Onions accidentally overwintered

tam91 · April 23, 2015

My friend planted onions last year. Forgot to pull some out apparently. So they stayed in the ground over the winter, and now they're growing again.

So.... are they any good? Should he leave them, or pull them out? Will they make bulbs, make more bulbs, go to seed, .......?

No clue here about onions, obviously

Tormato · April 23, 2015

No clue here, either.

I'm guessing they were spring planted the previous year. I'll then guess that the bulb from last year kind of rots away, producing greens and a flower/seed stem this year.

You can pull one or two, to see if they are any good. You can also try the young greens (scallions) to see how they are. You can also leave some plants alone if you want to see it go to seed. And, finally you can dig up a dead plant at the end of the season to see what happens after year two.

FILMNET · April 23, 2015

Very sweet after the winter!!!!

Worth1 · April 23, 2015

They are biannual which means they will soon go to seed.
As each plant starts to put out the seed stalk pull and eat.
The bulb doesn't rot away it just goes dormant.
I have some that I bought the year before last growing in a pot.
They stayed neglected and dormant for two years and this winter started growing so I put them in a pot because i have nothing else to put in the pot.

They are going to seed.

Worth

AlittleSalt · April 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

They are biannual which means they will soon go to seed.
As each plant starts to put out the seed stalk pull and eat.
The bulb doesn't rot away it just goes dormant.
I have some that I bought the year before last growing in a pot.
They stayed neglected and dormant for two years and this winter started growing so I put them in a pot because i have nothing else to put in the pot.

They are going to seed.

Worth

The first two pictures are of second year onions that I planted last October. There will be lots of pretty flower looking seed pods opening up with some onion smell to them. The onions are stronger tasting than they were last year. But this how you get seeds.

The third picture is elephant garlic going to seed.

tam91 · April 23, 2015

Thanks! I'll tell him to give them a try.

Tracydr · April 24, 2015

The flowers are great bee and hummingbird attractors.

Worth1 · April 24, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracydr

The flowers are great bee and hummingbird attractors.

Not with this thing around.

Worth
IMG_2015042429827.jpg

tam91 · April 25, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracydr

The flowers are great bee and hummingbird attractors.

He's a guy, and not that "earthy". He will not care about that. Debate was between he and his girlfriend, if they were edible or not. sounds like he won

MarineCorps · April 25, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Not with this thing around.

Worth
Attachment 48355

I must know what that is

Worth1 · April 25, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarineCorps

I must know what that is

Desert Bird of Paradise Caesalpinia gilliesii

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.b2w&cad=rja

MarineCorps · April 25, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Desert Bird of Paradise Caesalpinia gilliesii

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.b2w&cad=rja

Thanks. To bad it's a tropical. Would never survive the winters here.

NewWestGardener · April 25, 2015

You can certainly use them as green onions before the seed stalks shoot up, in salads. They don't cook well. it's a nice find from the garden in spring.

April 23, 2015	#1
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Onions accidentally overwintered My friend planted onions last year. Forgot to pull some out apparently. So they stayed in the ground over the winter, and now they're growing again. So.... are they any good? Should he leave them, or pull them out? Will they make bulbs, make more bulbs, go to seed, .......? No clue here about onions, obviously __________________ Tracy

April 23, 2015	#6
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Thanks! I'll tell him to give them a try. __________________ Tracy

April 23, 2015	#2
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,959	No clue here, either. I'm guessing they were spring planted the previous year. I'll then guess that the bulb from last year kind of rots away, producing greens and a flower/seed stem this year. You can pull one or two, to see if they are any good. You can also try the young greens (scallions) to see how they are. You can also leave some plants alone if you want to see it go to seed. And, finally you can dig up a dead plant at the end of the season to see what happens after year two.

April 23, 2015	#3
FILMNET Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA Posts: 1,803	Very sweet after the winter!!!!

April 23, 2015	#4
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	They are biannual which means they will soon go to seed. As each plant starts to put out the seed stalk pull and eat. The bulb doesn't rot away it just goes dormant. I have some that I bought the year before last growing in a pot. They stayed neglected and dormant for two years and this winter started growing so I put them in a pot because i have nothing else to put in the pot. They are going to seed. Worth

April 24, 2015	#7
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	The flowers are great bee and hummingbird attractors.

April 25, 2015	#13
NewWestGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 564	You can certainly use them as green onions before the seed stalks shoot up, in salads. They don't cook well. it's a nice find from the garden in spring.