[pulse]

My overwinter onions that I put in in October are starting to bolt. The bulbs are only about the size of a golf ball for most of them.

Shall I pull them up now? Or wait longer?

What is the deal with bolting? Why does it occur and how badly will it affect the onion?

Thanks

[drdave]

All my White Moon onions have bolted. If there is any bulb at all, pull em up now and use them immediately or make soup or summat. In a week or two they will look like leeks rather than bulbs and there is nothing to eat!
Centurion, Stanfield and  my reds are fine.

[andreadon]

What is the deal with bolting? Why does it occur and how badly will it affect the onion?

Thanks

the bolting is nature's way of making new seeds for next year.
it's a bit annoying when that's not your aim, and I'm not entirely sure how good an idea is would be to use seeds from cultivated onions.....
it usually means the onion's over : if you pull it soon enough it shouldn't affect it too badly.