Red onions leafy, but TINY bulb!

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

I planted red onions plants from my local nursery in mid-September and just pulled them up only to discover they're itty bitty! None of them really turned into bulbs. All looked healthy and green above ground. Only one of the plants started to fall over, but they were in the ground for so long, I pushed a few others over to see if that would make a difference. I gave up and pulled them up today. I'm a newbie and would appreciate any help/feedback!

For some quick background, I'm in Zone 8b/10 and it doesn't really frost here. The onions were grown in a raised bed with red cabbage (didn't do well at all--infested with little whitfeflies & eggs), but they were pulled halfway through the season. I used a 10-10-10 granular fertilizer at planting and twice through the season. They received water once a week (either from rain or the hose) during the winter and more in the very beginning. Help!

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Comments (5)

drmbear
10 years ago
You usually don't harvest onions until the tops start to die back. The bulbs will swell up only in the very last part of growth. The tops start to turn yellow and I usually wait until most of the outer leaves are brown, then knock over all the tops. Another few days, and then I will dig and put in a shady, dry, place to cure - for me I put them in my garage or even my basement (if the garage is too hot). You just dug them much too soon to get decent onions.
julebean
Original Author
10 years ago
I just pulled them up an hour ago--can I plant them back in the ground? They've been in the ground since last September, so 7+ months ago. That isn't too long? Thanks!
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LoneJack Zn 6a, KC
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Do you know what variety of onions they are? I assume you are somewhere in the south where short day onions can be grown thru the winter. I believe mid/late April is usually when the growers in Georgia harvest the short day Vidalia onions but then I purchased some at the grocer this past weekend so it maybe earlier. If these were not a short day type then that may be why they had not bulbed up yet. They do look like they might have just started to bulb before you pulled them.

I don't think you will have any luck with putting them back in the ground but it wouldn't hurt to try I guess. When onions bulb, about 2/3 of the bulb is visible above ground as long as they were planted at the correct 1" depth so it is easy to determine how far along they are. Drmbear gave you good information on how to tell when they are ready to harvest.

Tough lesson to learn but gardening is a never ending lesson!
julebean
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks! The roots were all still intact because they were so shallow, so I snipped the tops and re-planted them. Hoping for the best! They're Red Burgundy onions. I live in California where it doesn't really get cold until November or December, so I'll try planting them much later in the year.
LoneJack Zn 6a, KC
10 years ago
Bulbing of onions is dependent on day length. The onions know when to bulb based on the length of daylight. The amount of daylight that triggers a onion to bulb depends on whether they are short day like your Red Burgundy 12-13 hours, Intermediate day 13-14 hours, or long day 14-15+ hours roughly. These daylight ranges are when they are triggered to BEGIN to bulb. Like drmbear said you harvest when most of the leaves have turned and fallen over. Just be patient.

Good luck with the re-planting. I hope it works out! Please do let us know the results.