Allotments 4 All

I seem to recall mentioning sometime back that I was experimenting with an idea I once saw on a gardening programme on TV, where an old fella allowed his onion bed to become overgrown with weeds.

Now I think most would agree that this is not conducive to good gardening practices but having seen his results and they were good! so I thought I would try it.

I did it with my onions last year but it being the worst garden year on record I, like many, was hit by 'white rot' so couldn't say my results were down to my experiment.

However! I have tried again with my Jap onions and garlic this year and I am quite pleased with the results.

I lifted my garlic & onions this morning and have taken some pictures to let you see the results;

The bed prior to lifting;



The bed after lifting;



Jap onions laid out to dry;



A closer look with a 4" label to indicate size;



Garlic crop from own cloves;

note; the batch on the right are from very small cloves that I would have normally eaten but because of last seasons results cloves were in short supply, I used them



A close up of my maincrop;





This was a new variety I tried was quite happy with the size but not happy with the losses.

Will save these for replanting for next year



These are this years maincrop onions and as you can see are reasonably free of weeds. I will keep them this way until they commence swelling then I will allow the weeds to take over.



As I was leaving the allotments I noticed this on a neighbouring plot and thought it might be helpful to those people who have never seen allium rust;

no problems with vampires the?!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
joking aside very impresive, I must remember to plant more next year

well TeeGee your pics resembled my plot before I did my big weed-out this weekend  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D and I must say that despite the weeds my onions are looking quite good this year!
I manage to get them out between the rows but not really between each individual onion!

Why do thistles like onions? I got ripped to pieces getting them out  :-[

A lovely crop, but then you put so much hard work in... your soil also looks terrific.

They all look brilliant, what varieties do you grow Tee Gee? mine were disappointing this year

Quotebut then you put so much hard work

In some ways true! but growing this way has reduced the weeding so I suppose thats a saving! but the digging is going to be much more difficult.

I am having thought on using a weedkiller on them, particularly the sow thistle.

Its a bit like 'couch' leave a bit in and it is back again next year.

Quotewhat varieties do you grow Tee Gee?

As I recall the onions are Sturon Globe and the garlic is ex supermarket that has been re-selected over many years.

I would guess it has very little resemblance to what it once was.

Each year I save the five largest bulbs of each variety of garlic and re plant it out in mid October.

So what's the theory behind this, TG? Is it tat the weeds act as a mulch, or just that onions aren't bothered by weed roots? Or both? And why onions in particular?

the theory is that as the weeds grow, they rob nitrogen, this helps onions to mature.
(biodynamic theory)
rgds, Tony

But surely if you get the feed timing and quantities right the onions and garlic will do the nitrogen depletion for you. The weed cover may have more benefit by conserving moisture thereby reducing the need to irrigate.

Do you weed at the beginning when the onions are just getting started? Or not even then?

this is handy for me then as I havent weeded my onions.  ;D

Dare I say perhaps it is just a good year for garlic and onions mine are fab this year too and I have weeded etc. some years you win and some you don't. I guess to do the experiment properly we should have two lots of beds one you weed and one you don't and then you could prove me wrong!!

Quote from: Ishard on July 01, 2008, 05:19:32
this is handy for me then as I havent weeded my onions.  ;D

same for me and I have being doing this by default every year, the weeds being mainly chickweed and so easy to pull up - had no idea (except from inherited farming genetic memory) that this would be the best thing to do - must be instinct  ;D

QuoteSo what's the theory behind this, TG?

As Tony mentioned the weeds take up the excess nitrogen.

QuoteDare I say perhaps it is just a good year for garlic and onions

Yes Meg I have thought of that too but this is the second year I have tried it (first year with Jap onions) will wait and see how my spring sown ones do.

Here I am trying both seed sown and sett varieties..........watch this space.

QuoteDo you weed at the beginning when the onions are just getting started? Or not even then?

Keep them well weeded until they begin to swell as they need nitrogen at this stage, thereafter it is not so important.

Quotesurely if you get the feed timing and quantities right the onions and garlic will do the nitrogen depletion for you.

Quite true Eric but what is the correct dosage? and even if I knew that, the weather will play a part in its uptake.

As mentioned the weeds are meant to take up the excess that may not have been taken up by the onions & garlic earlier.

***********


Thanks for all your queries, it is feedback like this that I think makes us all better gardeners but I don't think we will ever have the beatings of 'Mother nature' but we can try  ;D ::)

ps I must add this method is not a reason to become LAZY and complacent. They still have to be looked after in terms of preventing disease.

So is there anyone out there who has never seen rust on Alliums? :o

Quote from: Kea on July 01, 2008, 14:55:30
So is there anyone out there who has never seen rust on Alliums? :o

Moi!

Me too.

Sounds a novel way TG   ???   :-\  But are you not creating a patch of garden for next year that will be all weeded up with all the seeds the mature weeds will have dropped  while the onions were growing ...
Here are some overwintered Jap onions I have just lifted, These were kept weeded regularly as in normal growing practice..
I am sure you know  the old proverb. "1 years weeds 7 years seeds"

QuoteI am sure you know  the old proverb. "1 years weeds 7 years seeds"

Very much so!! but over the years due to the 'wilderness' plots either side of mine I have had to contend with those unwanted seeds any way. So whats new  :'(?

Now I have experimented to see if they (the weeds) can be used to my benefit and up to press I seem to have succeeded.

The next part of the experiment is to try and kill the 'Sow thistle' I have been plagued with for years and couldn't get rid.

Any one that knows this pernicious weed will know that if you leave a piece of root in (like couch) it will take off again.

What I did yesterday is; I sprayed them with a glyphosate weedkiller in the hope that I can kill the WHOLE root system something I have been unable to do with traditional weeding.

I suppose this might be called......'getting to the root of the problem' ::)

I have done this now before the thistles flower and set seed or it will be back to what you said;   "1 years weeds 7 years seeds"

Fingers crossed.

You must have read my mind TG, I was admiring the array of weeds amongst my next plot neighbours onions and wondering how they are every bit as good as my wintering onions that I kept weed free-ish, by the way TG my summer ones are turning yellow and flopping, do they need a feed, surely its too early for them to start dieing down.  :-\  ???     ;D ;D ;D

Quotemy summer ones are turning yellow and flopping

Are the bulbs beginning to swell? and when and what did you last feed them with?