[vonkiglin]

Hello All
I am sorry to ask this as I am sure it is already here somewhere but I cant find the answer sorry
I keep hearing the term "bolting" and for a novice like myself I keep thinking of horses running away or those big metal things. What exactly is bolting and how do I know when it has occurred just as I have sown some onion seeds which are coming on nicely currently but dont want all my hard work to go to waste

Many thanks

[DD.]

It's the premature gowing to seed of a vegetable, for instance if an onion flowers and seeds in its first year, not second.

Not to be confused with "drawn" or "leggy" plants, which are young plants that have put on weak and fast growth due to inappropriate heat & light conditions.

You may have the latter, but won't know if you have the former for a good few months yet.

[Kleftiwallah]

Don't be sorry Vonk.  This is the place to ask such questions,

"Bolting"    is the term given when a vegetable throws up a spike of growth to produce seed.  One of the most obvious veg' to do this is a lettuce.  In the morning your lettuce is nice and round and the next day it has started to grow upwards at a fast rate and if you leave it, it will flower and produce seeds.   When this happens 'they say' the goodness has gone out of the veg' to produce the seed head.  

If you are unlucky, you may see your onions producing a strong stalk from the middle and if you leave this stalk, eventually there will be a ball of flowers and later seeds at the top.  If you snap or cut off this stalk as soon as you see it you may save your onion, but it will not store very well and is best used as soon as possible.   Cheers,   Tony.

[DD.]

Not necessarily, Kleftiwallah, I stressed the premature going to seed. Things like lettuce will do this in one season as part of their natual cyle.

[vonkiglin]

again thank you for all the information
I am so glad I stumbled across this site