What can I do with my sprouting onion?

[elibrown]

I had a white onion that I never used and for some reason instead of rotting, it sprouted. I put it in a cup of water on the window sill and now it's got a nice, six inch, firm green sprout on the top and little roots are coming out of the bottom. Can I plant this? What will it do if I plant it? Will it make more onions or what? I have never had any type of garden or anything and I know absolutely nothing about how nature works. But some friends and I were talking about starting a garden and it would be fun to plant my little sprout if I can.

[karenlovessnow]

Apparently you can plant it...I didn't find much info on the how to though. This was the best I could find.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070210131446AAA8vIy

[froggythefrog]

Basically the onion itself is past edible prime. Plant it and it will flower and seed. I have no idea if the seeds will grow, but hey you could try it.

You may also just be able to cut the onion greens and eat them in a salad and see if more grow.

[Seusomon]

Froggy is correct. It won't make more bulbs, but it go to seed. The leaves it produces could be used like green onions or chives, and you could save the seeds for planting next year.

[Ludi]

Some vegetables, such as onions and carrots, can continue to be grown even if you eat them,by always replanting the growing part (in the case of carrots, the top of the root with the leaves). Supposedly there was a woman who ate the same carrot for 7 years! Garlic can also be regrown by planting the root end, as with onions....this could be a sort of extreme vegan or Jain position to only eat things that can continue to live after you harvest them!

[Iria]

We always keep our onions too long and get sprouts. I tried planting two of them one year, but it was late summer and they died when frost came through.

I like the idea of cutting up the sprouts. Why didn't I ever think of that?

[MoonTree]

Same thing happened to me. I have a white onion sitting in my kitchen right now with a big green sprout on the top. Now I purposely don't use it just so I can check to see how it's grown each day. It's kind of inspiring.

[whisper]

I planted one that had sprouted once. It got as far as getting a blossom on it, but all of a sudden it died before the blossom opened. Otherwise I usually just cut up the sprout and use it like chives.

[Ludi]

Most kinds of onions and garlic relatives are very sensitive to day-length or time of the year, so if you plant them at the wrong time, they may suddenly die or go dormant (which looks like dying, usually).

[Vegan Joe]

You know what I'm thinking?
Mushrooms, olive oil, heat...