Topic: Liquid Feed for Onions

[powerspade]

I have a excellent crop of onions growing , What liquid feed would be best to keep them going. I usually use Comfrey but forgot to make some ready for this year. Would tomato feed work ? The reason I ask is that they need a potash feed which tomato feed would give.

[PurpleHeather]

I noticed that no one had made a reply so thought I would add a two pennorth.

To promote the growth of onions, which are bulbs. To start with, they are better off in, shall we say soil which is not rich. Rich soil encourages top growth.

We want bulb growth.

Once the onions have started to get actively growing is the time to feed.

I am not an expert in all this scientific data, just a grower who observes, finds out and shares.

Any plant, tomato food or organic feed like comfrey helps and/but if it is dry water, water,water or they go to seed.

[Tee Gee]

I don't dispute what Purple Heather has to say on the subject i.e they want 'potash' feeding from when the bulbs commence to swell, so yes tomato feed will fit the bill.

But regarding the watering I am undecided about this for the following reason/s;

I have noticed in recent years ( the climate change years) we have been getting a lot of white rot and potato blight both of which have a 'watering' connection.

I never water my potatoes but sometimes water my onions and from time to time I have had blight & white rot.

So I have been studying this and noticed the following;

In wet cool years my potatoes are generally OK but in wet warm years I sometimes get blight.

My conclusion to this is 'humidity' is synonymous with dampness so this is why I don't water my potatoes!

With my onions I find a similar trend and the white rot is more prominent in warm damp years.

But I have also noticed another factor and that is; flatish onions are more susceptible than the oval type  ???

This raised the question'why? in my mind ???

My conclusion is; the flat onions sit in a basin/depression in the soil which fills with water when water is applied (rain/watering).

If the weather is warm this moisture warms up and (for want of a better description) cooks/boils the base of the onion causing the white rot.

This is aggravated even more if the soil is not 'free draining'

I noticed the oval onions do not make the same amount of contact with the soil so quite often they are affected less often.

As I say this is only a theory and would like to hear your comments on it.

The sort of discussion points could be;

Have you had white rot?

Do you water your onions?

If so;how often?

What type of soil do you have? Free draining/dense

Do you grow flat/oval varieties.

Was it seed sown or setts that were affected.

What are your own thoughts on the subject?

I look forward to your replies.......TG

[davyw1]

Touch wood so far i have never had white rot, this could be for a number of reason. I don,t allow any one to walk on my garden
I don,t grow garlic in the ground, I believe that garlic is the main course of white rot.
Watering
This comes down to weather, i am not a lover of using tap water on the garden i find it bakes the soil, also there is nothing in it that will feed the plant. For me its an evil necessity so i will water after a week of no rain.
I have good drainage and prepare my onion bed in the Autumn giving it a good covering of lime.
My main  types of onion are Sturon, Centurion from sets along with others from seed i don,t really pay any attention as to them being oval or flat.
The question was What liquid feed. I have no fancy for trying to give each onion an individual feed, my feed goes in when the bed is prepared. If i was to give them a liquid feed then it would be a watered solution of Fish Blood and Bone.
My thoughts on white rot.....do we really know what causes it. We associate rot with to much dampness, if you get it you cant grow onions for at least eight years, it spreads very easily, and its heart breaking.
As i stated i believe the cause is planting untreated Garlic bulbs into the soil.
 

[Fork]

In my experience onions do not need copious amounts of water.Once the bulp as formed they need very little unless we have a prolonged "draught".

You are risking devastating damge by Downey Mildew if you water in the evening and especially if you drench the leaves.The mildew spores only need a nice warm night and a certain lenght of time on wet leaves to grow.Then in the morning the humidity drops and the spores are carried off in the wind to infect all your crop and your neighbours too!