Onions

[roytheboy]

Hi, I looked at my onions today and saw that the tops have already started to wilt and die back and some onions ( sown as sets ) have not done much at all, as this is my first year I asked one of the others, they said they all suffer with some sort of mildew and some have trouble with leeks as well, is there anything I can do to stop it, I had good crops of onions on my previous plot.

[roytheboy]

[Robert_Brenchley]

What does the mildew look like?

[roytheboy]

When it's stops raining I will go back down today and will give you a full description or a photo even,thanks

[cornykev]

I haven't been that impressed with my wintering onions. :( ??? :-\ :'(

[Mrs Ava]

Does your plot suffer from white rot?  Blights my onion and garlic growing every year.  If it is that, then all you can do it go onion free for 7+ years.  If it is mildew then there must be some sort of fungicide on the market you could use?

[Robert_Brenchley]

My overwintering onions are looking good, which is just as well since half the spring-planted ones have onion fly.

[davholla]

Is it too late to plant some this year ?

[Curryandchips]

In a simple answer - yes.

Most onions are sensitive to the length of daylight, up to the solstice, they produce leaves (layers), after that they swell and ripen.

That is what I believe anyway.

Overwintering onions are different, I am not sure how they grow.

[grawrc]

I think you can probably sow seed for overwintering onions in August?? Happy to be corrected though.

[Mrs Ava]

You can sow spring onions though.

[grawrc]

Just about any time I think Emma?

[growmore]

davolla it ain't too late to plant overwintering onions sets, if that was what you were asking ..
These can be planted from late july to sept even later if weather is like last year ..
As others say it's late for summer onions but a sowing of Ailsa craig thickly in a row may be worth a go, Thin out for salad onions leaving rest to grow on you may get some smallish usable table onions this year depending what sort of a back end we get to the summer  ...

[cambourne7]

I just harvested my last onion from last year.

It was 13inches wide and about 6inches high.... Massive!!

Over wintering onions for next year will be sown into cells in about 2 weeks time and then transplanted into there bed once there big enough soon after.