For the first time, this year I planted onion sets. I don't remember exactly when I planted them (yes, I know I should write this stuff down). I believe it was sometime in early February. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if I got faulty onion sets, but many of them (if not most) are sending up seed stalks. I'd be interested to know what caused this, but more urgent is what can I do to salvage my onion crop? Should I cut off the seed stalks? Will the onions produce decent bulbs anyway? Should I pull them up immediately and use what I can? Are the seed stalks edible? If so, are they tasty?
Thanx in advance,
Benjie in Western Galilee, Israel (approximately, zone 9)
Benjie in Western Galilee
Posts: 1 | Location: Northern Israel | Registered: November 01, 2004
I don't know anything about growing conditions where you are, but here I have the best luck with onion plants if I want large onions for storage. I have never been able to get those sets to produce much more than a table onion. The greens are edible, great for chopping up and cooking. You could chop them and freeze for later use.
Everything that blooms and grows, the garden angel scatters and sows...in the land of corn and pigs...gardensandquiltsatyahoodotcom
Posts: 2393 | Location: Zone 4-5, North Central Iowa | Registered: April 12, 2002
All of the onion is edible. I never had any luck by cutting the flowering stalks back - pull and save what you can. Or as an alternative, leave some in as they make extremely attractive flowers.
If they're anything like Chives they are. My two year old Chives are flowering right now with some of the most beautiful purple puffs I've ever seen! I can't wait to see the quality of the seed.
