Onions have me so confused!

I thought I bought scallions because the picture looks like scallions. However, I see they are called (Evergreen Long) White Bunching Onion by Burpee.

Is anyone familiar with these? I don't see scallions actually addressed in the book. However this package states thin to 3 inches which I believe means we plant 16 to a square. (Is my math good here? Asking because I made a wrong planting yesterday unfortunately with my beets.)

Also, I have been reading the forums and the web extensively about onions which will be used small (like scallions which I thought I had). I gleaned from this reading that the plantings could actually be planted closer and one site actually said to plant

ahem.... 36 to a square. (Personally I can't figure out how I would make 36 distinct wholes in one of those squares!) Can that possibly be correct?

This package says to harvest in 120 days. Would that mean there is a large onion at 120 days and the 'scallion part' (which I swear is what they show on the package--with no bulb or root showing which aids confusion rather than enlightenment) is harvested earlier? (I believe I have read here that others harvest their scallions prior to the plant forming bulbs--not positive whether this means the bulb/onion actually still forms or not but think not.) So, could it mean that the scallion part takes 120 days to form? Really?

And, since the growth cycle is so long, I am assuming this means I cannot put a few in with my broccoli or cauliflower since they, too, have a long incubation. But I confess to having little gardening knowledge except for usually good logic skills.

Oh, and sow a pinch in each hole, right? And then thin by snipping...then again, I could swear I read that some don't thin these except for actual use.....

SO confused....

Any enlightenment shared would be most appreciated!

onions go by so many names, and what you have is sometimes considered a bunching onion, a scallion, a welsh onion, a spring onion, a salad onion. the main characteristic is that it doesn't form a bulb like a storage onion. they are all interchangeable in the kitchen, although they vary in their degree of "onioniness".

Good Lord! It's worse than I imagined!

Thank you.

Don't forget about our great search feature located just below the latest topics list. Here's what it came back with on onion:

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/search?search_keywords=ONIONS&typerecherche=interne&show_results=topics

Also, keep in mind that the dates given on seed packs are just a VERY rough estimate.

Thank you. I had been using the wrong (top) search box.

From Burpee's website; they look like what I call scallions.


My first year, I planted 16 per square. The next year 32. The next year even more. I have an experiment going right now, where I scatter seeded the entire package over 2.5 feet. I don't thin.

I'm also clipping the greens for kitchen use when the plants are 6-10 inches tall. The leaves (I guess that's what they're called) will continue to grow from where they were cut. I've never left my scallions in the ground long enough to reach the size I see in the grocery store; they do take a long time to grow. You can harvest the bulb at any time to eat.

You could try your own experiment by planting them with the plants you mentioned. Some of mine are overshadowed by surrounding plants, and they are keeping up.

Do the ones that you don't clip turn into real onions? Or are they just scallions? (or like scallions) (Actually, I cannot be sure from your post but maybe you are clipping all of them?) After you clip them, what happens to the bottom and do they re-grow as some have said online?

I guess I can sow them more thickly than 16 per square then.

Thank you.

CPL, I think it is too late in our area to plant onions now and have them bulb up, nice and big.... but you can probably have success with the bunching onion this season.
Here is some information, click on the links.
http://myfolia.com/plants/911-onion-allium-cepa-var-cepa/varieties/6257-yellow

some onions never form a bulb, no matter how much you trim them. bunching onions/scallions/whatever you call them are of that type. only storage onions form a bulb.

Okay, so I posted earlier about the bunching onions I had. Today I got a new packet which is called bunching scallion Italian Red of Florence. The package states they only take 60 days, can be planted successively throughout the summer, spaced 1/2" apart and do not require thinning. I think I will try these along the edges of my broccoli and cauliflower since we use many more scallions than radishes.

Oh, and they show a small, elongated pink bulb at the end! Here is a link to them:

Italian Red of Florence

It seems these will be okay for me, right?

Pretty!I think you have enough time for those.