onions

[madchook]

Hello *waves*, I've been a lurker here for a few months but finally got around to registering!

I planted my onions sets early March I think (forgive the memory, I just had a baby ) and I pulled most of them this afternoon as they had gone yellow and kind of floppy, about half looked like they had been sat on as were bent over (plus slugs had eaten quite a bit of the foliage so they were looking sad). Having read another thread on here I think I should have bent them over and left them a while? Will they still be ok to use (I have left them laid where they were pulled, not sure how long they take to dry)?
Do you think it sounds like something was wrong with them or did they just think they were 'done'? The garlic next to them is also suddenly looking very yellow, but it is still upright so should I leave it a while longer?
The red onions I had next to the yellow were a right flop, they near all bolted and hardly grew at all ..... better luck next year I hope, this was my first go with onions and garlic, infact the first time I have grown in the ground at all and not containers...can't say it has gone too well (I have carrot fly too, despite enviromesh ).
Thanks,
Maddy xxx

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Maddy, your onions will be just fine, the tops do flop over when they have finished growing.
Some people do bend the tops over, but it's not something i do.
The onions won't take to long to dry with the sunny weather we are going to get.

As for your red onions, they are very prone to bolting, but you can buy heat treated ones that are meant to be a lot better.

It also sounds as if your garlic is ready for lifting too, but i would lift it with the aid of a fork unless your ground is very light.

A very warm welcome to the forum by the way.

[madchook]

Thank you very much OH! It seemed really early for them to be done I guess, I thought they would keep growing until Septemberish time. Shall lift the garlic this arvo

[retropants]

hello madchook! Your garlic will be ready now. July is the optimum time to harvest the later varieties! The earlier varieties can be ready as early as May.

[Granny]

I made the mistake of leaving my onions in the ground after they'd begun to topple over. Then it rained and some of them began to get a fluffy white mould round the roots. So I pulled them all out. I also find that red onions never do as well as white ones and mine have never kept as well either. That's probably why they're so expensive in the shops.
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Granny