Hi, Everybody,

Like the "Subject" says... How do I tell when my white
onions are ready to eat? Thickness or colour of the
leaves poking out? Or do I need to peek under the soil
a bit? Or, what?


Thanks in advance...


--
Guide To DIY Living
http://www.self-reliance.co.nz
(Work in progress)

Antipodean Bucket Farmer said:

Hi, Everybody,

Like the "Subject" says... How do I tell when my white
onions are ready to eat? Thickness or colour of the
leaves poking out? Or do I need to peek under the soil
a bit? Or, what?

They are edible as green onions or fresh bulbing onions anytime. No need to
wait for the tops to fall over and dry to pick onions for immediate use. (That's
what you will have to do to harvest them for storage, though.) Normally as onions
mature, they bulb will begin to project above the soil.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

Antipodean Bucket Farmer said:

Hi, Everybody,

Like the "Subject" says... How do I tell when my white
onions are ready to eat? Thickness or colour of the
leaves poking out? Or do I need to peek under the soil
a bit? Or, what?

They are edible as green onions or fresh bulbing onions anytime. No need to
wait for the tops to fall over and dry to pick onions for immediate use. (That's
what you will have to do to harvest them for storage, though.) Normally as onions
mature, they bulb will begin to project above the soil.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 00:35:31 -0800, Antipodean Bucket Farmer
wrote:

Hi, Everybody,

Like the "Subject" says... How do I tell when my white
onions are ready to eat? Thickness or colour of the
leaves poking out? Or do I need to peek under the soil
a bit? Or, what?


Thanks in advance...


I wait until the tops fall over, wither and dry. Actually you can eat
them at any time. Too much rain will encourage rot, other than that
they can remain in the ground.

I don't bury my onion sets. I put them just at the soil level. That way, they
are viewable. Actually, I use slips not sets. I just bury the roots. Onions
don't like to be too deep. When the tops die back, the onions have stopped
growing. However, if I need onions earlier I'll pull one and use it. It may be
smaller, but home grown onions are so much more flavorful than store bought.


On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 00:35:31 -0800, Antipodean Bucket Farmer
opined:

Hi, Everybody,

Like the "Subject" says... How do I tell when my white
onions are ready to eat? Thickness or colour of the
leaves poking out? Or do I need to peek under the soil
a bit? Or, what?


Thanks in advance...

Hi All,

if you leave your sets above the ground the birds will pull them out, at
least they do in the U. K. allso when the set starts to grow it will push
itself out of the ground as the roots grow, so if you do not bury it you
will need to earth it up to keep it damp or the roots will dry out. all so
white onions do not keep very well so it is best to use them first. at least
that is what I have found. hope this is of some use to you.

Richard M. Watkin.


"animaux" wrote in message
...
I don't bury my onion sets. I put them just at the soil level. That way,
they
are viewable. Actually, I use slips not sets. I just bury the roots.
Onions
don't like to be too deep. When the tops die back, the onions have
stopped
growing. However, if I need onions earlier I'll pull one and use it. It
may be
smaller, but home grown onions are so much more flavorful than store
bought.


On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 00:35:31 -0800, Antipodean Bucket Farmer
opined:

Hi, Everybody,

Like the "Subject" says... How do I tell when my white
onions are ready to eat? Thickness or colour of the
leaves poking out? Or do I need to peek under the soil
a bit? Or, what?


Thanks in advance...

Antipodean Bucket Farmer writes:
Like the "Subject" says... How do I tell when my white
onions are ready to eat? Thickness or colour of the
leaves poking out? Or do I need to peek under the soil
a bit? Or, what?

Onions are supposed to be grown with their bulbs mostly exposed.
I just forget why, probably they are prone to rot otherwise, but it was
specifically mentioned in a tv gardening program quite recently. But in
any case, since the roots are attached to the very bottom of the bulb you
can scratch around the sides and expose the bulb with impunity.

I usually buy brown onions from the supermarket, they are always
cheaper. But recently I bought 7 or 8 white ones and within a few days
every one had started to rot around the top. So it's a reminder to make
sure you allow yours to dry out well before storing. I don't see why
white should be any different to brown though.

You could initially pull every second onion before they reach maturity,
making extra room for the others which you allow to grow more and will
probably dry and store.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)