Allotments 4 All

The last.

Ever?? = Tim

What a beaut to finish with!

That sounds a bit morbid Tim - whatever can you mean ??? :)

The rot, m'dear - the dreaded white rot!!

Yes - very morbid. We lost 2/3rds of our crop this year. And most of our shallots & garlic. = Tim

How soul destroying Tim - sorry, I am afraid I do not know alot about vegie growing so did not know what you meant.  Mind you, I am learning alot since joining this forum :)

That is sad-  2/3rds loss. :-[
May I ask: did you use seeds or sets?

Sets - but makes no odds. It's there - & it's been getting worse each year. And I didn't really latch onto the threat till last year, when I sterilised a patch - to no avail.  

Of course, if I were younger - ?? = Tim

Hi Tim,

I had a look at a fact sheet to find out more about white rot, sounds a bit like onions footh and mouth, horrible.

For those interested
http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/dc16.htm

I think there's a bit under Pests & Diseases too? = Tim

Don't know, the search didn't give much results, but it is really awfull, it could mean that growing healthy onions will be very difficult for a long time.  What are your plans for next year?

A sad day indeed Tim,I gave up with garlic a couple of years ago and will not be bothering with onions again. The rot was there when we bought the land even though no aliums had been grown on it for over 20 years and it has just got worse to the point that I am losing more than 50%.

The leeks are still worth it-around 10% loss and the hardy spring onions seem immune. Strangely enough the shallots escaped most of the trouble as did the few Japanese onions-maybe a winter campaign next year???

Stephan

Tim

I am testing me long term memory here, I have a memory like a thingeymabob me... zebra??? no,,an elephant? Yes!   thats the fella... have a memory like a an elebra me  ;)  and I believe i can remember you mentioning the white rot on the beeb boards many moons ago? and think??? I recall something about the ground being infected? and also remeber reading about it being a bu**er to cure?,, only a suggestion Tim... but if the ground is infected.. maybe growing onions in contaners?  just a thought from a novice.. and to be honest tim... I cant see nothing wrong with your onion.. and would be grateful if u could show us what it is we should be looking for?...

cheers

Ozzy/Ciaran

Stephan - even the spring onions got it.

Ozzy - yes - but 600 onions?? And 50 garlic?? And 200 leeks?? And 100 shallots?? And ?? spring onions?? A lot of beds?? = Tim

I know if there is white rot, sclerotia, in the soil can survive for at least 15 years in the soil. Even without a plant growing!!!
The use of onion seeds is better than sets because of the roots they have. There should be a gap of 8 years rotation having white rot.
Growing on onion, leek etc makes it worse every year.
People bring it over from one garden to another by f.i. their boots and garden tools.
Will not be so easy to stop having white rot, I believe. :-[ :-[

I quit growing onions last year but leeks are still doing reasonably well.
It's a real bummer! I miss the pretty rows of onion greens and later the drying onions neatly stalled out. Several people used to save the nets oranges came in for me to store the onions, told them I don't need the nets any longer sniff sniff.

I am with you on this one Tim, used my last one yesterday.  Lost 3/4 of our shallots this year, and all but about 10 spring planted onion sets.  Garlics weren't too bad, the rust did them more harm, but even so, lost about 10 garlics out of 60 odd.  Spring onions and leeks seem to do okay, so I shall grow more of these to plug the gap.

Hope if was delicious Tim.

Onion sauce with the lamb! = Tim

Yum!  Ours went into Shephards Pie.

I sincerely hope I never get it. I have just started growing onions. Had a decent crop this year. Quality not quantity (dont have space to grow that many).

Could someone describe the symptoms so i can keep a lookout for it? Thanks.

For me, I didn't know until it was toooooooo late.  The sets put on remarkable growth through the spring, but as spring moved into summer I noticed my shallots looking grim, and when I investigated, they were covered in a white mould and were very slimey.  It appears around the roots at the base of the plant, but quickly spreads through the allium. Basically, growth appeared to slow, the plants looked peaky, then rotten.  If the onions are dug up quickly, they are still useable, but they will not store, and I can absolutely vouch for that!  

- Here you go, found a piccy.  The earth seems to stick to the bulbs once the rot has set in.  They suddenly become dirty!