Topic: why are my onions so small

[davyw1]

mine are small too I never water them.  Any idea what I can put in the ground when I lift the onion (for next year I mean) I read that you don't put onions in year after year in the same spot. ;D

Once you have a well established onion bed you can grow them there year after year no need to move them.

i would hit them with a High nitrogen fertilizer since onion are more like leafy
veg then root veg. my seed vendor is usually right on stuff like this.

No,  you should never give onions a high nitrogen feed when they have bulked out this will cause bull neck and they will not store very well.

[plainleaf]

No,  you should never give onions a high nitrogen feed when they have bulked out this will cause bull neck and they will not store very well.

davyw1 that is why you feed them with a higher nitrogen feed before they bulb.
to get bigger bulb you need bigger plant.  I found this info  in an old horticulture article.
the bernard lavery book"how to grow giant vegetables"p57-62 and colin bowcock book how to grow giant vegetables p43-45

ps I grow my onions from seeds or bought transplants only never onions sets.

[shirlton]

It has been said that its best to let the weeds grow around the bulked up onions so that they don't get too much nitrogen.
Our maincrop are not as big as the overwintering ones were, we put it down to the dry weather cos you can never water as well as the rain does, but they may keep better being a bit on the small side. Thers always next year.

[davyw1]

No,  you should never give onions a high nitrogen feed when they have bulked out this will cause bull neck and they will not store very well.

davyw1 that is why you feed them with a higher nitrogen feed before they bulb.
to get bigger bulb you need bigger plant.  I found this info  in an old horticulture article.
the bernard lavery book"how to grow giant vegetables"p57-62 and colin bowcock book how to grow giant vegetables p43-45

ps I grow my onions from seeds or bought transplants only never onions sets.

Old book, dont you think things have moved on a little,did he break a word record or something.
If you have prepared your onion bed prior to planting there is no need to feed, if you do then the onion goes backwards, this is the prime cause of all onions dying back and the ripening off is usually over, feeding or chasing your bulbs with feed results in the bottom leaves dying off and the conductivity of the soil rising harming the roots.

Now as to YOUR onions grown from seed that you have fed on a high nitrogen feed, lets have a picture of them, when you have posted your picture for all to see i will show you some that have had no feed from planting

[Unwashed]

Davy, I'm as careful as I can be to rotate my onions, dreading white rot.  I know show growers use the sam ebed but don't they nuke the soil with agent orange or something?

I'd just like to say though:  this has been the best year ever for my onions.  over-wintered onions are drying now in the greenhouse and almost none went to seed.  planted 15 October, and I even got some red ones without bolting.  And I've lifted the summer stouron and they're great.  One or two had white rot, but I pulled those out and it didn't spread.  I kept them well weeded and gave them some growmore.

[aj]

i would hit them with a High nitrogen fertilizer since onion are more like leafy veg then root veg. my seed vendor is usually right on stuff like this.

No! That will just give them great leaves and no bulb. Phosphorus is for roots/ bulbs - nitrogen is for leaves.

I grow about 500 a year [just sowed my overwintering ones 30 mins ago as it happens] and never ever would I feed them a high nitrogen feed.

And my onions are legendary - old blokes come from other lottie sites [invited by my neighbour not myself] just to view them. :D

[plainleaf]

aj  I disagree .

[Robert_Brenchley]

Perhaps you'll tell us why? If I'm going to give mine anything, it'll probably be wood ash. In general though, I'm not interested in growing massive bulbs, and I find a good soil and a good start are the main things.

[plainleaf]

robert: Collin Bowcock and Bernard Lavery agree with me.
to quote horticulture magazine:
bigger  plants give you bigger onions.
So if your onions plants are large before they start to bulb , you will get bigger onions.

[Jeannine]

Oh eck..  XX Jeannine

[shirlton]

exit moi

[davyw1]

Davy, I'm as careful as I can be to rotate my onions, dreading white rot.  I know show growers use the sam ebed but don't they nuke the soil with agent orange or something?

Simon, If you have an area where you know there is no white rot then make this area into your onion bed, a lot of growers don't rotate their onions once they have a good established onion bed.Some of the best onions grown are from a one foot high raised bed this allows good drainage and comfort for the onion.
As for nuking the soil i use Armillatox once in October then again about a month before planting the same applies to my carrot trench, there is no point in trying to keep out pests  when you have locked them in.   

[plainleaf]

Old book, dont you think things have moved on a little,did he break a word record or something.

between the 2 of them they held over 20 world records.
As for old book the books are not that old.
good growing method always work ever if gardening styles and fertilizer formulation do.
I posted my source what source do you back up you statement
ps you have 1 month before you need to start your onion seeds.

[davyw1]

Old book, dont you think things have moved on a little,did he break a word record or something.

between the 2 of them they held over 20 world records.
As for old book the books are not that old.
good growing method always work ever if gardening styles and fertilizer formulation do.
I posted my source what source do you back up you statement
ps you have 1 month before you need to start your onion seeds.

Christ you talk a load BLX why don,t you do as you have been asked by others in the past and post some pictures of your vegetables which i have no doubt are as large as your ego for all to see it may well stop people from thinking you are a right jodrel banker