Hey alys,

My guess is that those onions have already gone through the bulbing stage, and are now in the process of bolting. The big stalks are more than likely going to become flower heads! Not a complete loss though....I would try to salvage as many as possible, and let a few go to seed and then collect the seeds.

They didn't bulb last year. Didn't do anything actually, died back to the ground during the heat of the summer and I thought they were dead. I can just eat them as-is, right? Just use them as scallions? I've been pinching off blossoms.

If you are picking off flowers, then the plants are bolting. If the plants are that huge, they will probably make flowers and small bulbs. You can let them keep growing until they die down. Then, when you lift them, rip away the flower stalk and trim the half-size bulb. They won't store, but you can use them in cooking. I often use onions from bolted plants in summer pickles.