Topic: hows your onions and shallots?

[grawrc]

My overwintered onions are showing signs of bolting but then they have been totally neglected. First job today to chop off flowerheads from onions, then dig up the rest of the leeks and the flowering brassica.

[ruffmeister]

wow you still have leeks thats awesome, ours are a disatnt memory now :-) but this years are coming on good

[Brogusblue]

Hello

First time this year doing well so far, One question i have planted 50 "Turbo" onion sets in late april how long do they take before they are ready??



Cheers
Brogusblue

[cambourne7]

does this help???

Onion & Shallot Sets
===============

Expected Sprouting time  11-14days
Approximate number per lb (onion sets) 80
Approximate number per lb (shallot sets) 30
Expected yeild from a 10ft row 7lb

Approx time between planting and lifting 20wks Onion Sets & 18wks Shallot Sets

Onion Seed
=========

Expected Germination time  21 days
Approximate number per oz (onion sets) 8000
Expected yeild from a 10ft row 8lb
Life experiance for stored seed 1-2 years

Approx time between planting and lifting 46wks Onion Seed for august sown variaties & 22wks for spring sown varieties

For an august or september crop sow as soon as the land is workable in the spring (late feb to early april)

Sow in mid august for an earlier crop - Japanese variaties mature in late june - standard variaties such as reliance and ailsa crain are less hardy, less reliable and later cropping ( late july onwards) but can be stored.

Salad onions should be sown in march-July for a June-Oct crop, Sow Aug for onions march to May.

[ruffmeister]

pretty sound advice there

does this help???

Onion & Shallot Sets
===============

Expected Sprouting time  11-14days
Approximate number per lb (onion sets) 80
Approximate number per lb (shallot sets) 30
Expected yeild from a 10ft row 7lb

Approx time between planting and lifting 20wks Onion Sets & 18wks Shallot Sets

Onion Seed
=========

Expected Germination time  21 days
Approximate number per oz (onion sets) 8000
Expected yeild from a 10ft row 8lb
Life experiance for stored seed 1-2 years

Approx time between planting and lifting 46wks Onion Seed for august sown variaties & 22wks for spring sown varieties

For an august or september crop sow as soon as the land is workable in the spring (late feb to early april)

Sow in mid august for an earlier crop - Japanese variaties mature in late june - standard variaties such as reliance and ailsa crain are less hardy, less reliable and later cropping ( late july onwards) but can be stored.

Salad onions should be sown in march-July for a June-Oct crop, Sow Aug for onions march to May.

[Hyacinth]

80 red onions lifted this week. All perfect and drying off. Plaiting soon 8)

[Froglegs]

went down t he plot this morning and spotted a few of my onions have got what looks like  grey dust on some of the leaves,the only way i can think to describe it is that it looks like the dust you get in ya hover bag (if memory serves me right 25 years marrid only emptied it the one time and the that was only because it got a pound coin of mine. ::)) Looked it up in me book and i think it is downy mildew and to spray with Dithane, is there another way to get rid. :(

P.s. only jocking about the pound coin  ::)...........it was 2 ;D

[delboy]

Absolutely every single overwintering onion set I put in in October and November has bolted!

Shared the lot out with neighbours and we all made onion marmalade. Main crops looking fine, so far, but the overwintering results were so bad I am going to keep to spring planting of sets and home reared seed next year.

If I hadn't burned the bottom of my preserving pan so badly there'd be even more onion jam etc..

I'm good at digging though!

[OllieC]

It's strange with me - the overwintered Japanese & red ones are fine (although I don't fancy their storage chances - small patches of botrytis or something similar on about half of them). Shallots are tiny but look like they'll store, and the Red Onion sets put in this year are a little larger than my leeks. Which is small.

Anyone else notice that the Japanese ones don't repeat on you?

[Mossy]

Found 4 of my red onions have bolted this morning so I have nipped them off. The base of mine are about 11/2 to 2" in diameter. They are really doing well. Wont be long before I pull them i'm sure. The white onions are not as big but still looking really well.

Cant wait to start harvesting them.

Mossy.

[manicscousers]

or red o/w bolted, the white we're taking up now..look good..this years reds at the mo, are bulbing up (fingers crossed)
and the ones from seed..long red florence and bedfordshire champion, i think, can't find the packet..they seem ok  :)

[Mrs Ava]

Don't tend to grow maincrop due to the white rot, but always have reasonable success with Japanese Onions.  Here is half of one row.  I still have over 100 onions on the plot, and I have maincrop reds, shallots and I planted some maincrop seedlings just as an experiment.  Just wish the garlic had done better.

[cornykev]

Looking good EJ,  I've got about 12 small and 12 large drying out but I had a lot bolted and some were soggy and some  mildewy like froglegs.  :'( ;D ;D ;D

[ruffmeister]

we're going to try jap onions next year i think

[Chris Graham]

I planted my sets in March, should i lift one and see how they are doing? or best to wait till August?

[cambourne7]

ChrisG - I would wait if you can see no signs of rot etc..

Delboy - I would be intresting in finding out your recipie

I have a date in the end of July ear marked for cleaning out all my seed trays and will plant next years seed to get ready to move to the plot. I know mine jap onions are small but this is because i sowed the seed in situ. So i am going to get more organised this year.

[Chris Graham]

Thanks cambourne7  ;)

[grawrc]

Mmmmmm onion marmalade  :-* :-*

[Uncle Joshua]

went down t he plot this morning and spotted a few of my onions have got what looks like  grey dust on some of the leaves,the only way i can think to describe it is that it looks like the dust you get in ya hover bag (if memory serves me right 25 years marrid only emptied it the one time and the that was only because it got a pound coin of mine. ::)) Looked it up in me book and i think it is downy mildew and to spray with Dithane, is there another way to get rid. :(

P.s. only jocking about the pound coin  ::)...........it was 2 ;D

I wouldn't worry about the rust/dust too much, mine looked the same for a while last year but came good in the end.