Bolting onions

**Two_Sheds** · 20-05-2011, 06:54 AM

no, nothing at all. Eat them up

**jacob** · 20-05-2011, 07:57 AM

A couple of mine look like they've flopped which is a) a month early and b) very annoying as they've hardly swollen. I'm hoping they've been damaged by something, but it doesn't look like it.

**rustylady** · 20-05-2011, 08:20 AM

Mine are bolting too - I blame the weather.

**jacob** · 20-05-2011, 08:22 AM

Originally posted by Gurberly View Post

My garlic planted last November is coming out tomorrow as they all have flower spikes on.

btw, the garlic is supposed to do this -- cut the scapes off and eat them.

**Nes** · 20-05-2011, 12:21 PM

Originally posted by jacob View Post

btw, the garlic is supposed to do this -- cut the scapes off and eat them.

Like he said. Cut the flower stalks off the garlic, as this will encourage the plant to put its energy into the bulb instead of the flower, giving you bigger bulbs come harvest time

.

About half of my onions are rubbish though - hardly swollen at all

, while the other half (in the same bed!) are going nicely. Figure that one out!

**WillyNelson** · 20-05-2011, 02:31 PM

Originally posted by Nes View Post

About half of my onions are rubbish though - hardly swollen at all

, while the other half (in the same bed!) are going nicely. Figure that one out!

I've the same sort of problem with half my onions. I sowed about 50 each of Radar & Senshu Yellow and one of them (I didn't mark which was which, rookie mistake) is a bot hit & miss while the other is pretty much all good. Red onions a bit iffy as well.

Garlic looking good this year however, no bolting as yet.

**Gurberly** · 21-05-2011, 05:51 AM

OK, thanks for the feedback on the garlic.

Though I am secretly pleased that I'm not the only one whose onions are bolting..... thought it was my fault!!

G

**Aberdeenplotter** · 21-05-2011, 06:11 AM

Red Baron are notoriously bad for bolting when grown from sets which is why I grow them from seed. If you want to continue to grow them from sets, try buying heat treated sets next year. The heat treatment as far as I understand destroys the flower embryo although I have still had instances of bolted onions. Heat treated sets aren't normally available early in the season.

**Two_Sheds** · 22-05-2011, 08:10 AM

About half my autumn onions are bolting too, which is annoying as they are almost "done" ... so I'm slicing and freezing them

I've got so many onions this year, there are still 50 odd seedlings in the gh waiting for space to become available on the lotty

**solway cropper** · 22-05-2011, 09:27 PM

Touch wood my onions are OK at the moment but nearly all my shallots have bolted. This has never happened before. Blooming weather!!

**Chef_uk** · 23-05-2011, 05:33 PM

Originally posted by solway cropper View Post

Touch wood my onions are OK at the moment but nearly all my shallots have bolted. This has never happened before. Blooming weather!!

Same here, maybe my luck was due to incorrectly planting them too deep?

**Snadger** · 23-05-2011, 06:05 PM

You have to remember that onions are a biennial and usually set seed in the second year.
The sets we plant have already had one years growth when we get them so naturally have a tendenncy to want to run to seed.

I have very few of my seed sown onions that run to seed because they are still in there first year of growth.

Sets are cheap and easy to plant but you do take more of a chance with them bolting as opposed to growing your own alliums from seed.

Swings and roundabouts...........you pays your money and takes your chance!

**thepopela** · 23-05-2011, 07:02 PM

Just noticed my red onions are bolting aswell!

Not very big either! Do i have to pull them up now? What would happen if i left them to grow more?

My Japanese onions seem to be ok for now though, which is nice

**Potstubsdustbins** · 23-05-2011, 08:37 PM

I have a concern about the use of the term `bolting`. Do people mean that there is good green growth but the onion is still small or do they mean the onion is starting to grow seed pods. Some beginners may not understand the difference.

Colin

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