Help what do I do with my onions

My onions started dying last summer, I thought it was water and started watering well, they came back and over wintered, they are now baseball size and going to seed. They are walla walla sweets. how do I harvest them.

When the tips bend over the top, you are supposed to pull them and let them just "dry" on the ground for a few days. I grew up in Walla Walla, and that's what they did. If it's wet outside, bring them inside if you have a dry place to spread them out in, to dry.

p.s. save the seed for next year! :)

This message was edited May 22, 2004 1:35 PM

I'd cut the seed pods off, right away. Then knock the tops over with the back of a rake and let them "ripen" in the ground for a week (unless it's very wet and rainy). After that, fork them up and put them in a nice covered airy place to cure.

Walla walla onions don't keep very long so use them up and enjoy them! I'm tickled to hear they over-wintered for you like that! Let us know how they taste!

I do it the way shoe says only I just leave them out side on a hardware cloth screen as long as I don't expect rain. for a bit then move them inside my green house and use them from there. Knowing they don't store all that well we eat lots fresh give lots to friends and freeze the rest for cooking with later. Wash them and slice or chop as you wish and put in zip lock bags freeze and they will be ready to use when you wish and will be just great.

I overwintered some once and they were great and early when I did it again they got mildew which is a common thing with over wintered walla walla sweets in my country so I would have to assume you were lucky. Ernie

Walla Walla Sweets shouldn't be left in the ground - especially where Veeja lives - it's too wet there. He or She needs to pull them and put them in a dry place for a few days. Walla Walla is a very dry climate with hot dry summers. Renton is cooler and wet. They will rot in there if left in there.

I still recall the "sweet buttermilky smell" as we drove past the onion fields down there. When I visit down there now, in June, it doesn't bring tears to my eyes because of pain of the onions, but because of the beautiful smell I became accustomed to.

As I mentioned in my first post - that is how they do it down there, where it is hot and dry. Where you live, Veejee, you need to pull them and bring them into a dry place for a few days, where they won't get alot of moisture.

This message was edited May 22, 2004 10:54 PM

Veeja 3 They will not rot if left in the ground with the tops pushed over to begin the drying process. I am 100 miles due north of you and I do it the way shoe says and have for fifty years with four years off in the sixties to do a little service time. The choice is yours I have done it both ways in western washington and like the results I get this way better than pulling them with green stems. I suspision the onions in walla walla are pretty dry by harvest time unlike ours. Ernie

Shoe they will taste really sweet so will the ones I planted last aug and are getting bigger by the day.

This message was edited May 22, 2004 10:53 PM

This convo is ridiculous. I stated that you pull them to dry after the tops tilt. Then you put them in a dry place. That is how onions are done. Do a google search on Walla Walla Sweet Onions and ask the farmers down there, or get info on it at least. I grew up there. That is how it was done. I never suggested clipping the tips, Shoe did. I have never heard of that. Why, would be my question. To prevent re-seeding or?????? All I know is that you don't want them to rot in there, especially with the weather that has been offered to the Great Northwest lately. It's been especially wet. Pull them? Only if it's too wet, to at least get something. Otherwise, I'd wait a little bit longer. I do know the growing season is longer over there than in Walla Walla (zone wise) and they harvest in June. Not an expert over there, but also know the sweets there aren't anything like the sweets down in Wally World. We try - but they just aren't the same. Wrong climate, wrong soil conditions.

This message was edited May 22, 2004 11:57 PM

Karrie my reply was to Veeja3 but since you bring it up no I don't live in renton see where I said 100 miles due north ?Lots of 2 & 1/2 pound sweets grown here in small gardens. Can't understand why you label a conversation nutzo when you were not being addressed [smile] Ernie

I give up

Never give up, Karrie. I think this is a great thread, folks offering their input on growing onions, that's what it is, that's all it is. I don't think there is any "one way" of growing onions any more than there is only One Way to garden. What works for some may or may not work for others.

I understand what you're saying...if the onions are mature and the ground is fully saturated then heck yeh, get them babies outta there and to someplace safe, just like you would do any other crop in that situation. (I can't stand the smell of a rotten onion! Ugh!)

As for "clipping the tips" I'm referring to cutting off the seed heads, not the green tops of the plants. One the onion starts producing seed then the underground growth will stop increasing in size. Also what happens is the center of the onion will often-times become squishy/soft.

Ernie, thanks for you input as well. Fifty years of farming/gardening has surely given you quite a perspective and knowledge to share. Much obliged!

Veeja...As you can see, all of us here are definitely "onion freaks"! No doubt about it, we all luv to grow 'em, luv to eat 'em! Keep us posted on how yours do, okay? And by the way, I don't remember offering you a personal and hearty WELCOME TO DG!! See ya 'round the site! ;>)

ok shoe. It just got a little frustrating for me there - we've had pretty wet weather in WA State lately - my main concern is that veejee have some edible onions. :-) Thanks for the note.

Thankyou all for your help, can I let them produce seed ? they are just now going to flower. we have had a very dry spring hardly any rain so far. I have to water almost every day. Thankyou for the welcome to Daves. I should have lots of walla walla seeds available real soon.
Carol

Howdy Carol!

Yes, if you like, you can let them go to seed. Walla Walla onions are not hybrids and the seed will come true. If you keep watering them the onions will stay "sweet".

Hoping you have a great crop!

Here is a picture of them, which might help you in advising me Thankyou Carol

You-all onion lovers. Walla Walla is not even in the PDB. That is a nice picture Veeja. Since I am unfamiliar with pacific northwest growing conditions or the cultivar Walla Walla, I will refrain from offering advice only an admonition. Help bring the vegetable section of the PDB up to speed.

Good point, Farmerdill! My garden is looking great right now but I'm one of those having trouble getting pics loaded right now. (I think dave is working on that though.)

Carol, those are beauts! If you want to save the seed I say go for it! Maybe you can look close and pull some of the onions that haven't made seed heads yet and eat those and let the others produce seed for ya, eh?

Farmerdill - our growing conditions here in WA are very vast. If you look on the USDA hardiness zones - they are very very different. Walla Walla is in the Southeast corner, and very dry there during the summer. To the west of the Cascades it is very wet. I live 3 hours just north of Walla Walla now, and it is dry here, but our growing season isn't as long.

Very smooth shoe bravo. Ernie

Ernie...them Candy onions are lookng great! Can't wait to try em!
Bravo to you! Thanks.

Shoe you are more than welcome I hope they will mature for you. They sure start small and stay skinney for a long time don't they. The first time I started onions from seed I started to give them to the compost pile instead I said well its still early Feb I will just poke them in and If I don't like them by the end of march they get tilled. What they got was bigger than softballs and sweet as could be. Enjoy and keep me posted. Ernie

Karrie: Other than conversation with folks who live or have lived in the Pacific Northwest I have little actual knowledge of the growing conditions. It is a good example of why USDA hardiness zones have little meaning for veggie growers. The coast is zone 8 same as middle Georgia, but we all know the climate is quite different. I do know that Orgon and Washington Universities have developed many cultivars of vegetables specific to the area.

My point is. When we have knowledgable people discussing a specific cultivar in the forum, that cultivar should be in the database. Obviously the knownledge and experience exist.

With Walla Walla Sweets, it is obvious, according to this discussion, that you grow them differently, depending on where you live. Ernie grows his different than the farmers down in Walla Walla. But he also has completely different climate and heat zones than they do down there. Walla Walla and Everson are completely kitty korner to each other - as far away from each other as can be within the same state.

Shoe and onion crew I just read onions can be propagated by using the last inch of the root end to start another onion with. I don't see a whole bunch of good in this unless you want to winter over the propagated onions for early onions.

I know or at least I think my growing season is just long enough to make one onion mature maybe we should list this as a propagation experiment. I guess if one tried this with small onions right now there would just be enought time for the thing to make a small onion but I would bet mine will milldew by sept 10th.

Anyone game Ernie

I've tried that with leeks before, ernie. Had good success one time and ended up neglecting them the next time and they rotted...was my fault .

Reckon I better try again, eh?

Here's some info that was on the internet - hopefully I did the link correctly! http://members.aol.com/ovgguru/library/bios/bioonion.htm