[chrisnchris]

Hi all,
I have some onions from last year (it's a long story!) they have produced some great flower heads, I left them deliberately & the hoverflies seem to love them.

They have been in flower for about 6 weeks & I would love to try & harvest them for the seeds & grow them on.
I've had a quick look around the site but can't find any info about how to go about doing this, perhaps that's an indicatiion that it isn't worth it.
Has anyone done this or can someone give me an idiot's guide please.

Thanks

[Trillium]

You'll have to wait until the flower head browns and you see little black seeds start to appear from the cracking seed pods. Then they're ready to harvest. Easiest way is to snip the stem of the flowerhead and tip it over some sort of bowl or container and shake. Most of the seeds should fall out, or you can pop open ones that aren't.

The problem with saving your own seed is that you don't know what the original variety got crossed with (blame the bees) so its a gamble what you'll end up with. You might get sweet onions or perhaps smaller cooking onions. If this isn't a problem for you, then here's more growing info with onion seeds.

http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/onion-shallot/grow-onion-seed.php

[sunshineband]

I'me trying to save some leek seeds this year, with children at school so that they can appreciate the whole life cycle.

The heads are beginning to show green seeds and so as as soon as these start to go black, I shall put a paperbag around the head, and tie it on securely so that I don't lose the seeds.

As there are no other leeks grown for miles I doubt if we shall have anything usual but that's OK -- just want leeks 

[Trillium]

Sunny, you know that you'll end up with a lifetime of seeds from one growing season   

[sunshineband]

Awww yes!!

I have four flowers heads, so you can imagine I might have some to give away 

[chrisnchris]

Thanks, just what I wanted, sorry not to reply sooner....been in Poland for a wedding...hic