Amish Yellow Bottle Onions

[steve ok]

Exactly one week after planting, today I finally found that the first 8 of 96 seeds have sprouted. I can now stop worrying.

[steve ok]

Days 0-6 - 0 of 96 sprouted
Day 7 - 8 of 96 sprouted
Day 8 - 33 of 96 sprouted
Day 9 - 40 of 96 sprouted
Day 10 - 42 of 96 sprouted

[JRinPA]

I forgot to water that pot for a few days, good post, I'm off to water.

[JRinPA]

two pots from early June and the one from late June

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The early June planting is getting toward 1/2" across on some.

[JRinPA]

No sign of dying back yet. Early June seeding are mostly 1/2" to 3/4" bulb diameter at surface. Late June seeding mostly 1/4" with some 1/2".

[JRinPA]

Now what?

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Two pots June 5th (larger mixes)
One pot June 21st (mostly small)

[JRinPA]

I started some store onion seed a couple weeks ago and some more a week ago...and totally forgot about starting this bottle onion seed as well. I still have a generous amount from Pony's 2022 seed sent last spring. I also have a good number of bulbs ( harvest pics above) that I guess I mistreated - they were in the cellarway so 55F in a brown bag. So a month ago when I checked them, I found some sprouting. I graded through them again and put them in the onion drawer in the fridge.

So I can do 4 options now, as I understand these things.
1. start some of the 2022 seed on heat mats, as I started the standard onion seed. Transplant and grow these like normal onions, see what happens here in SE PA.
2. transplant the largest saved bulbs as bulbs, as soon as it warms a bit, with intention to let them bolt and produce seed for next year.
3. transplant the small/med saved bulbs as sets, waiting to plant until April, with intention to harvest this summer as bulbs to eat and store.
4. plant remainder of 2022 seed in pots ~June 12th for set production (like last year)

If anyone around here (edit: im berks/mont line) wants to have a go with these amish yellow bottle onions, let me know. I'd be happy to split off some of what I have.

[Tormato]

I started some store onion seed a couple weeks ago and some more a week ago...and totally forgot about starting this bottle onion seed as well. I still have a generous amount from Pony's 2022 seed sent last spring. I also have a good number of bulbs ( harvest pics above) that I guess I mistreated - they were in the cellarway so 55F in a brown bag. So a month ago when I checked them, I found some sprouting. I graded through them again and put them in the onion drawer in the fridge.

So I can do 4 options now, as I understand these things.
1. start some of the 2022 seed on heat mats, as I started the standard onion seed. Transplant and grow these like normal onions, see what happens here in SE PA.
2. transplant the largest saved bulbs as bulbs, as soon as it warms a bit, with intention to let them bolt and produce seed for next year.
3. transplant the small/med saved bulbs as sets, waiting to plant until April, with intention to harvest this summer as bulbs to eat and store.
4. plant remainder of 2022 seed in pots ~June 12th for set production (like last year)

If anyone around here wants to have a go with these amish yellow bottle onions, let me know. I'd be happy to split off some of what I have.

Seeds? Bulbs? Return postage? PM me.

I had 0% germination, last year, with a couple hundred seeds. I'll try to start the rest of my seed this year.

[JRinPA]

I meant local but I sent you a PM. This seed worked last year for sure.

[AKgardener]

Glad your onions are up and running mine are finally something to look forward to

[JRinPA]

Seeds? Bulbs? Return postage? PM me.

I had 0% germination, last year, with a couple hundred seeds. I'll try to start the rest of my seed this year.

You never got back to me on the PMs, too busy with sharks, I'm sure. Should be able to do that, if I learn how to pack some.

[Tormato]

Seeds? Bulbs? Return postage? PM me.

I had 0% germination, last year, with a couple hundred seeds. I'll try to start the rest of my seed this year.

You never got back to me on the PMs, too busy with sharks, I'm sure. Should be able to do that, if I learn how to pack some.

If they have any odor, I'd put them inside of a zip-lock freezer bag, inside of another zip-lock freezer bag, inside of a bubble mailer. I'll PM you my mailing address.

If you can spare some seed too, only a small amount, please, as I have plenty of (questionable germination) that.

[ponyexpress]

Hi, been away from the gardening forums for a while. Just started planting my onion sets as well as full sized bulbs. I did collect seeds from last year but haven't processed them yet. If people need seeds, send me a PM to get my address.

I still have a lot of seeds from 2 years ago (planted or gave half away last year) that I will use for sets this year as well as fresh seeds.

[ponyexpress]

Hey, question about Onion Seed Storage. I bought seed in Jan 2022 and not much of the leftover seed germinated in Jan 2023. How should onion seed be stored to make it a mostly viable for more than one year?

I keep my seeds in a zip loc bag that I press to remove as much air as possible. Then I keep it in my basement with other seeds in a cool, dark place. This seems to work well.

One mistake I made with growing sets last year is that I made a lot of sets but they're very small. Seems that many dried up over the winter. Need to give them more room so they can grow larger this year.

[JRinPA]

My germination with the 2022 seed was not as good this year under lights as it was last June out in pots. The store bought seed for other onions was not great either. I don't know what a baseline is for onion seed. Tomatoes, I figure it as 90% or better on fresh seed, nearly as good for 3 year old. But onion seed seems less viable, at so far. I will plant the rest of that seed 2022 seed in June for sets.

I have one pot of 6 big bottle onion bulbs for seed. They went out a week or so back. I haven't planted any other sets or seed starts as yet. I put out 3 rows worth of transplants and bush bean seed today...Think I will get onions out as companions to cabbage/broccoli in the next few days.

[JRinPA]

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My bottle onion starts and sets went out in the same bed...4 weeks back I guess. I covered them a couple weeks ago to try to keep the Allium Leaf Miners off.

Apparently, onions don't like being covered...

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I put an agribon turban over the pots as well...very disheartening situation with this pest.

[steve ok]

By August of last year I had lost all but one of the sets I was trying to grow. We have mild winters in the Pacific Northwest and I planted this one set on November 12, 2023.
Should I be able to save seed from this plant?
Will the onion be of any use?

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Amish Bottle Onion 2.jpg

[JRinPA]

Any idea why the sets went bad?

I should wait for someone else to answer. For sure I would keep that onion going and not trash it. I would *think* you should get viable seed and then multiple onion bulbs that could be used for next year's seed. But likely too big for sets?

This stuff does take a lot steps.

[JRinPA]

@Tormato did that stuff work out?

Bottle onions 2024

Most of my seedlings and saved sets started off fine, but then it got dry. They are in an 8" raised bed that did not do well with onions the very first time I tried onions. But i wanted them away from the chance a cross at the comm garden, so this was the only place. They were looking okay until I covered them with an agribon tunnel to keep off the leaf miners. Looks like I lost about half of them from while the cover was on. They did not like that cover, the big ones broke through it, and others just broke their leaves against it or withered under it. All were starved for water, since I couldn't easily remove it and didn't have drip set up yet. And it has been a real dry spring.

pics from 6/10
the top of the bed was the seed starts. About 3 rows across, and then it became sets, largest first.

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Before I planted the bed, I had already put out the largests sets I had in pots. To try to get seed. There are 3 big seed heads plus a small one at this time. That is from the 6 biggest bulbs. The second pot had the next six biggest, I guess, and they didn't set a seed head yet. I put agribon around these two pots for some of the time to try to keep leaf miners off. There are leftover sets put between the lettuce too, I'm starting to see some sticking up. They just afterthought, not expecting much.

THAT's where that grass rake got to...between the beds. I couldn't find that to rake weeds, had to get another one from the shed, an AMES one from 2003, plastic, 5 year warranty, still in good shape...

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Going to start the rest of 2022 seed this coming week. From last year, I figured mid June start. for my target medium size set.

[Tormato]

@Tormato did that stuff work out?

Bottle onions 2024

Most of my seedlings and saved sets started off fine, but then it got dry. They are in an 8" raised bed that did not do well with onions the very first time I tried onions. But i wanted them away from the chance a cross at the comm garden, so this was the only place. They were looking okay until I covered them with an agribon tunnel to keep off the leaf miners. Looks like I lost about half of them from while the cover was on. They did not like that cover, the big ones broke through it, and others just broke their leaves against it or withered under it. All were starved for water, since I couldn't easily remove it and didn't have drip set up yet. And it has been a real dry spring.

pics from 6/10
the top of the bed was the seed starts. About 3 rows across, and then it became sets, largest first.
09.JPG11.JPG

Before I planted the bed, I had already put out the largests sets I had in pots. To try to get seed. There are 3 big seed heads plus a small one at this time. That is from the 6 biggest bulbs. The second pot had the next six biggest, I guess, and they didn't set a seed head yet. I put agribon around these two pots for some of the time to try to keep leaf miners off. There are leftover sets put between the lettuce too, I'm starting to see some sticking up. They just afterthought, not expecting much.

THAT's where that grass rake got to...between the beds. I couldn't find that to rake weeds, had to get another one from the shed, an AMES one from 2003, plastic, 5 year warranty, still in good shape...

21.JPG22.JPG

Going to start the rest of 2022 seed this coming week. From last year, I figured mid June start. for my target medium size set.

Hopefully, I can get back to you late this evening, for a report.

With many garden plantings, I just "wing it" as far as knowledge of best practices. With these bottles onions, I really need to write down all of the instructions, as far as timing of when to sow seeds and when to transplant bulbs.