Question
Hi Mike,

I saw you answered a similar question on onion, thus I decide to seek you advice. My onions and garlics also have sprouted, so last Christmas, I put them in medium plastic pot with soils. Surprisingly they have grown a lot!

My question is is the leaves from onion same as green onion and the leaves from garlic same as choves? (My friend told me that, but I wasn't sure).

Second, since they have grown quite a lot now (min 6 inch, I think the tallest is around 15 inch), I plan on separating them again into singular pots so they can have sufficient nutrients from the soil. What are your thoughts and professional advice?

This is my first time "gardening", and it has been pretty interesting so far.

thank you!
Lilian

Answer
The leaves from onions are indeed chives; the leaves from garlic are not edible. When transplanting root crops, the sooner the better. You don't want to disturb the bulbs once they form. So my recommendation would be to transplant them to 4" containers immediately. Just be sure to place 1/2 of a fertile potting soil at the bottom of the pot. Hold the plants so that they are just touching the soil. Then back fill the pot with enough potting soil to reach just below the top of the container. Adjust the plant so that the roots are below the soil but the base of the stalk is at soil level. Water until water seeps from the drainage hole. After this, you only need to water when the soil becomes dry.

I personally do not fertilize my onions or garlic until just before I'm ready to transplant in spring. You then want to use a fertilizer high in potassium. This is the nutrient that promotes strong root growth and helps form a large bulb. You can then transplant the seedlings once all threat of frost has passed.

I hope this answered your question. Please write again if I can ever provide assistance.

Regards,

Mike