Slightly dismayed at my onion plants

[Taiji]

I bought some onion plants in a bundle a couple of months ago and planted them out. It has been chilly with some warm spells. But, I noticed maybe 20% of them have tried to send up a seed stalk already. I've just been pinching them off as they appear; does that help to discourage them from going to seed?

I had hoped that these onions would be my full sized end of the season winter onions, but don't know if they'll make it since they seem to want to go to seed so soon. They are a short day onion which should be good for this latitude. At this stage they are not even big enough to use as green onions. Maybe when the weather really warms, they might start growing better?

[Gary350]

I was always told to bend over the onion stalk ends, no need to cut or break the ends off. I lived in Phoenix area, west valley for 3 years, my onions did best when planted about first of November it was 70 degrees and sunny all winter they did good an never went to seed. It is fun to plant a garden but Food City has specials all the time 8 large onions for $1 is hard to beat. They call them brown onions because the dry skin is brown but they are really yellow onions. 8 large onions are about 2 lbs of onions for $1.

[jal_ut]

Onions are a cool weather plant. They should be planted early, there in Arizona likely January or early February.
Yes, short day onions are appropriate there so they will bulb up while the days are still short.
I don't go with that "smashing the tops down" story. Just plant them and stand back! Keep 'em watered.

[Taiji]

Thank you. So are you guys saying for the small percentage of my onions that are starting to send up a stalk with a little seed pod on the end, don't pinch off the seed pod? So, if it continues to send up the seed stalk, blooms and produces seeds, it won't affect the size of the bulb?