elkhound
Junior Member
Posts: 63
Joined: July 2020
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Post by elkhound on Apr 26, 2022 8:18:02 GMT -5
ponyexpress,and others..yall might find this interesting. i had some bottle onions in a pot to be sure i got seed last year and in garden. both produced some seed. the ones in pot i just set pot against building and left sit there. well early this year as it started warming i notice green shoots popping up from them again.these are going into 3rd year.when i harvest bloom i just cut stalk off and left bulb. i gotta wonder what martin might have to say about this.
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Post by september on Apr 26, 2022 9:44:59 GMT -5
elkhound , interesting! Do you suppose they might multiply indefinitely from roots left in the ground? A source of green onions in the spring like the walking onions? We surely do miss Martin's take on things.
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elkhound
Junior Member
Posts: 63
Joined: July 2020
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Post by elkhound on Apr 28, 2022 13:02:46 GMT -5
elkhound , interesting! Do you suppose they might multiply indefinitely from roots left in the ground? A source of green onions in the spring like the walking onions? We surely do miss Martin's take on things. i have no idea...he was shocked at how the grew and the things they did. all i can say is we shall see. going to watch. i dont think they serve very well for green onions they are pretty small. i like large ones and in bigger batches..but thats my taste.
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ponyexpress
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Zone:: 6b
Favorite Vegetable:: alliums
Joined: June 2020
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Post by ponyexpress on May 11, 2022 18:39:25 GMT -5
i had some bottle onions in a pot to be sure i got seed last year and in garden. both produced some seed. That does sound interesting. Martin mentioned that these onions can divide. I wonder if the ones that produced a seed stalk withered away with the daughter onions living on? This behavior reminds me of my yellow shallots that divide and sometimes produce a seed stalk. I have been rereading this thread in preparation for sowing seeds to produce sets. I’ll have to collate all of the useful tidbits from Martin into a one page for these onions. Here’s a picture of mine. Some were planted last fall. Some were planted this spring. The rest were started from seed to see if I’ll get a full size onion later this year. Martin said that this couldn’t be done but we’ll see.
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Post by mchsheritagegarden on Jun 24, 2022 22:24:22 GMT -5
I know that it has been a minute since I posted last but I just wanted to update everyone. The seeds that I received from Spike have been patiently waiting in the freezer for the right time.
Today, the seeds were finally planted and watered in. Hopefully, these seeds will take off and become sets that can be planted out to grow next year. I will keep everyone posted on how they germinate.
MCHSHeritageGarden
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Post by spike on Jun 25, 2022 14:02:11 GMT -5
I am so excited to see how these turn out for you!!!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2022 14:44:44 GMT -5
I sure miss Martin, but he lives on, like Carolyn does, in many hearts and memories. Watching to see how everyone's onions do this year.
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elkhound
Junior Member
Posts: 63
Joined: July 2020
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Post by elkhound on Jun 29, 2022 8:39:22 GMT -5
i had some bottle onions in a pot to be sure i got seed last year and in garden. both produced some seed. That does sound interesting. Martin mentioned that these onions can divide. I wonder if the ones that produced a seed stalk withered away with the daughter onions living on? This behavior reminds me of my yellow shallots that divide and sometimes produce a seed stalk. I have been rereading this thread in preparation for sowing seeds to produce sets. I’ll have to collate all of the useful tidbits from Martin into a one page for these onions. Here’s a picture of mine. Some were planted last fall. Some were planted this spring. The rest were started from seed to see if I’ll get a full size onion later this year. Martin said that this couldn’t be done but we’ll see. the ones in pot just fell over at about a foot tall and done nothing. i have a few blooms in garden making seed right now.
i have to wonder if these started in winter and make slips to set out in spring would bulb up and produce?
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Post by mchsheritagegarden on Jun 30, 2022 21:43:19 GMT -5
Hello Everyone,
I just checked and discovered that the first seeds have germinated and are starting to poke through. I followed the directions and scattered the seed and lightly covered them in. Some of the seeds are coming in pretty close together. I have two types of Welsh Onions growing right now that don't seem to mind being right on top of each other, so I am hoping that these guys are the same. I am also growing them to have sets for next year so I am not worried about having enough space for bulbs.
Otherwise, I am pretty happy right now. My hope is that this is the start of a long relationship with this variety of onion.
MCHSHeritageGarden
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Post by spike on Jul 1, 2022 7:40:44 GMT -5
I know Martin is smiling down from heaven! So very happy they are germinating for you!!
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Post by ripunicorn on Jul 24, 2022 0:47:29 GMT -5
Is anyone willing and able to send any seed to Canada? I was keeping up with this thread when it first started but have been gone for a while and only now heard the new about Martin. I was hoping I'd have the chance to talk to him about his bottle onions but alas. I would be extremely grateful if anyone could send some to me in Alberta
Jordan
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Post by spike on Jul 24, 2022 9:44:13 GMT -5
Hello Jordan! Sadly I sent all my seed MCHSHeritageGarden. Hopefully someone else will be able to help you.
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Post by mchsheritagegarden on Oct 7, 2022 22:11:29 GMT -5
Hello Everyone,
Well, tonight the first frost is supposed to hit my area so I moved the sets today that grew and have them inside a garage still in the dirt they were growing in. I have a decent number of sprouts but many of them did not progress to the size of sets as I think they stalled in the hotter summer weather. I did see more sprout as the weather cooled in early fall but they did not have time to fully mature as a set. I have about ten to fifteen that have that distinctive bottle shape. The largest of these are about 1/4 inch in size which fits Martin's descriptions. I read some of the old posts and I saw that someone said that they stored them in their garage and had some success overwintering their sets. I hope that it works. If anyone did this, please let me know how it worked out for you or any suggestions you might have. We are really looking forward to planting these in the spring and seeing what happens.
Jordan...God willing, give me and my students time and I will hopefully have seeds in the future. Unfortunately, I am at the end of year one of the process so I am still a long way away from having seeds. I have done several seed exchanges by mail with people in Canada in the past (including a seed swap with a gentleman in British Columbia for some rare radish seeds) so it is possible and I would be willing to do it if someone else doesn't help you before then.
MCHSHeritageGarden
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Post by spike on Oct 8, 2022 8:59:01 GMT -5
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Post by september on Oct 8, 2022 9:12:54 GMT -5
I'm afraid all my bottle onions eventually dried up and disappeared this summer in the heat. I had one onion that had put up a seed head, but it took a long time to mature, and by that time the weeds had taken over the disintegrating onion bed and I don't know what happened, maybe I will have some volunteers that pop up next season.
Some years ago, I got some Egyptian walking onion plants from a friend out of planting season, and I stored them in the vegetable bin of my refrigerator for over a year -- I forgot they were there! It seems like if you washed all the dirt off the roots, and air dried them for a bit to get rid of excess moisture, you could put them in plastic and store them in the fridge. I was surprised at how well mine survived.
I didn't have much luck with overwintering the Bottle onions because mine stayed green and growing instead of drying up at the end of the season. Eventually I removed them from the growing pot to dry, but my garage freezes when the temperature gets below 10F and the cold extra bedroom is 55-60F which is too warm for dormancy. I lost 2/3 of the plants just drying up to be mummies , they were too slim to hold enough moisture over the winter. I probably could have saved more by wrapping them in damp paper towels and wetting them down a bit every week. If I put rooted things in plastic to hold moisture, they usually mold at the warm temperature in the bedroom . Looking back, I think I should have just let them dry down in the pot and stored that in a loose plastic bag without watering. Then separated them in the spring.
I don't really have any good advice for you, I love onions but don't pretend to be an expert!
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Post by spike on Oct 9, 2022 18:57:58 GMT -5
DITTO! Me too! My first batch of the Amish Bottle Onions, my annoying cousin came and took every last on of mine. Took Martin a while to talk me into starting over again with them I was so thrilled to be able to send the seeds to mchsheritagegarden,! I am sure they are in much better hands and I am sure Martin would be pleased!
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ponyexpress
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Zone:: 6b
Favorite Vegetable:: alliums
Joined: June 2020
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Post by ponyexpress on Apr 11, 2023 15:13:17 GMT -5
Hi all, I haven't been too active here but if you're interested in Amish Bottle Onions seeds, I have lots of them from last year's harvest. The tricky part was winnowing the chaff. I got most of it out but some chaff remains. Send me a PM indicating your interest and your mailing address.
Keep in mind that you want to plant these seeds in early June to grow sets. I suggest planting half of them and saving the other half for 2024. In 2024, you can start some seeds in January/February indoors if you would like to grow full sized onions from seed. I was able to do it last year. I will admit that growing sets is easier but takes longer.
This year, I'll plant bulbs again to get seeds.
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ponyexpress
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Zone:: 6b
Favorite Vegetable:: alliums
Joined: June 2020
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Post by ponyexpress on Apr 11, 2023 15:19:04 GMT -5
Almost 3 oz worth of seeds from last year's harvest:
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Post by september on Apr 11, 2023 19:28:33 GMT -5
ponyexpress , Wow! That's a lot of seeds! I am so happy that you are able to continue Martin's important project of saving the bottle onion from extinction. If my gardening energy was not slowing down every year (don't know know Martin kept toting those horse manure bucket to the very end) I would ask for seeds from you. But it turned out that this onion is a little too high maintenance for me at this point in my life. It's about all I can manage to start seeds that will be grown to harvest the same season. I had no luck with the winter storage. I hope others will jump in and help. Martin would be proud of you!
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ponyexpress
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Zone:: 6b
Favorite Vegetable:: alliums
Joined: June 2020
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Post by ponyexpress on May 2, 2023 10:37:59 GMT -5
I got a few interested people over at TJ who want to try this. Last call for anyone who wants to try growing onion sets. Send me a PM.
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elkhound
Junior Member
Posts: 63
Joined: July 2020
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Post by elkhound on Jul 17, 2023 4:52:57 GMT -5
ponyexpress,do you have any pictures of the finished onions you grew as slips in a season and not sets? curious to see the size they get to. also i didnt have good luck on timing martin had suggested on planting these onions seeds and its probably because i am so much farther south.the onions didnt want to stop growing,but anyhow i decided to plant my onion seed a bit later this time so i planted on july 4th. heres what they look like now.look at the weeds in the bagged dirt i bought.i have to get them cleaned out this week for sure.
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elkhound
Junior Member
Posts: 63
Joined: July 2020
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Post by elkhound on Oct 8, 2023 10:06:17 GMT -5
today 10-8-23 the onions are starting to get a few dead leaves on them.last time they didnt do this. i still have a bit of growing time on these i think. anyhow this is what they are looking like.
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elkhound
Junior Member
Posts: 63
Joined: July 2020
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Post by elkhound on Nov 9, 2023 2:11:04 GMT -5
results of planting at later date. pulled on 11-8-23..these look more like the ones martin sent me..minus the greenish tops. i hope they finish drying down ok.
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Post by september on Nov 9, 2023 17:20:02 GMT -5
I bet they will dry down just fine. They look well on their way now.
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karen1953
New Member
Posts: 1
Joined: February 2024
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Post by karen1953 on Feb 15, 2024 21:09:05 GMT -5
Okay, I realize this is an old post, but I have been looking for bottle onions for years. We always grew them in our garden as I was growing up, and they have not been available around here for decades. Is there anyone who could send me seeds?
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cjt422
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Posts: 2
Joined: February 2024
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Post by cjt422 on Feb 16, 2024 9:08:32 GMT -5
I am very interested. Please advise how/if I can get some of these.
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cjt422
New Member
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Joined: February 2024
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Post by cjt422 on Feb 16, 2024 9:17:31 GMT -5
I would very much like to grow these if you still have some available. Thank you. paquebot,
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Post by september on Feb 16, 2024 10:31:59 GMT -5
cjt422 you could try a PM to ponyexpress in case he still checks in once in a while. paquebot is deceased.
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