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What is wrong with my onions?

TrevethenTrevethen Posts: 3
in Problem solving

What am I doing wrong with my onions? They have all come up looking like this, and most have started to bolt. I know that lack of water can make them bolt, as with too much water, but these have been in well draining soil, and not over or under watered.

They do not have any real onion smell from the outside, and are not all that firm - as would be with normal onions.

They were planted last autumn, and have overwintered in mild conditions - for Cornwall.

regards,

Philip Stevens

Posts

  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    I'm going to say they grew too much last autumn so they think they are in their second year and therefore are going to flower. Maybe try planting in the spring instead if your winter is so warm they keep growing in it.
    Onion sets getting too cold can cause early flowering but I really doubt that is the case in Cornwall
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    It’s been surprisingly cold down here especially night temps.
    i sowed my seeds beginning of March and planted out last week. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • TrevethenTrevethen Posts: 3
    edited May 2019
    I've just been to my local garden centre, and one of the employees who is an avid vegetable grower, suggests that the onions would have got bigger if I had nipped-out the flower head. This would have allowed the plant to concentrate on the onion base instead of the flower head. 
    He said the same for leeks - nip-out the flower head and leave to get bigger.
    Skandi is also correct (according to the garden centre employee) in that the plant thought is was ready to produce flowers and seeds.
    Another thing he told me, was that the ground had recently got too dry, so the plant started to produce flowers and seeds.
    So now I know. I was too eager to pull the plants when I saw the flower heads. I should have nipped-out the flower stems and left the onions in the ground.
    Now, I have an abundance of "spring onions"!
    Lyn. Over the winter, we only had two frosty nights. We live near St.Ives and (luckily)  close to the sea. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Trevethen said:
    ... We live near St.Ives and (luckily)  close to the sea. 
    Green with envy here ... I’ll swap my place in Norfolk for yours ... 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • TrevethenTrevethen Posts: 3
    edited May 2019
    No chance. We'll stick it out here!  :)
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Drat and double drat!! 😭 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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