onion / spring onion, which ones which?

[lynda66]

how do i tell the difference between onions and spring onions? i had a look yesterday, and i'm a bit confuddled, cos i didn't label them, and they are in rows next to each other, they are both at the same stage of growth, white bulb starting to swell, how do i tell which is which? i don't want to pull up the onions then find out i've only got spring onions left, but when i get home it would be nice to have some spring onions........ i've labelled everything since then

[SlugLobber]

Ok, now I feel really thick, because I thought Spring Onions were normal onions, in their younger days! Will watch this for edumacation purposes!

[lynda66]

dunno ..... i hadn't thought of that ..... confuddled more now lol

[daylily]

Knowing your onions is not that easy.

Spring/salad and pickling onions or shallots are more of a culinary/gardening terms then botanical in my book. Since they come either from the same or many different species, like the spring onion from Welsh onion and a lot of other Asian species.

[zazen999]

Hi
I always lose labels, or forget which is which. To be honest, as soon as they get to Spring Onion size, I'd nip some out in between others and use them, and leave the rest to grow on. If left, spring onions will keep growing anyway.

[Eyren]

Some spring onion varieties don't bulb up, but that seems to be no help in this case

All I can suggest is that you take some of each and leave the others to grow, and keep cropping the individual onions that are bulbing less well than the others. If the varieties are different enough in their growth patterns, time will tell!

[lynda66]

problem is, if i pull up enough for a salad, there won't be many left, especially if the smaller row is onions and not spring onions ...... i've labelled everything since then lol.

[daylily]

If it was me, the one that has a worse germination rate and a slower growth rate is the spring onion.

If you are lucky, quite often the bulbing onions are more open, loser leaf structure from the neck, whereas the spring ones hold the leaves together a bit tighter, but I'm sure it will not be always the case...

[SarzWix]

... i've labelled everything since then lol.

Oh dear, shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted...?!

Perhaps when you're standing next to them, you'll have a sudden vision of which ones you put where

Just eat them all, and when my onion sets arrive I'll send you a few to plant in their place, I'm sure I've ordered far too many anyway - PM me your address