[sclarke624]

I bought some red onions sets from Wilkinsons early this year.  But instead what is growing is a funny sort of red skin garlic.  I know cos I tasted the funny looking onion that stuck to high heaven and spat it out LOL.  Now either they put the wrong bulbs in the bag or I need glasses.  I say funny looking garlic as its not like garlic I have grown before but I am sure it is a known variety of some sort.  It seems to be hard neck has many bulb around it at least 10, the outer peelable skin is dark red like red onions but the inner bulbs are pure white.  I like garlic but these are red hot and very strong.  Of course I have lost the label.

[arugula]

Odd.  That sounds as though they put the wrong thing in the pack. What did the things you planted look like? Whole onions as in sets, or cloves like garlic?

[GrannieAnnie]

They are not a red very strong shallot are they?  Otherwise, the only thing I can think of is they put the wrong thing in the bags.

[Mrs Bee]

At least you can be content that it is likely to be their fault and not yours unlike myself

I started off some beetroot in paper pots to give me an early crop of the beloved beetroot and what i got was early spinach.
  What an idiot
The direct sown beetroot keep being scratched up and pooped on by some cat or fox so I am not doing very well at all.

[mumofstig]

If what you planted was a garlic bulb (rather than a garlic clove) then they'd grow into a clump of thin garlic stems, that look like spring onions, rather than produce a proper bulb of cloves.

Surely you would have noticed if you got garlic instead of onions, the smell alone would have told you what it was 

[plum crumble]

  sounds like shallots to moi

[Trillium]

There are some varieties of garlic that are very hot and spicy and it's possible you accidentally got some.

[GrannieAnnie]

sounds like shallots to moi

That's what I said! 

[sclarke624]

Hmmm! haven't grown shallots before so not sure. Certainly smells like garlic, but oniony smell as well.  They looked like a smallish onion bulb when I planted.

[GrannieAnnie]

With shallots, you plant one bulb then they multiply.  Some of mine only have 2 bulbs, but others have 10!

There are red ones, but I've never grown them.  Perhaps there is a red garlic shallot?

[sunshineband]

Shallots are not garlicky normally

Is the top growth like onion growth, with tubular leaves?

If they are shallots they will have a set of leaves coming out of each one in the clump

If it is garlic (which now seems unlikely) the leaves grow in a kind of staggered fountain pattern form one stem, coming out of the top of the original clove, which is by now at least six inches ling before any leaves grow out

Hope that help

[8doubles]

I have grown red shallots that have been so strong they made raw onion eaters cry !

[savbo]

I always think of shallots (and I grow quite a lot) as being onion with a hint of garlic...

If there are multiple stems rather than a sinlge one in the middle I I reckon you've picked up Red Sun...wilkos do it every year. actually it's what I buy!

sav

[sclarke624]

I'll pull one and take some pics.  It is though sort of as Sunshine describes I think one stem in a staggered fountain.

[sunshineband]

I'll pull one and take some pics.  It is though sort of as Sunshine describes I think one stem in a staggered fountain.

My money is on garlic then