Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Onion - is a perennial edible?
Last year I had an onion start to sprout in the cupboard.
Just for the hell of it I suspended it over a glass of water until some roots developed then planted it out in the garden. It didn't do at all well - the top growth died off. However, this year it is growing again and looking quite healthy. Now, I am assuming that the onion is just another perennial which stores energy in bulbs and in the wild propogates via seed. So it may produce a viable bulb after another season's growth. Is the bulb large each year, or is the first year (grown from seed) or second year (grown from sets) the optimum time to harvest? Alternatively it may flower and be just another Alium in the flower bed without producing much in the way of food. This could, of course, turn out to be a way of recycling onions which have been in the cupboard too long :-) Cheers Dave R |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Onion - is a perennial edible?
"David WE Roberts" wrote in message ... Last year I had an onion start to sprout in the cupboard. Just for the hell of it I suspended it over a glass of water until some roots developed then planted it out in the garden. It didn't do at all well - the top growth died off. However, this year it is growing again and looking quite healthy. Now, I am assuming that the onion is just another perennial which stores energy in bulbs and in the wild propogates via seed. So it may produce a viable bulb after another season's growth. Is the bulb large each year, or is the first year (grown from seed) or second year (grown from sets) the optimum time to harvest? Alternatively it may flower and be just another Alium in the flower bed without producing much in the way of food. This could, of course, turn out to be a way of recycling onions which have been in the cupboard too long :-) I too, occasionally have these secret onions, but I never thought of planting them out - I use the shoots like chives. Let me know how you get on but my feeling is that you will just get a flower - which is not all bad, you can save the seed! Tina |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Onion - is a perennial edible?
"Christina Websell" wrote in message ... "David WE Roberts" wrote in message ... Last year I had an onion start to sprout in the cupboard. Just for the hell of it I suspended it over a glass of water until some roots developed then planted it out in the garden. It didn't do at all well - the top growth died off. However, this year it is growing again and looking quite healthy. Now, I am assuming that the onion is just another perennial which stores energy in bulbs and in the wild propogates via seed. So it may produce a viable bulb after another season's growth. Is the bulb large each year, or is the first year (grown from seed) or second year (grown from sets) the optimum time to harvest? Alternatively it may flower and be just another Alium in the flower bed without producing much in the way of food. This could, of course, turn out to be a way of recycling onions which have been in the cupboard too long :-) I too, occasionally have these secret onions, but I never thought of planting them out - I use the shoots like chives. Let me know how you get on but my feeling is that you will just get a flower - which is not all bad, you can save the seed! Tina Just noticed a suspiciously flower like stalk growing from the base. The onion leaves look good and healthy. Now is the time to decide if I should cut any flowers off before they form. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Onion - is a perennial edible?
David WE Roberts wrote:
"Christina Websell" wrote in message ... "David WE Roberts" wrote in message ... Last year I had an onion start to sprout in the cupboard. Just for the hell of it I suspended it over a glass of water until some roots developed then planted it out in the garden. It didn't do at all well - the top growth died off. However, this year it is growing again and looking quite healthy. Now, I am assuming that the onion is just another perennial which stores energy in bulbs and in the wild propogates via seed. So it may produce a viable bulb after another season's growth. Is the bulb large each year, or is the first year (grown from seed) or second year (grown from sets) the optimum time to harvest? Alternatively it may flower and be just another Alium in the flower bed without producing much in the way of food. This could, of course, turn out to be a way of recycling onions which have been in the cupboard too long :-) I too, occasionally have these secret onions, but I never thought of planting them out - I use the shoots like chives. Let me know how you get on but my feeling is that you will just get a flower - which is not all bad, you can save the seed! Tina Just noticed a suspiciously flower like stalk growing from the base. The onion leaves look good and healthy. Now is the time to decide if I should cut any flowers off before they form. Dried seed-heads of many of the onion family make quite a decent show in a vase, and you don't have to do anything to them for several years. A good bunch of cereal picked and dried before it's quite ripe looks even nicer. I think I kept a couple of these, er, "arrangements" for maybe as long as twenty years until I moved house. I never found out a foolproof way of dusting them, either, which was good. -- Mike. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Onion - is a perennial edible?
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message ... David WE Roberts wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote in message Dried seed-heads of many of the onion family make quite a decent show in a vase, and you don't have to do anything to them for several years. A good bunch of cereal picked and dried before it's quite ripe looks even nicer. I think I kept a couple of these, er, "arrangements" for maybe as long as twenty years until I moved house. I never found out a foolproof way of dusting them, either, which was good. LOL! If you ever watched the programmes about Big Posh Mansions with delicate expensive porcelain and stuff in you will find that they "dusted" them by holding a vacuum cleaner with old tights or some such thing over the nozzle an appropriate distance away. So it is possible to "dust" delicate things if you want to. I have a Dyson so there would have to be a seriously strong sock on the nozzle waved over it or the whole precious thing would be up its tube.. However, I'm with you. Never dust anything you have an excuse not to ;-) Tina |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Onion - is a perennial edible?
"Sacha" wrote in message ... On 2010-04-29 18:12:18 +0100, "Christina Websell" said: "Mike Lyle" wrote in message ... David WE Roberts wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote in message Dried seed-heads of many of the onion family make quite a decent show in a vase, and you don't have to do anything to them for several years. A good bunch of cereal picked and dried before it's quite ripe looks even nicer. I think I kept a couple of these, er, "arrangements" for maybe as long as twenty years until I moved house. I never found out a foolproof way of dusting them, either, which was good. LOL! If you ever watched the programmes about Big Posh Mansions with delicate expensive porcelain and stuff in you will find that they "dusted" them by holding a vacuum cleaner with old tights or some such thing over the nozzle an appropriate distance away. So it is possible to "dust" delicate things if you want to. I have a Dyson so there would have to be a seriously strong sock on the nozzle waved over it or the whole precious thing would be up its tube.. However, I'm with you. Never dust anything you have an excuse not to ;-) Tina A very soft paintbrush (un-used, of course) is perfect for fiddly china and lampshades. I haven't tried dusting the garden! And I will not be doing either. If my Dyson cannot dust it it doesn't get dusted. I work 5/7 and don't want to spend those precious two days doing anything else except attending to my chickens, doing a bit of gardening and cooking, and listening to birdsong. Tina |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Onion Seeds versus Onion Sets | United Kingdom | |||
Onion Seeds versus Onion Sets | Edible Gardening | |||
Color not edible #2 - Color not edible.jpg (1/1) | Garden Photos | |||
Perennial questions | Gardening |