Onions aren't supposed to flop are they? Also can you mulch right up to the onion without causing problems?

How long have they been planted?...if they have been planted over 100 days, and falling over, they are done, time to harvest.

quote:

Originally posted by farmhound:
How long have they been planted?...if they have been planted over 100 days, and falling over, they are done, time to harvest.

Wasn't the ground still frozen up here 100 days ago?

Good point!!!...didnt see where they were posting from...DUH!!!

If you planted the onions in April or so, and they are growing well, then the leaves will flop over...it has made my life hell to keep weeded, I dont have a pic uploaded of my onions now to show you how flopped over they are, but they are indeed healthy...hope this is the case for you too.

Oh, the second part of your post..lol...I have been worried to mulch up to them plants, so I just keep weeding...not sure if its alright...maybe someone else can help answer that.

last year I did "hill up" my onions, as they started to pop out of the ground. I put some extra dirt around the bases and probably got another few weeks of good growth out of them. If you planted sets, they will fall over and be done without getting real big, but they are still good eating.

Maggie

MaggieZ, I have to reply to help you as well as others not make onion mistakes.

Never hill up onions, they grow best above ground. Popping out of the ground is what you want, unless you are growing scallions,lol.

And planting sets of good onions...preferably ordered from a reputable dealer, is the best way to go, as onions need lots of time to grow, and if you want big ones, that is the headstart they need...I will post pics of mine very soon, as it seems to be a good year for them.



Here are my onions a couple weeks ago...they are bulbing up nicely now.

So...I'm getting mixed message here...My onions, planted from sets, through about a 2 inch layer of mulch, which has now mostly broken down.

Suddenly I have a flush of weeds and I was about to mulch the heck out of them instead of weeding.

Should I just weed instead?

New onion grower here... What I've read consistently is exactly as gte66 says: let them shoulder above ground. (The theory being, I believe, that since the roots are on the bottom, they are still hooked into the system even with their shoulders above ground.)

I did a light mulch around mine shortly after the tops started to firm up, figuring they would emerge through the mulch as the bulbs grow. Hope it works. Looking forward to real garden-grown onions!

ctdahle , I would weed, because im worried about rot from too much mulch, even though mulch has saved me from endless weeding in my tomatoes and peppers.

Liz1, If it works good for you...thats what I should have done...Ive got hours of weeding in the onion bed now.You should let them grow above ground, to get big sweet onions, I dont know about the mulch, or I would have done it myself.

We will all compare harvests in a month or so, k?

I've got a Walla Walla I'd like to let get in on this party! If it was elephant garlic, I could be king Thinking about the expanding shoulder part of growing onions, why wouldn't that work with big garlic bulbs in places where it doesn't freeze much? I wonder if my big bulbs could get even bigger if they weren't constrained by clay soil 3 to 4" down? New experiment coming, I can feel it

Uh oh...my first year planting onions. I put them maybe an inch under soil. The greens are growing pretty good for the most part, but nothing's bulbing yet. Should I remove the top layer of dirt and let the things breath a bit more? I've been worried that they hadn't bulbed yet. I started with sets in eaaarrrrrly May

Weeding ... YES! Weed those bad boys. Onions are heavy feeders and are very sensitive weeds. According to the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (great source of heirloom seeds), yield can be reduced by up to 50 percent due to the presence of (and competition with) weeds.

Weed regularly, pulling out weeds when they are young and won't disturb your bulbs too much when pulled. As they get older and their roots grow, they interfere more with bulb growth. So weed often, and weed well!

Good luck!

TinGull, YES, pull the dirt off of them, but they should be bulbing now...I live in NY and I planted mine in April