[Eblana]

I was up the plot yesterday and noticed that a lot of my over winter onions have started to form flower spikes.  Do I leave them on and let the flower or do I remove them?

[DD.]

Whip them off.

Over winter onions don't store well, ones that have flowered less so. Use them first.

[andy dewar]

I grow these each year and always break off the flower spike as soon as i see it helps to stop them bolting i think , hope this helps mate

[DD.]

Eblana is a lady - so it's a bit presumptuous to call her "mate"!

If they're flowering, they've already bolted, but you top any growing energy being diverted into the flower.

[gavinjconway]

Use them as green onions and remove the hard inner flower stalk core. The only reason I grow Winter onions is to have them as green onions and they are a real treat.. I always pull the first few on 1 May each year with the exception of this year as the weather was so foul!!  I grow one packet of sets and by the time they are finished the main summer crop is ready for using.

[Annen]

Use them as green onions and remove the hard inner flower stalk core.


 I grow one packet of sets and by the time they are finished the main summer crop is ready for using.

This is what I do too.

[J_B]

my japanese are coming along well.....looking forward to them

[Eblana]

Thanks folks,  I broke off all the flower stalks over the weekend.  I plan on only using them as a stop gap before the main crop ones anyway so they will be fine.  They are starting to bulk up nicely so hopefully will start to harvest at the end of the month (our allotment open day is at the end of the month so I don't want to take any out til then as I have nothing ready to go in and replace them!!).

[Willow_Warren]

Glad this was brought up, I noticed some "buds" on a couple of mine wasn't sure what to do but I'll attack with a pair of scissory this evening (now... can someone please remind me when I get home).  Or perhaps I'm too late now I'm to bud stage???

Hannah

[RookieJim]

I lifted 4 of mine yesterday. Took them home, took out the stalk and chopped them up for the gravy for dinner 

Jim

[rachelsco]

you could just pull and eat them while the flower spike is still soft within the plant, they are so delicious,  i make a green onion and potato soup, very similar to leek and potato, gravies, caseroles.   

[mike0001]

we had a sausage pasta and red sauce mixture with onions in....... cut up fine onions in with lovely

[Rosehip]

Hi Eblana
I don't think im to far away from you,same with me 1/3 of my onoins gone to seed.

[Eblana]

Hi Rosehip, welcome to the Forum.   I am a bit north of you.  I live in Howth but my allotment is up in Naul (a 30 minute drive but at the time when I got it there weren't any nearer to me and I love it there now so I wouldn't leave).  I put down about 60 over wintering onions this year and then did 100 main crop, in future I will only do a couple of dozen of the over wintering ones as a stop gap.  I plucked all the flower stalks off them at the weekend so hopefully they will do until the main crop ones are ready.

[Madame Cholet]

I've been lucky my ow onions have no flowers last year the red ones kept until nearly Dec,  when I had eaten them.
Will give them a couple more weeks until i've finished the bought ones.