All About Potato Onions Pt. 3: Harvesting and Curing
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Sometime in July my potato onions die back and can be harvested. Green mountain multiplier is ready a few weeks earlier than the yellow potato onions. They are pulled, trimmed up and laid out one layer thick to dry in the shade.
I no longer sell potato onion starts for the foreseeable future.
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The onions that are divide into cloves beneath the skin are the ones that are most likely to mold or rot. Eat those first and keep the rounder onions. It may be that there are ways to make them grow more round nice ones, but I haven't figured it out yet. Green Mountain Multiplier grows fewer divided onions that the heirloom yellow potato onions and any never varieties grown from seed should be selected for tendency to grow discreet, round, undivided bulbs.
Once the bulbs are cured they should be stored in a cool dry place with air circulation and checked through every few weeks. They can also be braided into onion braids which is a great way to store them.
This series has been very helpful, definitely the best information I have found on the web. I was given a few yellow potato onion sets by an elderly man who has grown them his whole life in Kentucky. He said when he was a child these were the only onions people around here grew. Im excited to try them!
That's so cool. I'd love to try that and see if it's the same as the one I had. I actually lost my stock on year and haven't replaced them yet. I need to get some back from someone I sent them to. let me know if you have extra some year and we can trade or something. thanks for commenting.
Man! When I first found your channel on quick glance, I thought you just chopped, and cured, and worked wood all day. LOL! I love your variety of skills and knowledge. I really appreciate the beautifully shot videos too... Thanks!
No, I have a ridiculous number of interests! I used to be really immersed in primitive skills and now more homesteading stuff and pre-industrial skills I guess. I used to try to keep it divided up, but the purpose of the whole skillcult project is basically to throw it all together since to me it's all on a level playing field in my mind and I always want other people to think that way too.
This multiplier series was very very helpful, will be watching more to increase my basic info and my skillset
Cool, I've been looking at videos of seperating a divided bulb into multiple plants to grow on the next year and these present a lot of opportunity...
I bought a pound of yellow potato onions last year and put them in the ground in the fall, in hopes that overwintering would force them to flower. Well, it worked. I've got dozens of flower stalks now. Will save the seed and hopefully develop some new, interesting varieties. Steven, let me know if you want some.
cool. I can't afford to take on any new ag projects for now. not til I get a new place.
Thank you for making this series of videos. It’s very helpful.
Very nice.
Thanks great series on an onion that's not easy to find info about.
Just saw this potato onion series, and it seems to be just the kind of onion I am looking for. Went to your page on ebay to buy some, but was informed that you probably do not ship them to Norway. So my question is: do you ship to Norway or must I try to find them somewhere closer to home? And compliments for another helpful, informative and entertaining video series.
Yeah, I can't ship out of country. Sorry. I bet they are there already, just a matter of finding out who has them.
Did you ever make another video on how to cook and eat them? I can't seem to find it.
I totally forgot about that! I should do that this year. thanks for reminding me.
I have 42 sprouted I wasn't expecting and 20 already bulbed to plant tomorrow. What am I going to do with all of these onions!
you are a great wealth of knowledge. I am trying to find out when to harvest my onions. I planted them last spring and am in Texas, so far they haven't dried up. They slowed down through the winter but never stopped. What do you suggest? I've just been eating the tops as needed but would like to try the bulbs too
I don't know. I think someone else wrote me from the south with the same problem, unless it was you :) It's my understanding that they are a traditional southern crop, but there may be a line at which the daylength affects them. Onions are very day length sensitive, so maybe they aren't getting the signal to go dormant. The typical cycle should be that they dry up in the summer, around July here, and can be pulled and cured out for storage. If you leave them in the ground they will resprout, or if plant them too late in the summer, they will fail to go dormant. You could try dividing some now to replant singly, but I'd actually leave most of them and see if they start to dry down in the summer. Once they are obviously drying down, I'll stop watering them, but it's not a matter of water or not, but they are on a schedule. If left in the ground, they weill eventually resprout roots and start growing again. Let me know what happens.
Hi , your videos are so useful . Can I ask you a question....... Could these Potato onions just be left growing in the ground through the winter ?
They can, but I don't really recommend it unless only using as chives. They will start growing with again and divide again into tons of tiny bulbs. If you want a chive like or perennial clumping onion, there are probably better alternatives. Also, all the roots die back, so they are sort f left almost sitting on the bed surface. Notice how easily I'm just grabbing handfuls of clumps and tossing them in the basket. Other perennial type onions may keep their roots under them.
Thanks . I,ve harvested mine but they are very small and I wasn't sure they'd survive the winter so I replanted them in pots . How about if I now bring the pots into our cool dry woodshed and let them dry out in the pots ? Sorry to ask stupid questions but these are new to me and I really want to get these growing over here in the U.K. I,m in the furthest south west so its quite mild here over winter .Thanks for getting back to me ;
I have only just done this , so I could just tip them all out again and dry them off .
If they haven't started growing roots at all, I'd just dry them back off and plant in September. If they have started to shoot out roots, just plant them out in the ground. From my experience, they will grow all winter and probably divide a second time in the spring. You'll have tons of very small bulbs, but that is a lot of good planting stock. Of course you could do different things with some of them to see what happens. I suppose there's no guarantee you're even growing the same one that I am either.
Thanks : ) You are a star !
Hello! I planted my first crop of potato onions last fall and this summer they are growing very well, but most have flower stalks. Should I cut the flower stocks so that the bulb has a chance to mature and grow bigger? Thank you!
I had this problem with mine too. I cut half and left half, so I'll weigh them at harvest time and try to decide which is best going forward...
Nice harvest. So you always let them dry on the stems before picking too?
I think I said that in some of the takes, but I guess I forgot here. Oops. I'll harvest them with a little green, but I tend to let them go close to totally dry. I'm never really positive what's best though.
I went to your eBay link but it didn’t work. Is there a way I can prebuy the Green Mountain Multiliers next crop? Thanks for the videos!
I actually don't have them anymore, sorry. Try ebay from late summer to early winter?
I ordered bulbs in the fall of '16. (These came from Canada). I had 16 and waited until spring to plant. Only 3 of those grew (some rotted during storage, some that looked good, simply did not grow). They are not dividing up like shallots. I have huge green leaves, but there are distinct divisions of the leaves (look like separate plants), I'm just not seeing a division of the bulbs above ground (like shallots). The largest is about 3 inches across. The bulb looks solid, but the leaf divisions look like maybe 5-6 separations. Not sure if I got a true potato onion or some kind of alien. It's now 2nd week of August, still very green leaves and no dividing of bulbs. No flowering. No sign of disease. Am I expecting them to have separated already or will they do that in a month or so? Any suggestions? I plan to order more, but these will be USA grown and from a reputable seller. Got mine from Esty but will not order any from there. Enjoyed the videos on potato onions very much.
There is a guy in Canada running a scam selling seed onion bulbs as potato onions. Usually they just don't even grow at all, but I guess you got some regular onions out of the deal. I got scammed too :(. makes me mad. I'll have the yellows for sale in September this year. My eBay user name is Paleotechnics. Promise they are the real deal. Most probably are, but that one seller has been running that scam for years.
I bet this would make good onion soup!
yeah, I've done that for sure. Caramelize them nice and slow, cook with wild mushrooms and venison stock :P
In another video, I learned that Eygptian Bunching Onions ARE potato onions. This was a surprise because I have those in my garden. Is this true? If so, that's exciting as I'd tried to order them last year and was told that the company wasn't able to get them. Also, I live in Rhode Island. I haven't noticed them drying up here. They grow a bunch of mini-onions on a fatter leaf (which I believe I saw in one of your videos) and I'd previously been told to plant those individually to grow "scallions." Currently, the bulbs are not developed enough (they've been in the ground for about 3-4 years, so can I plant the mini-bulbs and then use the larger bulbs starting next season? Will the mini-bulbs divide as well?
Well those are just terms not actual things and nomenclature is subjective and subject to change and inconsistency. But Egyptians grow very differently and are apparently a hybrid between two species, one of which is the group these belong to, Cepa. You can plant, divide or replant any of the bulbs. The main reproductive route is through the top sets, which potato onions rarely if ever produce. Many onions do produce them occasionally or frequently though.
Thanks. I did make an omelet using some of the Egyptian bunching onions and it was delicious!
can i plant these in march here in texas or is it too late
By any chance do you have any of your onions for sale right now?
I lost all my potato onions and just replanted a few this year to start building stock back up.
thanks for the vid lots of great info............i'm planting true seed this year within the next week (Australia) .......what would you recommend for the plant spacing for the true seed thanks
You can put them pretty close the first year. I"d plant them in flats first if you haven't to get them a head start. 3 or 4 inches is fine the first year because each will only produce one small bulb. Thanks for reminding me that I left my seedlings in the ground and have to harvest them since it has started raining!
I looked on your Etsy, couldn’t find them for purchase. I like that you say you can plant them for spring. Everyone else is not shipping till Fall 2022, wanted to try to grow them this year, hard to wait a full year to try them. You still selling them?
I don't sell those anymore. I actually lost all my seedstocka nd haven't replaced it yet.
Watch out for the scam from canada selling onion starts as potato onions.
@@SkillCult Thank you for the reply, great content and enjoy learning from you. Keep up the excellent work.!
Since globe onions are biennial, I wonder if the "parent" onion is more prone to be a bisected one over the "child" onion.
The thing with onions like these is that the parent disappears, or rather turns into the new onions. there are small growing points, like eyes within every onion they bust through the old onion and become new ones.
SkillCult Wow. I guess that makes them conjoined twins than.
What is the difference between Shallots and potato onions?
They are both the same species which also includes the great majority of onions. I think the real distinguisher for the potato onions is their extreme hardiness. A name is not a thing though. The white potato onion is very different than the Yellow potato onion. I bet if you put a bunch of onion experts in a room they wouldn't agree on the difference. These potato onions are pretty different than any of the shallots I've eaten or grown, but then so is a yellow onion over a white or red onion.
How have your seedlings fared?
I eventually lost all of them for various reasons. Some looked promising. I think it's a worthwhile project to work on improving potato onions.
Will you be selling potato onions this year? I would like to buy some.
I didn't grow any at all actually. I need to go put a few in the ground just so I don't lose the variety and have to re-acquire it. There are plenty on ebay, just don't buy the ones from canada. There is a scam selling onion starts as potato onions on ebay.
ok thanks :)
Awesome. How long do the seed onions store for?
I've had them keep up to a year, but they only really have to keep until fall or spring. They are often planted in the fall. I like planting them anywhere from the winter solstice through March.
That's interesting. But I suppose the onions planted in the fall still require a full growing season (or close to it) the following year? What kind of temperatures do they need to grow?
They grow only very slowly through the winter here, and probably not at all in colder climates. They don't seem to finish off much earlier than spring planted onions either. A little bit, but not a lot. They also don't get remarkably larger, at least not for me. Onions are on timers according to day length, so they finish around the same time. Very late planted onions will finish a little later, but just by 2 or 3 weeks I think. I prefer to plant after the winter solstice as they seem to go to seed less.
Hm. I was thinking of planting some allium crops soon, after I harvest the carrots and lettuce out of my raised beds. But perhaps I should be planting something that will be ready to harvest late spring/early summer, so that I can sow carrots and leafy greens in time next year. But growing some garlic and maybe something like potato onions would definitely be cool, and nothing says I have to plant an entire bed of the stuff anyway.
decisions, decisions... if you plant them too early they will divide a second time in the spring before going dormant making tons of tiny bulbs. I'm not sure how early you can get away with, but I think of Sept. 1st as safe.
I just planted mine .Thanks for the in depth video. Is there any reason why we can't mulch all those tops and roots. Sometimes it is not a good idea, or can we compost all that. Which is better? Thanks. Love your basket
I put them on the garden sometimes, usually on the fruit trees.
@@SkillCult Thanks mine are growing like crazy already. I wish I had known you before I would have bought yours.
@@rosewood513 I didn't grow them to sell this year and probably won't again. I'm not even sure I have any stock left to plant right now, but I can always get stock again from the hundreds of people I sold and gave them away to when I'm ready.