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    The pixie hat is indeed a flower Stephanie and you should remove it as cleanly as possible. If you want big bulbs that's where the plant needs to send its energy not into seed production. They look terrific plants, a lot bigger than mine which have had a minor setback.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    oops! sorry scroggin  :open_mouth:
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • Stephanie newish gardenerStephanie newish gardener Posts: 516
    Thanks Scroggin .I can't say it's been hot as such but so far we are having a much warmer and, thankfully drier summer than this time last year .I will go out and nip off the relevant stems tomorrow - high winds forecast for us so might be out staking stuff too, hoping not to lose another calabrese  :open_mouth:
    No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.  B) 

  • Stephanie newish gardenerStephanie newish gardener Posts: 516
    herbaceous said:They look terrific plants, a lot bigger than mine which have had a minor setback.
    Thanks, I'm really pleased with the veg plot this year, it looks much more like a veg plot than a sparsely populated bit of waste ground with a few failed beans in it, which it did last year. No beans this year, just lots of onions, garlic, shallots, spuds and calabrese. I'm feeling like I must be doing something right!

    No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.  B) 

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    It hasn't been a great year for onions. They don't like inconsistent weather and it tends to make a few bolt. Probably 10-15 of mine have bolted this year, another 20 have gone over way too early and now it looks like the others have given up for the season too. They've got to a decent size though so it's not too bad. I just pick and use the bolted ones.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    Pull it out and eat it now, it won't keep and trying to remember which ones have tried to flower when you've removed the flowers is pretty impossible. I have around 800 onions planted from seed and set, I would say around 5% of the sets have bolted but none of the seeds. It happens, even in perfect weather and perfect care some decide they want to flower.
  • Stephanie newish gardenerStephanie newish gardener Posts: 516
    So I've just lifted the onion with the flower and it looks more like a leek! Am I doing something wrong? I'm not now sure if I planted the sets deep enough, and that, coupled with a lot of them leaning, meant a bulb didn't form. Or is this something else?
    On the plus side I have found that the massive leaves of the calabrese make an excellent cabbage substitute!

    No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.  B) 

  • Stephanie newish gardenerStephanie newish gardener Posts: 516
    Actually having trimmed it I think it's more of a massive spring onion! Tastes fine though  :)

    No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.  B) 

  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    I think you may have your onions too close together, however that one might have been unhappy about something else, and that could be both why it flowered and why it's not started to bulb. My day length will be the same as yours and my onions have just started to bulb up (Red baron are day length dependent)
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