growing onions - what am I doing?

growing onions - what am I doing? (post #16491)

NDMatt on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 19:44

General Gardening

Hi everyone,

I usually post over in Knots but I've got a gardening question so I figured I post here. I had some onions sitting on top of the refrigerator. One of them sprouted, so I let it sit there. After a few weeks, I figured I should plant it. That was about a month ago. I've been looking online at what to do with it, and really can't figure out what to do. I live in Chicago, so moving it outdoors isn't feasible for a month or so. The onion is doing well, I just want to make sure I can harvest something. The sprouts are keeling over, so i'm wondering if I need to support them.

Also, and this is where I really show my cluelessness, how do I get more baby onions from this one?

Thanks,

Matt

Hmmm... (post #16491, reply #1 of 4)

by DanielleGardenGirl in reply to NDMatt [original] on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 15:25

Wow, Matt--this was a tricky one. So the deal is mature, full-sized onions develop only when the green tops spend an entire season collecting valuable energy from the sun and storing it away in the constantly swelling bulb. Most onions are grown from seeds or very small baby onions. My concern is that your onion from the supermarket will never have enough energy from the sprouts it produces to produce a second full-sized bulb. Everything I’ve read and researched suggests that what you can look forward to is tons of greens that can be used like scallions.

I think, if you’re lucky, your plant will cleave off several smaller mini-onions--which can be harvested at the end of this growing season (fall) and replanted next spring for a potentially large-bulbed harvest. To keep your plant viable enough to be able to transplant in a month (after your last frost)--give it some light. You may need to get it under some artificial grow-lights. The greens keeling over is a sign of stretching, a sure signal that the plant isn’t getting enough light.

I hope this helps and keep us posted on your onion odyssey.

growing onions (post #16491, reply #2 of 4)

by 1946 in reply to NDMatt [original] on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 20:22

First of all, I will admit to sitting at the computer and laughing as I read this. I also have tried to replant sprouted onions but no longer do so. I recommend you just eat it. Peel off the bad outer layers and you will find new, young onions in the center. If you plant it, it would likely grow, but, and this is a big but, the onion that grows from it will send up a seedhead and the onion itself will be basically inedible. Now if you want to grow your own onion seeds, go for it.

growing onions (post #16491, reply #3 of 4)

by Karen in reply to 1946 [original] on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 13:38

In my propagation class last year we learned how to propagate bulbs via chipping, which I think would be suitable for alliums. It wouldn't be worth the trouble for a regular onion, though, unless it was an unusual cultivar that was hard to come by. If anybody wants to try it for fun, I'd be glad to give the details.

North Carolina - zone 7

Thanks for the advice (post #16491, reply #4 of 4)

by NDMatt in reply to NDMatt [original] on Sun, 03/21/2010 - 13:04

Thanks for the advice everyone. It's doing well enough, so I'll just leave it alone until the summer.

growing onions - what am I doing?