Why am I having such a hard time growing onions?

[theHandpuppet]

I thought onions would be about the easiest thing to grow on the planet, so why am I such a dismal and perennial failure at it? Every year I plant onions and every year I get huge, luscious-looking plants that simply end up flowering. My harvest resembles spring onions on steroids and they're hollow to boot.

What am I doing wrong?? ARRGHHHHH!!

[uppityperson]

1. reply to mark to find later. I replanted last yrs onions again this yr.

I am hoping they bulb up this yr.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. I haven't figured it out either.

Some years we get real onions. Other years, it's better to plan on just copious amounts of spring onions. I know that onions are sensitive to day length and that planting them too early or late is a recipe for disaster, but I have no clue what the secret is to nice fat bulbs.

Garlic and shallots on the other hand are idiot-proof.

GC, proven allium idiot.

[theHandpuppet]

5. I've had great luck with garlic and shallots as well

But I can't grow a nice, fat onion to save my neck. Go figure... :shrug:

[China_cat]

8. I guess I'm the idiot then

my garlic came up, was doing good and now looks like shit. I doubt if I'm going to get anything usable.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. Oh no!

That's too bad.

[bhikkhu]

3. Are you planting sets, or seeds?

I always plant sets we get from a local store, so I don't have to worry about short or long day issues - they sell what works here.

Do you plant early enough? In the high desert where I live I have them in the ground as soon as the ground can be worked and they do just fine. You can pinch off seed shoots if they do come up.

Onions like cool weather, so if you are in a hot area the may just not do well at all. In which case you might try planting in fall for a spring crop, perhaps.

[theHandpuppet]

4. I plan sets in the fall so they can winter over

Since this doesn't seem to work I'm going to try planting early spring next time. It just gets so hot in the summer I've been reluctant to plant them once the weather starts to turn, but I'm obviously doing something really wrong. Failed crop three years running now.

[ThomWV]

6. Here is a link that should help you out tremendiously

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2006-02-01/Pick-the-Perfect-Onions.aspx

Your question got me to wondering. Some years I hit it lucky and get great onions, more often however it doesn't work out that way. I don't know why.

So I went looking this morning and found a very good article on them. It starts with some stuff about them other than growing but its all worth reading. I should have known that the search would take me to "The Mother Earth News". Some things never change.

Side note: I always presume that everyone is familiar with The Mother Earth News. Maybe not. If you aren't all I should say there is information in that magazine, every issue, that can change your life for the better, but let me warn you, don't get carried away. We still have Volume 1, Issue 1 and the first five or six years worth of issues even after all these years.

[Shoelace]

10. thanks for the link, I found out why I can't grow onions

here in Oregon where we live, there's no such thing as "rich, sandy soil" unless you are at the beach. We have lots of clay to which I've added alot of organic matter, amendments, etc., but none of it has helped. I can't even grow garlic! They all flower and when I pinch off the flower stalks, they sit there and pout.

Actually, my squash hasn't been doing anything either for 2 years. No bees to pollinate. ;(

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. My first thought is you're using the wrong variety (day length)

Onions are planted per region by your day length. I, being in the southern part of the US, have to plant short day onions. I peeked at your profile and your in West Virginia. I'm pretty sure you would need intermediate day length onions there. Whereas people in the northern most part of the US plant long day onions.

I'd talk to your county cooperative extension agent and see what type they recommend.

[Blue Gardener]

11. From the WV Extension Service

This is the information they have about growing onions:

http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/homegard/onions.htm

Hope it helps! You can also try the websites of extension services in neighboring states, they should have some useful information as well.

[uppityperson]

12. I started planting leeks last yr, they grow well and winter over also.

I am trying "storage onions" and will see what happens, but the leeks were easy, they multiply so I have plenty for this yr's crop, winter over in the garden, etc etc. I had a few last yr, they made enough babies so now I have almost enough to eat all winter this next yr, with plenty of babies for green onions and the next yrs crop too.

[bhikkhu]

13. Have you tried vichysoisse?

It's leek and potato soup run through a blender and given a fancy name, but is wonderful. I grow leeks and cook up a big stockpot of this soup and freeze it to tide me over through the winter and spring.

[uppityperson]

14. We make potato/leek soup and blenderize it, but never made "vichysoisse" on purpose.

Funny thing.