Onion sets question

thecatsnose

Hi
I know I shouldn't have, but I have had a poke and a squeeze at some onion sets that I planted out, and the bulbs have gone all soft. Have I lost them or are they supposed to feel like this? Any help would be great, thanks

csnann

Have they developed leaves? If not, my guess is that they have rotted .

thecatsnose

Hi
Yes, they have about 6 to 8 inches of growth

kandyfloss

If there are healthy looking leaves on each set,then I would leave them.I have never squeezed them myself so don't know whether they should feel soft but I would leave them because it could be part of the natural growing process and then they will probably harden as they get bigger.You will soon know if they are rotting because all the leaves will start to die off and go slimy looking.

I don't know whether you feed your sets when they are growing but i give mine some chicken pellets early on in their growth to give them an extra boost.

thecatsnose

Thanks csnann and kandyfloss

kandyfloss

Your Welcome,hope you have some fine onions this year ....

BigDonut

I planted some onions back in march and they are doing fine but I didn't use all theonions in the set that I bought.

Would it be possible to plant the remainder in a month or so and get some onions toward the end of the year?

kandyfloss

Hi BigDonut,ideally speaking you should have planted all the sets at the same time and not held any back.If you put them in now they should still grow but won't be as big as the first ones you put in.

When the sets have grown to their full size ie when the foliage has started to topple then they can be dug up to break the roots and then left on the gorund in the sun for a few days before harvesting and drying off properly.If the drying process is done right you will have onions right through to the spring unless of course you have a big family and they are all eaten quickly.

The sets you have left might run to seed when you do plant them as time is getting on and you won't be able to save them until next year as the bulbs{sets} will just shrivel to nothing and won't be any good apart from composting.

Just get them into the ground ASAP and enjoy the onions you do get off of them even if they are on the small side,you can always eat those ones first...

SuzieMum

Talking of onions can I jump in here with a question? mine are soft too by the way! but also the tops of mine are at least 8 inches tall, but have flopped over/bent, none are standing up right at all. Have they all bolted? How do you tell when to leave them or when to hope they will pull through? Shall I quickly dig these up and get rid and plant my remaining sets out and try again? Thanks!!

kandyfloss

Hi Suziemum,I think I shall have to go and give mine a squeeze because I seem to be missing out here somehow:D

Would it be possible to post a photo of them at all if possible so me and the experts on here can see what is going on with them.

I don't know where you live but if you are anything like us at the moment you are being battered by strong winds which won't do the vegetables much good at the moment,least of all onion sets and shallots.

When the set {small bulb} bolts you will see a pointed piece on top of the greenery like a dunces hat.This is the flower bud.You will also see that on this particular set the green stem bit with the pointed bit on top will be thick all the way down to the set.If you see these snap them off and dispose of them,but you will find that even then you will have to eat those ones first as they won't keep unike the unbolted ones.Sets normally bolt when the sets have been checked ie left to dry out in the rows and when the weather is very hot and they are under stress.

The sets still have a while to go yet before the foliage flops naturally.It will do it on it's own around July time,unless you live either in the South where it will be earlier or North {as in Scotland }where it will probably be a bit later.When all the sets have the foliage bent over{flopped} it will be time to stick a fork underneath each onion to break the soil round the roots.This will stop them growing anymore and after a few days of being left in hopefully warm weather they can be collected up and taken to be dried off either on a slatted bench in the greenhouse or on wire netting,somewhere where the air can get to them.I usually turn mine about once a week so they dry evenly and then once the foliage has dried they can then be stored raedy for winter use.

Any of those ones with thick stems{if you get any} should be eaten first and not stored.

Don't pull them up unless they are in really a bad state and all the sets should have been planted by now anyway so get any remaining ones into the ground if you so wish ASAP,but please try and get a photo on here before you even think about pulling them up because I don't want to see good onions going to waste if there is nothing wrong with them....

SuzieMum

Ok, I've just taken pics and will get them downloaded and on to her tonight. Thanks so much. I am in the south east and have a feeling they aren't in a sunny enough position! They are not fat, just very thin, no sign of the top hat/flower bud so I'm sure they haven't bolted, yay! I will be back later with a pic, thanks!
when I checked, they haven't grown/swelled at all since planting.