Taiji
Greener Thumb
Posts: 921
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:19 am
Location: Gardening in western U.P. of MI. 46+ N. lat. elev 1540. zone 3; state bird: mosquito

Onion seedlings getting too big

I'm growing some onions from seeds in containers (Utah jumbo and Ailsa Craig) but they're getting too big. Am taking them to the U.P. of Michigan in about 3 weeks and so can't plant them out now. Wondered if I can pull them up, wash off the dirt and let air dry?
Then just transport them in a bundle, maybe in a paper sack for planting later? Have bought some at the big box stores in bundles like that, they seem kind of dry.

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I don’t know ... but 3 weeks is a bit tight. I wonder if you could keep them in the Veg drawer of the refrigerator to slow down growth ... but then I guess they would become light starved if kept in the dark too long ... maybe just during the day?

... what do you mean by “too big”? If leaves aren’t getting too tall, you can trim them shorter. (and use the green scallions for garnish, etc.)

I feel like you wouldn’t want to pull them and let dry out much more than 1 week before planting? 2 weeks feels like a stretch. But again, I don’t know for sure.

Vanisle_BC
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1354
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)

Like Applestar, I wonder why not just trim the leaves back. If you want to take them out of the ground, my suggestion is to wash dirt off the roots then bundle them with roots wrapped in wet newspaper inside a plastic baggie. Not sure where you could keep them or for how long before replanting.

Taiji
Greener Thumb
Posts: 921
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:19 am
Location: Gardening in western U.P. of MI. 46+ N. lat. elev 1540. zone 3; state bird: mosquito

Vanisle_BC wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 8:08 am
Like Applestar, I wonder why not just trim the leaves back. If you want to take them out of the ground, my suggestion is to wash dirt off the roots then bundle them with roots wrapped in wet newspaper inside a plastic baggie. Not sure where you could keep them or for how long before replanting.

Thx. I probably will just end up continuing to prune the leaves and take the containers. I just thought they might get too crammed together in there and choke each other out. And it would be easier for me to just work with a small bundle or two. I thought of the wet newpaper idea too, but then worried about mold or mildew.

greenstubbs
Senior Member
Posts: 274
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 6:41 pm
Location: Far Upper Alabama

Thin and use those as green onions, onions can be harvested at any stage in it's life cycle.

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

I missed this thread. Too late now. LOL. Lots of new threads and new posts never appear in my email and never appear as red flags on the forum to alert me I have not read this yet ???

You can cut onion leaves off shorter, leave the whole plant about 1 ft long. The day you travel take the pot with soil or remove soil then wrap onions in wet paper towels. Put onion bundle in a plastic bag. When you arrive in UP plant the whole onion bundle until you have time to plant onions a bed or rows.

How long did it take for your seeds to become plants large enough to transplanted?



Return to “Onion Gardening Forum”