Onions going to seed in year 1?

jonathanpassey · July 18, 2014

I started my onions (Yellow of Parma) from seed back on the 22nd of February and transplanted on the 7th of April (4 weeks before my last frost) when the seedlings were just narrower then the width of a pencil. My spring was pretty standard for Utah and alternated between unseasonably hot/dry and frost.

The onions got a slow start (too hot immediately after I planted?) but seemed to limp along and then took off in mid may and are now fairly large plants with small (2 inch) bulbs on many of them.

Trouble is, most of them are sending up a flower stalk (looks like a garlic scape). I already cut all of these off and ate them (hence no picture... they were delicious).

My first question is: are my onions going to continue to grow their bulbs and be able to be cured for storage? If they are going to degrade in quality then I will pull them right now and use them fresh or dry them.

My second question is, what can I do to avoid this next time? My suspicion is that I ought to plant out later...

Thanks for any help you can give,

jp

July 18, 2014	#1
jonathanpassey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: PG Utah Zone 5-ish Posts: 16	Onions going to seed in year 1? I started my onions (Yellow of Parma) from seed back on the 22nd of February and transplanted on the 7th of April (4 weeks before my last frost) when the seedlings were just narrower then the width of a pencil. My spring was pretty standard for Utah and alternated between unseasonably hot/dry and frost. The onions got a slow start (too hot immediately after I planted?) but seemed to limp along and then took off in mid may and are now fairly large plants with small (2 inch) bulbs on many of them. Trouble is, most of them are sending up a flower stalk (looks like a garlic scape). I already cut all of these off and ate them (hence no picture... they were delicious). My first question is: are my onions going to continue to grow their bulbs and be able to be cured for storage? If they are going to degrade in quality then I will pull them right now and use them fresh or dry them. My second question is, what can I do to avoid this next time? My suspicion is that I ought to plant out later... Thanks for any help you can give, jp