Gardening and Horticulture - Onions

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NotMrWizard
06-10-03, 10:36 AM
Hi everyone. Got a first-time onion growing question. I had an old-timer friend of mine who told me he used to mow the tops of his onions when he mowed the grass. He said this promoted a larger onion, as not as much water was lost in the tops. Anyone ever hear or do this?

Thanks!
Jeff

chfite
06-10-03, 03:50 PM
I am no expert, but it seems to me that cutting off the leaves would weaken the bulb and hamper its growth.
marturo
06-13-03, 02:27 PM
Hi Jeff

Please heed chfite's advice, do not cut the tops off of your onions.

We start all Onions from seed, & keep them trimed back to 3 inches, until they are planted. If you use Sets then you can cut the Scape or seed stalk off. The Bulb gets large & fat from from having those nice long green tops, not by cutting them off.

twelvepole
06-14-03, 09:32 PM
My parents were old-time gardeners and they never cut their onion tops. We gathered them at harvest and laid them over a screen door in an abandoned chicken house for drying and curing. We had enough onions to last us through the next growing season, despite the harvest of fresh, green onions in the spring and those that were added to the "kilt" lettuce.