Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: the_snail on November 29, 2005, 06:31:40
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As stated in the title is there any tips for growing big healthy onions from sets?
The_Snail
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Yup, plant em as soon as possible! Our overwintered ones we harvested last June were huge! Variety was Sturon if that helps. And we fed them twice with chicken pellets. Make sure you keep the weeds down too, to avoid competition. :)
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I might have a go at planting a few under a cloche next year a little earlier just to see if it makes any difference.
The_Snail
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Yes, mine were late going in this year (reds only) and are only just showing a few inches of green. I don't expect big onions of this planting next year, although they are mainly only for salad use. My main crop, will get planted in early March, and fed well with fish, blood and bone, and also plenty of bonfire ash.
Derekthefox :D
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Thanks wardy I will give that a try.
The_Snail
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Here is what works for me ..
Manure you soil in autumn as now ....Not in spring prior to setting onions..Onions dont like acidic soil .A week before planting your sets rake in a good dusting of lime..When you are ready to put your sets in rake in some blood fish and bone and a dusting of superphosphate .Then plant your sets ..usually in March or April..Keep them watered once they shoot .. I dont feed them till they start bulbing as I found feeding them earlier can give them a thick neck and they then can be awkward to store..As in they dont keep well...I dont bend leaves back on them as some do, I find they do that themselves eventually..
when leaves are turming and onions are ripe I fork em out of ground and leve em on soil to dry for a while till leaves feel crinkly If it is very wet weather and i cant do this I stand them in bread trays with leaves pointing down out of rain as in shed etc..till leaves are dry...Then I tie them up and hang them to store...Her is a pic of this years sturons from suttons..With a 50p peice between them....
..cheers... Jim
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Snail - if you really want this sort of thing, keep it out of my kitchen!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/onion.jpg
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Puts Marshalls things in the shade?
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Here is one we grew earlier this year ..But it wern't from sets .It was from seed set in Dec 04 ..This was a 5 pound plus..Tim they eat very well freeze well too ...cheers Jim..
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Aha, freezing - very necessary with such a monster!
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Blimey...they all put mine to shame!!
I set Stuttgarter Giant and Comred sets this year and was pleased with the size and quality of both. They had 2 feeds of chook pellets. The reds went down especially well with the rest of the clan and I am under strict instructions to grow a lot more next year.
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Onion envy here in white rot infested Essex!
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I know EJ even Yorkie shallots succumbed to it too and I thought they had a resistance to it ...Maybe You will find a spot next season on yer lotty that is not so bad .for it.
Her'es hoping eh ..cheers Jim
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Yes I would be impressed by that beauty too !!!
Derekthefox :D
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So to ask a possibly daft question...if planting in Autumn (have reds and two types of white in) gives bigger onions - which is why I did it - why then plant a 'main crop' in spring?
What key bit of info am I missing!
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Growmore thanks for the detailed infomation, I have written it down and will be digging the beds as soon as weather permits :) And also that is a whopper of a onion. And seed sown on 4th of december. Another thing to think about.
Tim. Thank you for your article it is a very interesting read.
The_Snail
PS. I have never added lime to the area where I plant my onion sets so I will give this a go and see if it makes any difference. Thanks for that :)
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Icy, as I see it, the winter crops don't keep as well, so provide valuable onions during the summer and autumn, but won't keep through the winter. Therefore, I plant mainly reds during autumn, so that they are available for the salad season, but keep my whites for spring planting, so they will last through the summer (hopefully), although based on my current consumption rate, they will be exhausted by February.
Derekthefox :D
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Icy, as I see it, the winter crops don't keep as well, so provide valuable onions during the summer and autumn,
Derekthefox :D
Oh I see - that makes sense. Will have to go find some more onion bed for summer then. Now with two plots I can still see myself running out of space - wonder if wifey will mind if I get three ::)
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Well almost a quarter of my plot is devoted to growing onions, leeks and garlic ...
Derekthefox :D
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I love Growing and eating onions. I grow on avarage 300-400 onions a year. It is my main crop. I grow a few spuds but nothing special as we get them cheap enough of the milkman in big sacks. I also grow allot of caugettes and tomatoes. Was hopeing to grow more tomatoes this year but a unfortunate event has slightly delaid plans for that, but I will grow more tomatoes this year may be outdoors for a change. (Prays for a hot summer in 2006 ;D).
The_Snail
PS. It sounds awfully Italian with the onion, caugette and tomatoe. I might try to grow some vegetable saragethi (a type of squash) to make it a proper Italian theme. ;D
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I grew 800 onions this year, snail, and they are getting consumed at an alarming rate. However, that means I am growing something we make excellent use of ...
Derekthefox :D
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I think half the battle is to get the best growing conditions.....so this is the method I use for my onion bed -
Choose an open site with good drainage. For exhibition onions, trench 50cm deep. Fork up the bottom of each trench if solid. Into every four square yards of the bed work the following:-
4 Forkfuls of pea, bean or tomato haulms.
1 garden barrow of well rotted farmyard manure.
5oz Bonemeal
6oz Sulphate of Potash
Every 5/7 years only 2oz Sulphate of Iron.
First scatter the haulms at the bottom of the trench, and then mix the fertiliser into the bed. I t is essential that the greater proportion of the manure should be near the top of the bed, some within 10cms of the surface. This will enable the roots to come into contact with the manure during the early stages of growth. This work is best done in the Late Autumn or Early Winter when reasonably dry. The bed can then be left rough over the winter period.
In March work the top into a fine tilth adding the following to an area of 4sq yards.
2oz Superphosphates
1oz Hydrated Lime or 1.5lbs Calcified Seaweed
There is no need to firm the ground unless it is very light. When conditions allow, and this will depend on several factors, plant out the now hardened off onion plants. The usual time for planting is Mid April to Mid May. An advantage is gained by the use of cloches both before and after planting. If cloches are placed over the ground prior to planting the area will warm and there is less chance of a check in growth. Care should be taken after planting not to leave covers over for too long. I have found that 3-4 weeks is sufficient.
If the onions are required for general kitchen use or it has not been possible to prepare the ground in the autumn I suggest the following. When possible work into the ground one barrowfull of farmyard manure to 4sq yards. Prior to planting add a good general fertiliser. Calcified Seaweed can be added at this time. During the growing season never allow the onion bed to become dry, especially during June and July when the onions are growing well.
This is my first post so hello to you all, this is a good site and I have enjoyed reading the many posts.
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I think half the battle is to get the best growing conditions.....so this is the method I use for my onion bed ...........
This is my first post so hello to you all, this is a good site and I have enjoyed reading the many posts.
and a jolly compreghensive post it is too!
Welcome!
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Perhaps that explains why I have had poor success growing onions from seed ...
Derekthefox :D
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Welcome Geordieboy ,,
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Welcome to Allotments4all Geordieboy :) Great informational post :) Thanks. All the best for 2006's growing season.
The_Snail