[Growing4mykids]

Morning all, nearly all my onions have tried going to seed, i have been nipping them off as soon as they appear, will this affect the size when they come to swell? thanks 

[Beetroot queen]

I always have this trouble with onions and the stems are usually really thick and affect the core of the onion.

I just nip of the flowers and use as soon as i need as they dont store, mind you we dont store much in this house it never gets chance 

[Growing4mykids]

Thanks BQ, not just me then!!    They all have pretty thick stems and it looks as though some have split into two different stems and i don't think much of anything will be stored here, 6 hungry mouths 

[Aunt Sally]

Thick necked onions don't store well.

A cold wet spring will cause onions to bolt - being too wet or too dry will do it too so keep them evenly watered.  Bolted onions won't store and are best used immediately either as green onions or if they have a bulb it can be chopped and frozen for stews.

Onions that are grown from sets rather than seeds tend to bolt more readily particularly if they have not been planted deeply so that just the tip of their growing point is showing.  Overwintered sets bolt more frequently than spring planted sets.

[Growing4mykids]

Thanks aunty  , they were from sets, red barons

[AnnieB]

The red onions are often a bit of trouble to grow, for some reason quite a few have trouble.
One odd thing I read is that for onion sets do not pick out and plant the nice big ones, plant the nice small ones. The opposite of what we generally do. 

A large onion from a set may be big enough to have decided that it is a year old, then when you plant it that would be the second year, and in the second year of growth any self respecting onion goes and produces a seed head. The smaller ones have hopefully not decided they are a year old so they grow as we want them to.

Makes it interesting, the last time I was picking a bag to plant I was looking for the one with the smaller ones in.

[Aunt Sally]

I'd say too cold and wet in North Wales this year then 

[Growing4mykids]

Oh well  always next year!!