Onions laying down

I have heard that when the onion is laying down, that it has stopped growing. Mine are still small, but laying down. Its to the point where the tops have gone away, but the bulb is still in the ground, & growing. There are a lot of weeds around,& I can't see the onions but I know they are there. Is it o.k. to lea ve them there & let them grow?

Generally if the tops are down (and especially if they're gone) the onion is done growing. When did you plant them? What zone are you in? You might need to get some of those weeds out of there if you can't see the onions... LOL, sounds a lot like my garden!

I seem to remember reading somewhere that onions don't compete well with weeds. As Weedwhacker said, let us know which zone you are in, and when you set your onions.

I'm in Texas , in Zone 8. I planted them as sets on March lst. They were growing good at first & then just slowed down. They are the sweet variety, & can be eaten raw in salads. I have eaten some. Maybe they are the long day onions. Our long days are just now coming. I also planted onion seeds in March, & I did not know I should have waited until fall to plant these. These all came up & are skinny tall plants mixed in the green weeds. I plan to leave these among the weeds so that the sun doesn't get to them. My husband thinks I am crazy with all the weeds in the garden. He doesn't understand I am protecting my baby onions.

March is probably too late for your onions. I live near Austin and they are planted in January. The only onions that will bulb here are short day. The long day onions require more daylight than we get in Texas. My short-day onions are falling over too so they are probably done growing. Yours are likely the same.

David

I plant my onions here in October, from seed. They are just about ready to harvest. You need to plant short day types in Texas in order to get bulbs. Look on the bright side - you can always use them for green onions this time around.

I plantes ome from bulbs and they are getting bigger and bigger. The problem is that all I know about them is they are sweet onions and I have about 15 plants growing in the garden and 10 or so in my containers with my maters and basil... Dont know much about them so if I am reading correctly, when they stop growing they are ready??

The tops will start to die back. Then you leave them for a week or so and then pull them. If oyu are going to store them, let them dry in the sun for about a week or longer, then cut the tops off an inch or so above the bulb. Some varieties are not recommended for storage and are best used fresh. I don't know about your's...

Does anyone have a pic of their onions laying down?

Hummm they are looking good, can I use the tops for chives?

I set my onions on Feb 20th - the Candy Reds are just beginning to bulb.

I planted my onion sets a few weeks ago... they're growing pretty good. Miss Jestr, planting onions a little too close together is the best, because you can thin some out and use them like green onions / chives. They taste great on top of a big baked potato with cheese and bacon...

Is anyone growing cherries? I live in Texas, & ordered some from the nursery. They are just sticks in the ground. No leaves. Shouldn't they have leaves by now. I planted them barerooted in May.

This morning I noticed my Candy Whites are starting to bulb.

So you wait till they bulb too? Oh I think I am confused on when I should pick them...

MissJestr - I pull mine when the tops start drying, which for me is around the end of June.

Your timing may be different.

This is my current onion crop. They have just about all fallen-over and have good sized bulbs. These are the Texas 1015 from Dixondale farms.

David

Those look great! I'm really thinking I'm going to order from them either in the fall or definitely next spring. Did you just get the 1015s or did you get an assortment?

These were planted from transplants in January. The yellows are the same as the above photo, 1015Y Texas Super Sweet. The reds are the short-day hybrid Southern Belle Red. They are both listed as being about 4 months to maturity--which is about how long it's been since they were planted. I haven't tasted any yet, but will start using them both right away.

David

Excellent looking onions David! I may have to try one of those varieties next year.

Don't forget to cure them!

MissJestr -- it depends on how you *want* to use them -- if you want scallions/green onions, pull them when they're small; if you want bigger bulbs, let the tops die down, then pull them up and let them cure for a while -- I put mine on some screened shelves in the garage for 2 or 3 weeks until the skins are nice and dry, then cut the tops back and store them in paper bags in the garage. I live in the north, though -- our garage is unheated but generally stays above freezing and this works well for me. Not sure how the southerners keep theirs, but I'm sure someone here can tell you!

Really, one of the great things about onions is that you don't have to wait a long time to start using them -- I plant mine fairly close together and then start pulling out every other one to use "green", then let the rest bulb up and store them

;-)
Sandy

I am so glad you explained the curing to me Sandy, I would not have known about that. I am growing them for the bigger bulbs so I have to be patient and see.

I'm sure there are 10,000 videos on YouTube about this, but I found this Cajun's way of explaining things easy to understand.

Here's his video on harvesting onions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT2jBsNBg_o

Here he is explaining curing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6ec4wVjMxQ

He's got some good recipes on his YouTube channel, too!

Stephanie

Awesome video's but if in a pinch,can I pick an onion to use that day??

Of course! You can use them at any stage, only need to be cured for storing.

Sandy

Dreaves,
your onions look awesome! What was your final spacing? Right now I have only 2-3 inches between my onions but I've been pulling some out to use the tops. I'd like to leave as many as possible to get big though...

I finished with the onions about 4 inches apart, with some about 6 inches. If you water and fertilize a little the 4 inch spacing should be fine. My onions did well, but I think they would have been even better if I'd watered more consistently.

David

Dreaves, do you get freeze? We had freeze up to first part of May and I want to plant some red onions, I dont think it is too late, just wondering how they do in the heat?

The onions can tolerate the cold. We do have some freezing here, but not too long or too cold. Some people start onions here as seeds in October, and let them grow all winter. I just use the shortcut of growing from small plants.

Thanks for the reply, dreaves! So that means I get to pull some more young onions out... I won't complain :) I've got them planted at my fiance's place, and he's under strict instructions to water them... Hopefully after we're married in a month he'll keep that job up even though I'll be living with him LOL

I obviously missed an onion last spring when I pulled all mine out because they were so puny and pathetic looking because I'd started them too late. I noticed in the fall it had started growing again, but didn't think anything of it. We had 3 snow storms, 2 small, 1 with 13" in a day. That little onion did great! Didn't show any signs of wilting or bolting or anything!

MissJestr - before you plant any onions do a search about how day length influences onions. Different onions require different day lengths to grow well depending on your location.

Hummm this year is my first year and I bought some bulbs and threw them in the ground not knowing much about them. They all look like they are growing, and will be excited to see if I get some... 4 months would be August our hottest part of the summer...
I will do that Honeybee and see what I can find out.

MissJestr - even if your onions don't bulb - they will still be edible, and nothing beats picking fresh veggies from your garden, even they are not "perfect."

The first onions I planted were Walla Walla, but they did not bulb as large as I thought they should. That's when I did some research and found they were the wrong ones to grow here.

Our local garden show "Almanac Gardener" said Candy is the best to grow here, so that's what I did. Last year I added Candy Red and they did very well. This year I have Candy white, Candy Red and Super Star. These are all "Intermediate Day" types. There are short day and long day onions as well, but they don't do well in my neck-of-the-woods.

Did your onions have a name on the container they came in?

To be honest Honeybee I dont remember other than they were sweet. I found some articles in motherearth news about growing onions and I am checking AZ Master Gardner Manual as we speak...

I have learned that I planted sets not seedlings...

This message was edited May 26, 2010 1:51 PM

Ok after reading about onions I am not quite sure just what I have done. I have planted sets, that much I know. I have two places, one place is in the containers with the tomato's and while they seem to be growing ,they do not get the required amount of sun since I have my maters shaded from the afternoon sun as not to burn them like last year. The second set is out in the garden all day sun.. You know I will just have to wait and see what happens, and if I mess up I will know what not to do next year... (And look for short day types)

MissJestr - here's a link to a graphic that shows which onions to grow where:

http://www.dixondalefarms.com/category/onion_plants

Cool thanks Honeybee..

You're welcome, MissJester ^_^