Onions

My red onions have begun to flower.Is this supposed to happen?

 

Unfortunally not Neil, it means the bulbs will not be good.
You'll still get a crop but the bulbs will have a core in the middle and will be smaller and more likely to rot when stored.
Snap off the flowers to stop the energy going to them, its caused by a number of factors, dryness or a check in growth is the usual reasons I believe. :(

 

One or two of my red shallots have gone to seed this year so it may be common.

 

I read in a magazine a couple of days ago that this is happening because of the hot & dry condiitions this year, so I should think many people are suffering the same....

 

My onions are in pots. They look okay, when will they be ready to eat?

 

Hi sal, they are ready when the tops flop over and the tips start to go brown. Jiggle a fork gently underneath to detatch the roots from the soil, wait for a few days, then lift the onion from the soil and lay it in the sunshine to ripen for a week or so til the tops wither and there is no more green. Then you can hang in a cool dark place in a bag or on a string :D

[ 05. July 2006, 07:49 AM: Message edited by: supersprout ]