Does anyone hill up their onions?

[Gary350]

I planted 2 crops of onions. First crop was first week of April. 2 weeks ago most of the tops died so I dug the onions up. Nothing larger than a ping pong ball but still good for lots of things, a few onions had green tops that are very good in salads, soup, baked potatoes, and many other things.

I had another bag of 75 bulbs that got lost in the workshop and did not get planted until late May. They are doing better than the first crop but not very much better. Most onions have 9 to 10 leaves with golf ball size bulbs. I am wondering if I hill them up to hold moisture if they will do better. I tilled between the rows last night I have plenty of loose soil to hill up the onions. I have been giving them nitrogen and it has been raining almost every day. Rain stopped 3 days ago and it is 95 degrees summer is here to stay.

[tomf]

I hill up or what I call mound gardening all the vegitables I plant. It keeps them airated and you do not compact the dirt around them by stepping on them. You just make sure you can reach to the center from both sides. So I say go for it, do it.

[jal_ut]

I guess I have been banned? I type an answer then it gets tossed in the trash....... hmmmmmmm

[jal_ut]

Duh what a dumb editor........................

[applestar]

Are you typing in the Quick Reply box, then clicking [ Post Reply ] to the bottom left? Be sure to click either [ Full Editor ] for more editing options (including emoticons ) or else click [ Click to Post Quick Reply ]

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[jal_ut]

"Does anyone hill up their onions?"

No. When planting onions I just push them in the soil far enough that they will stay put. When the tops come up if you get a blossom clip the blossom off. You want the plant to make a bulb not seed. Once the onion bulbs are well formed, you can push over the top. This will get it to start drying up. A bit later pull the onions and just let them lay on top of the ground and dry for a couple of days, then go pick them up and bag them. Always bag onions in a mesh bag and hang them up in a dry location where it is not going to freeze. They will keep all winter like this.

[jal_ut]

Oh, I might add: You can always pull an onion for eating at any stage of the development. Plant plenty!

[jal_ut]

I guess what applestar is telling me is, "Its not the editor, its the dumb operator"?

[applestar]

[xtron]

been a long time since I have heard of hilling onions.
IIRC...my mom told a tail of my dad hilling his onions one year thinking they would grow bigger, only to have them turn out more like shallots than onions. I learned from his appearant mistakeand never tried that.

[Gary350]

I guess what applestar is telling me is, "Its not the editor, its the dumb operator"?

I have typed a few replies only to have them vanish too, I think we both learned something new today. My father use to grow big onions he always said, kick the tops over they will grow into a large onion. I never paid much attention to gardening in high school I was too busy with school and my 3 part time jobs.

[Taiji]

What Jal said I think is correct. I think hilling up of onions is discouraged if you want to grow a large bulb. If too deep, bulb formation is inhibited. Put sets or plants in about an inch deep.

If you do get a plant that sends up a seed stalk you can clip it off, but use those onions first; the quality of that bulb is already compromised I believe.