They’re quite easy since you overwinter them in the garden; no seed starting or set planting in the spring and they take up a little less space than regular onions since they multiply from the main bulb. Harvesting spring-planted potato onions. Potato onions are ready to harvest when the tops die. they are winter hardy here in north eastern Illinois. If any of your spring-planted bulbs have produced bulbs larger than 2.5″ (about 6 cm), go ahead and eat those, or … I wonder if an ‘ideal’ variety would have a standard size? Grow them in a sunny spot that has fertile, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8. If you plant the seed there is no saying what you’ll end up with. Should I save small or larger potato onions for replanting in spring I have read to save big ones and have read that smaller potato onions are best? Most of the stems have these buldges about an inch and longer. Big agriculture may have little use for perennial onions, but they are fantastic for home growers. We had a mild winter in SC and I harvested the green tops all winter to add to our meals. Not sure if they’re selling them yet, they might not be till fall since they’re fall planted. I blogged earlier this spring about the potato onions I planted last fall. An onion’s flavor is largely dependant on the soil’s nutrients. Here’s the link to the multiplier onion page: http://www.southernexposure.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=ONION. The green tops are also edible, though for me the real attraction is the bulbs. Eventually, conditions will get crowded and yields will go down; then, you have to renovate the bed. This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. Some crossing will still occur at this distance, but I’m assuming that ninety percent purity is sufficient. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012. Should I replant the small ones or the big ones? The potato onions which were planted earliest (September for us) will be ready to harvest first, at the end of May or early in June in our central Virginia climate. Your starter package includes a free 4-page growing … This summer I built raised beds for my vegetables. I’m glad they seem to keep a long time. I had a few of them planted in the raised beds in the back and a few planted in my front foundation border. Still, they seem to be more efficient with the flowers on the top side of each flower head. Fall … Last year we had tons of peas. Scatter seeds and press into the surface of the soil. By the time you harvest, they won’t have any live roots, as they go dormant in the summer. I planted half in the fall and half in the spring. If you are lucky enough to have space within your garden for a vegetable plot, one of the first things to consider is growing your own potatoes and onions. I’ll be saving a few of the medium sized onions to replant this fall. The spring-planted ones had the tops die back first and had fewer/smaller onions…the fall-planted ones did much better with more/some larger onions. If you allow potato onions and shallots to cross, then you will generally still produce nesting onions, but they may have a wider range of characteristics. The bulbs are warmed in 104 to 107° F (40 to 42 C) water for one hour (Heinonen 2014) before planting. I haven’t ever grown shallots or multiplier onions. POTATO ONIONS (PKT 6) ORGANIC: Allium cepa: Member $9.95 Non-Member $12.95. We have sold our expected yield. Thanks for sharing! There are a few short day or day neutral varieties grown in the South. Nearly every gardener grew potato onions and they were available in yellow, white, and reddish-brown varieties, the yellow being most common. I have a fairly extensive blog post about my experience with them here http://turkeysong.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/potato-onions/ If anyone out there has other varieties that they would be willing to trade or something, please contact me. Potato onions can be planted from bulbs, which is the usual practice, or from seeds. I had overwintered ones go to seed this year, but I’m not sure that was the only factor. They are well behaved, propagate themselves, and provide some kind of harvestable product at all times of the year in mild climates. The most reliable way to force potato onions to go to seed is by planting them in early fall and allowing them to overwinter. The research I’m talking about can be read here http://turkeysong.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/402/ I would plant some in the fall and some in the winter to see what happens for a few years until you gain more confidence to plant in the fall every year, but I think it will be Ok. Are you planting the Yellow potato onions? You can plant potato onions … The person who gave them to me says they’re better to plant in spring than overwintering in the garden. This is a common problem with clonally propagated crops like potato onion. I appreciate SESE for buying them from me and supplying to a wide area of gardeners/farmers. Growing Onions. Although it’s too early to plant hot summer crops like corn and tomatoes, you’ll be glad to know that there are two crops that you can begin planting now: potatoes and onions. Potatoes, onions, garlic, and sweet potatoes are nutrient … I planted a bit in the fall last year and a bit in the spring. This can be useful if you want to produce seed, but the flower stalks are best removed if you don’t want seed, as they tend to reduce bulb size. These bulbs of various sizes may be used for eating, storing, or replanting. Overall, though, one of the main benefits of potato onions is that they store really well and don’t require much effort to preserve. Like shallots, potato onions grow in productive clumps. My potato onions are going to seed, they have not formed bulbs yet so not sure whether I should trim the seed heads for now or just leave them to mature ? on top of the soil. I sorted the smallest of my sets out carefully last year and they really did make fewer, but larger onions. Cool! I like to let them grow in a bed for several years, harvesting as needed, and thinning a little whenever I pull a plant. This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. Onions keep best at cool, but not cold temperatures. The more people growing them the better. Most onion plants … If you isolate a single variety of shallot or potato onion, the seeds will produce a very similar variety, although seed set will often be poor. All varieties are hybrids, so they will not grow true from seed. When to Harvest Potato onions are usually ready to harvest by late June or early July. I had never heard of potato onions before your post. How to Harvest Main Crop Potatoes Mature or maincrop potatoes will be ready for harvest 2 to 3 weeks after plants turn yellow and die back—about 100 to 110 days after planting. For that matter, crossing with other types of onions may produce very interesting results. I would like to become a holding bank for potato onion varieties to help insure their survival. Susy Morris said: Harvesting Potato #Onions http://goo.gl/fb/JJktH #edible #perennialonions […], Reply to Tweets that mention growing and harvesting potato onions | Chiot’s Run — Topsy.com's comment. In colder areas the onions were often still fall planted, but they were hilled up to cover them slightly until spring when they were uncovered again which is how they prefer to grow, i.e. Just regular brown onions. My brother planted 6 3 years ago and his bed is not 10 feet by 3 feet and he lived in Eagar Az at 7,000 foot elevation. Bulb onion harvest time can begin when onion tops naturally fall over and brown. Carrots, parsnips, root parsley, and other tap rooted plants work well, especially in their second year when you are saving a seed crop. It’s my first crop in Southeast Alaska and I am seeing 8-12 bulbs growing out of each bulb I planted! This […], Reply to The Year of the Allium | Chiot’s Run's comment. This is the first year we’ve ever grown any onions at all. Green onions (new leaves) can be harvested fall, winter, and spring. Lift them gently when the tops have died down, and put them to cure on racks with fans. They’re kind of like shallots in that they multiply from a main bulb. Each bulb cluster of potato onions may contain many bulbs, averaging 2 to 2-1/2″ in diameter. Right now I am waiting for my Egyptian Onions to arrive I am very intregred in how they grow much like the Potatoes. That way it is faster to plant them out. I also have Egyptian walking onions and perennial potato onions growing in the garden. Slugs sometimes show some interest in potato onions, but if you keep the soil hilled up to protect the bulb, they can’t do any serious harm. After 3 weeks they have growen 10 inches. The Yellow Potato Onion is widely adapted for growing in most of the U.S., and is tolerant of drought conditions too. Starting potato onion seed is no different than starting other onion seeds. I appreciate all the help. They were grown in Finland commonly until the middle of the twentieth century and 22 varieties have been identified there (Heinonen 2014). If you're planting 150 onions/potato onions, and you plant 4 seeds per block (or plug) you'll only have to plant out 37 instead … Both of them were purchased from Southern Exposure in the fall of 2009. Evaluation of USDA Andean Potato Accessions, A Change to Our International Shipping Policy (Again), Crossing Between Solanum maglia and Domesticated Diploid Potatoes (Part 2), Potato Viruses in Certified and Non-certified Tubers, Crossing Between Solanum maglia and Domesticated Diploid Potatoes (Part 1), The Practicality of Diploid Potatoes in North America, Potato: What You Should Know About Potato Fruits, Potato Ploidy and Endosperm Balance Number, Top 10 Beginner Mistakes with True Potato Seeds (TPS), USDA Zones for Andean Root and Tuber Crops, Book Review: Pandora’s Potatoes – The Worst GMOs, Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) and Relatives, Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) and Relatives. Another great thing about globe onions is their long shelf life. fran, I’ve just seen these in an Australian plant and seed catalogue and I’m thinking they might be a major goer. Mine have only flowered twice in probably 10 years or so. 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