Want to replant onions - can I do it that way?

My onions flopped AGAIN. I'm quite sure that it's because I got tired of hauling water from the creek to water the garden. Anyway, I just went out and took out the onions I had planted, no matter what size they were. The largest was maybe 1-1/2 inches wide. Can I use those onions as sets and re-plant for fall harvest? In the back of my head it seems like I remember you can't but I really don't know.

:scratch:

I'm confused. I thought that onions were ready when they flopped?

LOL, I think what Bec means is that they failed, not that the tops flopped over (which means the onions are ready).

Bec, I don't know the answer to your question, but why not try it? You won't be losing much, just a couple of small onions Then you can tell us how it goes!

I tried this with shallots and it was a no go. I suggest saving those a sets for next season. You could put a few in the ground now and see if they root. If they do, you know your good to go. If they don't, they will most likely rot.
By the way, what kind of onions are they?

I planted a lot of vidalia onion sets, which I think I planted too late, but I also planted a lot of red (purple) onion sets. Most only grew to about twice the size of the original size and a lot just non-existent. I'm guessing that they turned into compost. At the very beginning the purple onions seemed to be doing well growing shoots (that's when I was faithfully watering them) but I really think it was the high temperatures we had this summer plus I quit watering. Not that I was being all that lazy, I just got tired of hauling 50 gallons of water (5 gallons at a time) up hill from the creek to my garden every or every other day. I didn't want to use city water for my garden because I know how much that increased our water bill last year. Yikes!



I did plant some of the onions yesterday as you suggested and am hoping for the best. I just thought if someone know it wouldn't work I wouldn't waste my time with it. I'm also planning on moving my garden to another area of the lawn when this season is over, farther away from the creek, in hopes critters (most likely muskrats) will leave it alone. Something was eating all the lower tomatoes and now has eaten more than half of my butternut and acorn squashes.