Harvesting onion tops?

[tankgirl73]

I've got some onions growing (from sets) that are doing quite well... nice tall greens, getting nice and thick. Peeking underground, there's no bulbing happening yet, but jeepers it's only been a month or less (planted staggered, starting about 5 weeks ago).

I'm planning on letting these all go to full bulb, not harvesting as green onions (I have a patch started from seed which I will harvest as wee little green onions). But we're wondering if we can harvest some of the onion tops.

If so -- do they have to be a certain size? How many can we take off each plant? Do they regrow and can be reharvested later, or is it a one-time thing?

Or do I need to leave them all there in order for the onion to grow to full-size?

Thanks!

[CarrieMF]

I've never harvested just the tops. I would honestly just pull one & replant another for the fall.

[Owen'nZoe]

I take a leaf here and a leaf there, and it doesn't seem to affect the bulbs. Who knows, maybe they'd be bigger if I didn't, but I'm happy with how they turn out, and I'd rather be able to use the greens along the way. I just try to make sure that I don't take too many from one plant at a time.

[BFandHS]

I have been experimenting with onions. I grew green onions from seeds last year and did not end up pulling all of them. The reason for that was that I did not need them yet so I just left them. They were not Vidalia, the seed packet said, "green onions."

So, they got bigger and bigger until they looked like leeks. I cut off leaves as needed but let them grow. Finally they started dividing. I started cutting off half of the ones that divided and only once managed to kill what was left behind. So, that's how it stands. I harvest the leaves as needed and occasionally pull one that divides.

Soon, they will bolt and set seed. At that time, they will probably not be good for eating. When I caught a stalk starting to bolt earlier this year, I cut it off with no ill effects. I wonder how long this can continue.

One word of caution. Do not use a leaf which has a hole in it. It will likely contain dirt and bugs. Make sure that the entire leaf is in really good shape before cutting it off.