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Square Foot Gardening

Onion harvesting

dazzlemewithcolor

18 years ago

When do you know it's time to harvest onions?

I went to a local garden center to get some onion sets as described in the SFG book. However, the only onions I could find any where were single bulbs. When I asked about green onions, the person there told me all onions are the same, it's just a matter of picking them at the right time. Is this right??

Next time, I hope to find some different onions, such as red.

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Comments (2)

donna_loomis
18 years ago
You can pick big bulb onions early and they will be much like a green onion. But not all bunching onions will grow to be bulb onions. Some will never be more than a "green onion". I don't know about zone 6, but for green onions, I usually just plant seeds because they don't take long to mature. Actually, I do the same for bulbing onions, but you may do better with sets. You will have a much better selection if you mail order sets.
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Jacque_E_TX
18 years ago
Donna is right about the selection--also, you are less likely to introduce allium viruses to your soil...

I will put storebought garlic in a pot, but never introduce that soil into a garden bed--you can see the black "smut" on the garlic bulbs, so you know they are contaminated.

I buy garden alliums (garlic, onion, shallots, etc.) from a reputable online source, or isolate the little darlings in pots away from bed soil.
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