cutting onion (etc) tops?
 

1. We have some (red) onions growing. I've read
(http://sweetcornorganicnursery.com/s...rge-Bulbs.html
) that cutting the greens produces bigger bulbs. (They have a fairly
elaborate protocol for this.) Is this a universal belief? I'd have
thought that they NEEDED the green part, for the photosynthesis thing. I
do cut off the seed pods, when they develop.

2. Garlic. Everyone says, cut the scapes. So, OK. But, what about
soft neck? Ours don't produce any scapes, at least as I understand
them. Does it help to cut the greens back on these?

3. Shallots. We have some uknown variety, from sets we got from the bin
at a farm store. I've read
(http://www.harvestwizard.com/2009/02..._shallots.html ) that
you CAN cut the greens, but to take care not to cut "new growth from the
central stem." If these shallots have a 'central stem', it's not
obvious to me. I'm wondering if this rule applies to all shallots, or
what's going on.

Any insight on any of these would be appreciated. Thanks.
George

cutting onion (etc) tops?
 

George wrote:

Ours don't produce any scapes, at least as I understand
them. Does it help to cut the greens back on these?
No; the leaves make food to make bulbs, just as you thought.
At the risk of starting a holy war:

I've done the experiment a number of times (OK, OK, I always miss a few
scapes), and at my location the garlic with uncut scape is about half size
at maturity compared to bulbs that had their scapes cut and made into
pesto. If you have unlimited soil fertility, there may be less difference.
And letting the scapes mature and produce bulbils is a good way to
propagate a variety without transferring any soil-borne diseases.

Keep an eye on that softneck; sometimes they put up a scape just to mess
with you.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/4 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

cutting onion (etc) tops?
 

George wrote:
1. We have some (red) onions growing. I've read
(http://sweetcornorganicnursery.com/s...rge-Bulbs.html
) that cutting the greens produces bigger bulbs. (They have a fairly
elaborate protocol for this.) Is this a universal belief? I'd have
thought that they NEEDED the green part, for the photosynthesis
thing. I do cut off the seed pods, when they develop.


You are right. To get big onions you need to have a healthy plant with lots
of leaves and good roots at the start of its life, when it comes to making a
bulb it then has the energy to make a big one. This doesn't mean feeding
them on lots of nitrogen as all you will get then is big tops.

David