Onions and garlic going to flower leave 'em or not?

[gixxerific]

I have some onion and garlic that are going to flower. I know they will not produce any more bulb at this time. But should I leave them in the ground and let them flower. Possibly attracting some of the good guy's to help patrol my garden. Or should I just pull them now. Not sure if they will rot after this stage has set in and cause more problems down the road.

So I'm asking not thinking about getting a bigger harvest does it matter if they stay or go?

[TZ -OH6]

Flowering or just sending up scapes? Garlic scapes are wonderful to eat. I like them sauteed in butter and olive oil. If they are flowering then you probably can just leave them. The damage is done as far as energy going into growing the scape vs bulb.

[gixxerific]

I didn't think about scapes. But looking at them I think they are all onions. This is my first time with garlic and they are sometimes hard to tell apart.

[applestar]

I clipped off some of the scapes to eat but left a few (onions) to flower and produce seeds and have been pulling the rest (of the bolted ones) for green onions and "green" garlic.

[garden5]

Hey Gix. Sorry to hear about your onions bolting, mine are doing great (at least I think they are :rolleyes: ) so far.

I'm not aware of any great benefits that onion flowers present to the garden, so I'd just pull the onions and eat them since they don't store well once they send up a flower shoot. That is, of course, unless you want some seed.

[gixxerific]

G5 you well know our problems with onions. I haven't kept in touch since it isn't worth talking about how horribly they have done at least the ones I seeded. I think I will stay with sets until I figure out the best way.

But don't fear not all of them are bolting just a few. I do have a ton growing and some have decent sized bulbs. I dug around a few today to check on them.

I can say the ones I put in pots are doing way better than those in the ground.

Carrots too, at least those in pots, I even picked a few carrots today that were decent size and straight.

[DoubleDogFarm]

gix,

I didn't think about scapes. But looking at them I think they are all onions. This is my first time with garlic and they are sometimes hard to tell apart.

You may confuse garlic with leeks, but onions are total different. Onions have a tube leaf where garlic and leeks are flat. Easy to tell apart.

Cut the scape off your garlic after they form two curls. Onions that have gone to seed, will end up with a woody center. This is true with leeks also.

Eric

[BrianSkilton]

Hmm, some of my onions bolted at the beginning of May due to the 90 degree temperatures. I wonder if I should just pull all my onions now, they never even formed a bulb. My garlic are growing scapes and have curled once already, I guess I should pull them all as well? If you cut off the scapes, will they still bulb. I pulled one the other day, and they bulbed a little bit. This garlic was overwintered, under straw, so it's been growing all spring, and finally formed the scapes last week.

[DoubleDogFarm]

brian,

Pull one onion and try before pulling the rest.

Garlic, Only cut the scapes off. Just don't allow more than two loops. They will continue to form bulbs. Harvest your garlic after about 40% of the plant has browned.

Sounds like your garlic and mine are on the same page. Planted last fall. Grew about 3" and wintered over. Mine started producing scapes late last week and have single loops. I will be harvesting the scapes and selling them at the Farmers Market next Saturday.

Eric

[gixxerific]

Good info on the 2 loops and cut for garlic. I should have pulled some of my onions today, but there is always tomorrow.

[stella1751]

What does a scape look like? The garlic I planted last fall are about 2' tall now. Eventually I was going to ask what I was supposed to do with them, so this conversation is interesting. I don't think they're doing anything odd, not yet, anyway, but I wouldn't know. Once they are done scaping, is that when you pull them?

Does anyone have a photo he or she can post of a garlic with scapes?

[gixxerific]

What does a scape look like? The garlic I planted last fall are about 2' tall now. Eventually I was going to ask what I was supposed to do with them, so this conversation is interesting. I don't think they're doing anything odd, not yet, anyway, but I wouldn't know. Once they are done scaping, is that when you pull them?

Does anyone have a photo he or she can post of a garlic with scapes?

I had to look it up myself check [url=https://www.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Byu&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=garlic+scapes&revid=1374068735&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=d0cVTN3bDZCpnQel85yCDA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDgQsAQwAw]this[/url] out.

[jal_ut]

I just cut the flowers off the onions and let them grow until harvest time. They still make bulbs here. I don't know what onions do in other parts of the world.

You can harvest onions anytime. If you want dry onions in the fall you have to let them grow until the tops fall over.

[stella1751]

Gix, those are lovely! Thanks. I definitely have none of those scapes, just a few 2' flat spikes on each one, widening at the base to what looks like an onion, only I know it's garlic. They look frail, but over the past few months they've withstood some gale-force winds, a spot of hail, and two snows, so they are clearly tougher than they look.

What's next? If they don't bolt (I.e., make a flower, which was what I thought they were going to do), do they now make scapes, which I cut off?

DoubleDogFarm wrote, "Only cut the scapes off. Just don't allow more than two loops. They will continue to form bulbs. Harvest your garlic after about 40% of the plant has browned." What happens if I allow them to double-loop? Do they bolt?

DoubleDogFarm, you also wrote that you will sell your scapes at the Farmer's Market, so I am assuming people like these. Does everyone, as does TZ-OHZ, eat them "sauteed in butter and olive oil"?

Sorry to ask so many questions. I shoved some cloves in frozen sod after reading a Jal-UT post last fall, and no one was more amazed than I when every clove but one, which wound up lying on top of the bed, produced. Now I don't know what to do with them. I give most of my produce to the church, but I'm betting even the nuns don't know what a scape is, so I might be stuck with these

Embarrassing postscript: I thought they would flower, so I put them out next to the street so passersby could enjoy their beauty . . .

[jal_ut]

Here is the bloom of elephant garlic. Elephant garlic is not a true garlic even though it smells and tastes nearly the same. It has flowers instead of scapes. If you want some bloom for show plant elephant garlic.

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/elephant_garlic.jpg[/img]

[jal_ut]

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/onions_08.jpg[/img]

gix, these are onions from last year. The photo was taken mid August. As you can see the onion bulb forms about half out of the ground. These are almost ready for harvest, but I let them go for a while so the tops will start to dry up. If you pick them with green growing tops, the bulbs won't store as well.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I learned something about scapes this evening. Apparently they are only produced on hardneck garlic. I only grow Music, a hardneck garlic.

I allow two loops on the scapes, then I harvest the scape. Allow the rest of the plant to form a nice big bulb. Hopefully

Some information and recipes for scapes here:

https://www.moscowfood.coop/archive/scape.html

[applestar]

Jal, those elephant garlic flowers look like candidates for my Front Yard Edible Landscaping Project! Getting some this Fall to plant

BTW I found one of the Egyptian onions when I was comparing scapes -- I.e. I was walking around looking at all the onions, chives, and garlic to see which ones have scapes and which ones don't and are likely to bulb well.

[garden5]

Jal, the sight of those plump onions in the dirt looks as good to me as the beautiful vistas you usually post! I hope I'll have the same sight in my garden this August.

[TZ -OH6]

I don't think mine would have made two loops. They bent over and tried to loop but seemed too heavy.... maybe from a top dressing of nitrogen I put on because of yellow leaf tips. Anyway, they were big and I wanted to get them off so more energy would go to the bulbs. I still have a bunch out there from a later planting that are about ready for thecook pot.



After a search for garlic scape recipes on google it seems a lot of people get excited about scape pesto. I tried it, but am not a fan of pestos in general so I won't be making it again.

[gixxerific]

Jal I let mine go till the die off. Though they are normally small yet good. I will just cut off the flowers and let them grow.

One of these day's I will figure it out.

[jal_ut]

Good luck. What I can suggest is full sun, fertile soil, plant early, like early April, maybe even late March. Plant sets and space them 5 to 6 inches. Plant long day onions for your location.

An alternative on the spacing is to plant 3 inches apart then when they are just right for green onions pull every other one. I planted some onion seed this year and very soon I am going to have lots of green onions. Those new little green onions are so good. I like the Egyptian Walking onions for green onions too. I plant the bulbils in the fall. By June you have all the green onions you can use.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Here are some pictures of my garlic. I've decide not to wait for two loops. Will be harvesting the scapes Friday evening or Saturday morning. Selling at the Farmers Market.

Today June 15th 2010
Galic row.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Garlic%20June%2015th%202010/DSC02299.jpg[/img]

Scapes.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Garlic%20June%2015th%202010/DSC02300.jpg[/img]

Bulb starting to form.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Garlic%20June%2015th%202010/DSC02303.jpg[/img]

[stella1751]

Thanks for posting the pic, DoubleDogFarm! Now I have a good idea what to expect. Mine are no where near as lush as yours, and they haven't even begun to think "scape," but I know I have my spacing right, anyway, and I do think one of them is showing signs of the bulb below

[applestar]

Alright DD. I'm sold on Melody garlic as well. Do they ALWAYS scape? Not all of mine are -- The ones I'm growing are NY White and German Pink which are supposed to be well adapted to NY and presumably NJ region.

I'll have to research Melody and see if I have good chance of success with them. Definitely another candidate for my FRont Yard Edible Landscaping Project.

[DoubleDogFarm]

applestar,

"MUSIC" not melody, you goof.

NY White is a softneck and will not have scapes.
German Pink is a hardneck and it should.


I've read that only hardnecks have scapes. If this is not true, someone please correct me.

[applestar]

Oh, right.
THAT would make researching difficult wouldn't it?

[gixxerific]

applestar,




I've read that only hardnecks have scapes. If this is not true, someone please correct me.

I believe this is right.

And It is my onions that are flowering not my garlic.