Onions

Today when I was looking over me veggies beds, I was surprised to notice that one of my onions was halfway out of the ground and exposed. I decided to pull it out because it's my first time growing them and I was curious. Well, it is about the size of the ones you get in a bag at the supermarket and it looks good enough to eat right now. Do onions have to be cured before you can eat them, or only if you are storing them? I'd like to put this one in a roast tomorrow night.

I eat them whenever I need an onion.... Curing is necessary for storing if you are going to keep them for later eating.

Why be surprised? Onions grow mostly above ground. The very bottom of the bulb is where the roots are. =)

cyndiehook is correct about the curing. Only necessary if you're planning on storing them for any length of time.

I was surprised when I first swa them that way, too. Like, uh-oh! What'd I do wrong now! Sure are fun to pick and eat, though. It's been a great experience, and they will definitely be repeaters in my gardens!

Same here. I even tried to put a few of them 'back' in the ground. Took me awhile to realize they were doing what they were supposed to.

LOL! Makes ya feel kind of silly when it sinks in, huh?

Totally. Plants are more complex in a lot of ways than people and someone neglected to tell me that in 18 years of school and 4 years of college. In the last year I have read that no one understands to this day how a plant uses Chlorophyl to turn sunlight into stored energy and that fact alone just baffles me. You'd think we'd devote some time/attention to that...

This message was edited Jul 18, 2007 4:01 PM

This message was edited Jul 18, 2007 12:40 PM

This message was edited Jul 18, 2007 4:01 PM

Whoa! That got pretty nasty. I sure won't ask any clarification on those comments. Don't want to know, it isn't worth it.
Margo

This message was edited Jul 18, 2007 7:28 AM

Sorry for my response there Eggs_Zachtly. I was upset about something else. I appreciate the info you posted.

jkehl, it's all good. Everybody has bad days. Apology accepted, and one is likewise given. =)

Cool!

I grew onions this year for the firt time. I had a bunch of seeds, but everyone said they are hard to grow from seeds, so I also bought some slips. The red torpedos are awesome (from slips), but alot of my seeds didn't germinate - too old is my guess. I did get a few valencia seeds from biscombe, and I'm excited to report that they are doing great! I can wait to pop them out and taste them!

Hi Sequee, where did you buy your slips? I can't find the catalog from where I bought mine and I want to check out their website to place an advance order. I can picture the catalog and everything, but the name escapes me.

I just ordered my garlic from SSE and I got the sampler package. They went quickly last year and I am so happy with the progress of my fall planting that I'm tempted to go out and sneak a few. I'll wait though, I'd rather let them get plump!

I'm a poophead - can't remember anything. I know it was something like Dixno Farms.

Hi Sequee,

I have grown onions from sets before, but this year was the first year I grew them from seed. Onion seeds don't store well, so you are better off buying fresh seeds for the year you are planting, unless you save your own.

I found the onions easy to grow and very rewarding, and I am starting new seeds for my winter garden in a couple of weeks!

Sequee, Dixondale is that name you want.