Have just come back from lottie, found one of onions which seemed to be doing well appears to be setting a seed head on. Only the one at the moment - should I worry?
Cut the forming seed head off and use the onion immediately as it will not store. If you leave it in the ground you will probably forget which one it was and then if you try to store it later in the year it will rot. This rot will spread to other stored bulbs. Eat it now as a salad onion- it will be quite delicious so all is not lost.
Me personally, I would snap the stem off as low as you can possibly get down and then not bother. I just leave it and let it carry on. I would be interested in knowing what everyone else thinks.
Hi Mossey i just snap them off like you , don't know about the storing of them as i don't know which ones tied to set seed , last year most of my onions stored well
I would just snap off head and leave in. It tends to leave a tougher bit down the middle but you will notice it when you lift the whole lot because the neck will not dry back as much, it will leave a sort of wide straw.
Does anyone know the answer to Wavy's question? Only I've got 2 onions that have started a seed head and I also want to know what to do with them. Seems our choices (according to the answers here) are (1) pull it up and eat it as it won't grow or (2) cut the seed head stem bit as low as possible and leave it.
I presume we are talking 'Japanese Onions' here and if so whether you leave them to grow or lift them doesn't really matter.
Japanese onions do not keep/store as long as 'maincrop' onions so all I do is leave them till I need an onion in the kitchen.
If I find I have a few affected in this manner I leave them growing to keep them fresh/crisp and pick them as required for the kitchen.
When I harvest the lot at harvesting time, I lay any affected ones aside to be eaten first as these are even poorer keepers!
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My opinion on why this is worse in some years than others is not down to the setts but down to the weather!
Over the winter these onions are subjected to more extremes of weather than maincrop onions and this can cause physiological disorders.
I seem to recall this didn't happen so much before climate change i.e. when the weather went cold as expected then gradually warmed up.
In recent years the weather has been so changeable with alternate hot/cold periods over the winter months as opposed to gradually growing cold then warming up in spring.
These warm spells cause the setts to spurt into growth only to be checked in a very cold spell and it is that is causing premature seeding!
As I said this is only an opinion!
Treat the earth well: It was not given to you by your parents, It was loaned to you by your children.
Onions going to seed !!!!
Posted - 17 May 2009 : 18:50:30
, don't know about the storing of them 
, last year most of my onions stored well 
