2015-2016 Onion Thread.

[Tropicalgrower]

I like pearl onions.I do.I read that most pearl onions are simple Allium Cena densely planted,but are there other options?

I've never grown "Walking Onions".but I did read that they set a bulblet on the tops of the stalks (?).Would these be an option for pearl onions? I don't tend to enjoy a pungent onion,if that makes any difference.

[Zeedman]

Originally Posted by Tropicalgrower

I like pearl onions.I do.I read that most pearl onions are simple Allium Cena densely planted,but are there other options?

There is at least one other option that I know of - A. sphaerocephalum, a.k.a Pearlzweibel or Pearl Onion. The plant looks like a miniature version of elephant garlic, and forms a solid bulb about 1" wide, and a cluster of tiny white bulblets about 1/4" wide at the base. Those pearl-like bulblets, if planted, will again produce a single solid bulb & a cluster of bulblets.

The 1" bulbs look like they would be good pickled, but I have never grown enough to try. They are not as winter hardy as some of my other onions, and just when my stock begins to increase, a hard winter kills most of them. Most of those I planted last Fall survived & are healthy, so I may have enough bulblets to attempt a large(r) planting this Fall.

I was able to obtain several other multiplying Alliums from SSE this year; some which form topsets, and some which appear to form bulbs. One of those has small bulbs similar in size to Pearlweibel... I'll know more about it in late Summer, when it goes dormant & I dig it up to divide it.

[Worth1]

Here are the onions.
I had to pull them or they were going to rot.
I have another pile in the house.
]That one big down pour broke their necks and the stopped bulbing.
No big deal I need pull weeds to plant okra now.
Worth
IMG_20160519_9564.jpg

[AlittleSalt]

I was hoping they would keep growing.

[whistech]

Worth, looks like you had a good harvest of onions. Looks like I see yellow, red and white onions. What variety are the white onions?

[Worth1]

White graino or ex.
They are all pretty small but they were going to rot as I said.
My best onions came from seed so that is what I will do next year and do a better job.
The rings are there but the stems broke over and that was the end.
I need room for okra.

Worth

[AlittleSalt]

I agree with starting from seeds. They are our biggest too.

[Jeannine Anne]

This is the onion I use to make the small pickled onions , in white vinegar.

If I want the English Pub Grub type of pickled onions which is a bit bigger I use a malt vinegar and the larger size ones

The variety is Paris Silverskin

[Tracydr]

There is a wild onion around here that is forming a little top set bulbil ( I think,but could be a little seed pod). I was thinking of gathering some and putting them in my herb garden. The leaves taste like a chive so I thought they'd be useful and interesting. They start growing here around January and are just now forming what I think is a bulbil.
Has anybody grown these?

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Thanks, I am positive this one is an F1 cross between a white and red grano.
It is the only cross that has bulbed up so soon.
I want to save seeds from it this means I will have to keep it alive till next year.
If I can stabilize it I am going to call it Worth's Pink Grano.
About 3 years ago I mentioned saving seeds from onions this is the result of one of them.
I am very excited about it.


Yes it is a snail I have snailtropolis going on here.
The scourge of my garden.
This is the reason I start in containers so the plants are big enough deal with them.

You need some pet ducks.

[Worth1]

Here it is the garlic and onions.


Worth
IMG_20160524_24935.jpg

[whistech]

Worth, both your garlic and onions look great, but the garlic is really impressive. Most of my onions this year are between a golf ball and a tennis ball in size and even though I grow them in a raised bed, the hard rain and blowing wind this year broke all the tops and I also had to pull mine to keep them from rotting in the ground. I have them in the garage with a fan blowing on them to cure a couple of weeks before I clean them and put them up for storage. This was just not a good year for onions. My garlic is still growing but will probably be done in a couple of weeks.

[whistech]

Worth, both your garlic and onions look great, but the garlic is really impressive. Most of my onions this year are between a golf ball and a tennis ball in size and even though I grow them in a raised bed, the hard rain and blowing wind this year broke all the tops and I also had to pull mine to keep them from rotting in the ground. I have them in the garage with a fan blowing on them to cure a couple of weeks before I clean them and put them up for storage. This was just not a good year for onions. My garlic is still growing but will probably be done in a couple of weeks.

[loudog]

Here are my onions this year, I planted them out 15th of April, 9 days after receiving the plants because of rain. Louie