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  • From: Leslie <cayadopi AT yahoo.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] onion question
  • Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 18:35:57 -0800 (PST)

I had a successful onion crop last year.  I cut up some of the onions and
froze them in freezer bags during the summer, used many, and stored the rest
dry in typical onion type bags from the grocer.  I harvested the bulk of them
at the end of July (about 3" to 4" in diameter), dried them, cut off the
greens, etc. and then put half of them in a dark area that gets air, and the
other half in partial low light with air.  Most of the time stored the temps
have ranged from 70-40 degrees.

It is 6 months after harvest, and I have noted that some have started to go
bad, others are shooting out new roots and new growth.

I've chopped up and salvaged all but two onions.

The remaining two  - subject of this query -  have new white root shoots, and
about 3" or so of greens shoots coming out the top. 

Should I just eat them, or can I plant them?
Will they grow into onions this year and give me seeds???   (None of them
seeded last year, these were grown from seed,)

Overnight temps are down in the low 20s to teens, and I have straw mulch if
that helps.

I would lilke to attempt to harvest onion seed this year.  Last year I didn't
get any flowers.



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> >Should I just eat them, or can I plant them?
> Will they grow into onions this year and give me seeds??? (None of them
> seeded last year, these were grown from seed,)

Remember that onions are dedicated biennials. You did not mention whether
you grew the onions from seed, slips, or sets. If from sets, the onions'
growth last summer was their second year. If from slips or seeds, it was
their first year. In this latter case the onions' plan is to grow a big bulb,
go dormant, and then the next season go to seed using the nutrition stored
in bulb.

You onion that is now sprouting is going for broke in what it deems to be
its second year. It will put up a seed stalk as soon as it can and try to
bloom and set seeds. That is, here in January the odds are, alas, against it.

Might do it, though, if the weather moderates here rather profoundly.

James




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