ONIONS.

[powderman]

We raise onions every year to eat as green onions. This year I've planted several rows and have been replacing with what we eat at intervals. I have a 20ft row that has seeded and are now falling over. I want to dry and store them. I want to keep a bunch of the seed heads but am unsure when to take them. One guy says that you take the head when it turns black. Others say to cut them off when the stalks fall over and let them dry in a paper bag. I  picked up some info yesterday from our local ag agent. I remember my Dad tying them up and hanging them outside to dry and cure, a neighbor laid his on a screen in the shade to dry and cure. I have several mesh potato sacks I'm going to put them in. Never raised any to keep before so I'd appreciate any info I can get. POWDERMAN. 

[charles p]

My wife got the blooms from a neighbors leeks.  She tied the stems together and hung them upside down with the heads in a clear plastic bag.  The seeds fall out of the heads and into the bag.  Once or twice a month we thump them to encourage more seeds to fall out.  Her seeds are small and black.  Seems to be working.

[blind ear]

At home we would always dry the onions on wire racks in the shade. Some of the best bottoms were picked out to use as sets. when planting time came the sets were seperated into single onions and planted. these were multiplying onions/shallots. Never tried to save seed for bottom/sliceing onions. Always just bought new sets for sliceing onions. eddiegjr

[powderman]

Thanks guys. Part of them are ready to harvest, I brought a couple of seed heads in the house and put them on a paper plate. I'll try hanging some heads next week. POWDERMAN. 

[steg]

I do mine the same way that charles p does his, except I use a paper bag. to start onions from seed you have to start early, around the same time you would start celery in your area, I keep them under flourescent lights (cool white) for 18 hours a day, and keep the tops cut back to around 6 inches.

For green onions I just start with sets on my deck, any good sized container will do, I like old coolers with the lid removed, and drainage holes drilled in the bottom. The trick is to plant them as close as possible in the container, for maximum production. Onions are heavy feeder so I'll give them a shot of miracle grow every two weeks or so.

Once they start geting ahead of me I'll start freezing them in containers, bulbs, stems and leaves in seperate containers cause the cooking times are different, freeze the bulbs in water or chickenstock, or the outer leaves will harden up on you, and come winter in soups they can't be beat!..............steg

[powderman]

STEG. What about the seeds?? I'm beginning to think that the heads shouldn't be cut til those little flowers fall off. A guy at church said his Dad always saved the seeds but they did not germinate well. I have about a 10 ft row I'm going to fertilize and water, kinda baby them, and let the flowers fall from them before harvesting the onions and seeds. It's powerful dry here. We even save wash water for the garden, the plants seem to really like it. Anybody else do this??? No rain and temps in the 90s for the past 3 weeks. It's 1035 pm and the temp is still 88 deg.  POWDERMAN. 

[steg]

powderman I wait till the flowers turn a grayish color and you can actually see the seeds in them, thats when I'll carefully cut them so I don't loose the seeds.
The seeds are only really viable for one year at best, you can't save them from year to year, they won't really sprout well or at all the following year, as far as using wash water on your plants, thats an old-timers trick, yep the plants love the small ammounts of posphates in the water, and thrive on them, BTW if you let those flowers go that long all the seeds will be lost................steg

[Swampman]

I just leave the bulbs in the ground and cut the tops off to eat.  They keep coming back for a long long time.