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Having just found out that i should not be watering my potatoes every day please could you tell me whether i should be watering my onions and garlic everyday or not.

They were planted in Dec and the leaves are just turning yellow at the top. I am now thinking that this is due to to much water.

Kate

we don't water our spuds at all, our beds have loads of well rtted manure in which holds the water, we sometimes water when the flowers are out and the spuds are forming..we don't water our onions or garlic either, I prefer to grow them on the dry side.it depends what your soil is like, I find it easier to water plants that are too dry, I've killed far too many off in the past due to overwatering  ;D

That's fairly normal... yellowing tips
As long as you aren't trying to grow giants; onions can usually find enough water once they have got their roots down, as yours will have....  :)

I wouldn't have thought they need it every day given the moisture still in the soil low down. If you can get hold of spent hops or similar light mulch to stop the earth capping off at the top they should only need a water every couple of weeks.

Ninny

The most important time for water with potatoes is when they are starting to flower and time after that as it is when potatoes are forming underground..as for unions and garlic...yellowing..hmm..I would give light feed of something like chicken pellets and gently hoe these in and if there is no rain in forecast then water these in ..other than that..no panic..growth is only just starting and they do not really need that much water..more topgrowth..more water they need.... ;)

also, give plants a really good soaking - a 10 litre can for every square metre - every couple of weeks (maybe once a week in very hot weather) rather than a daily water. The roots will grow long and deep in search of water rather than actually rising towards the surface if there is a plentiful supply there which is not ample enough to sink down into deep soil. Potatos need lots and lots of water when the flowers are appearing. Put a hose on and go and read a newspaper.
If you use a hose, time how long it takes to fill a large can and extrapolate how long you need to leave the hose running - it is always longer than you think.

im watering my onions twice a week at the moment but thats only because they went in when it was dry a few weeks ago and we havent had a drop of rain since,watering for peace of mind if anything

but when the heavens open and the ground gets a good soaking they wont see a watering can again untill we are in summer temps and if really needed

Glad you asked the question kaparobi. I looked at my garlic today and wondered about watering and mulching. Seems it's the way to go if it's very dry.

I watered mine this week because it has been very warm and dry but otherwise I never really water onions or potatoes unless there is a long period without rain (more than a week).

I hardly ever water anything. It definitely shouldn't be needed at the moment.

we haven't had any rain for about 2 weeks, and the top inch of soil is as hard as anything, but underneath it is still damp. I'm on clay. So no to watering - only when it's summer and things are really wilting.
I think garlic likes it on the dry side of life anyway  :-\

our first year we went mad and watered everything every day we were there....second year just let nature take its course and british summer weather watered it all for us,this year we will be doing the same,unless we have a long dry spell. doesnt apply to new seedlings of course.plants find their own water source

Just been up my plot today... the garlics are a foot tall (three sorts of garlic, two  different-sourced elephant garlics)... not watered them yet.... was digging ground near them and iy's pretty claggy so I reckopn I can leave them another few weeks yet before watering them... had to water in the onions as I planted out the plants cos I'd put a load of fairoly dry compost in at the time, didn't bother with the spuds cos they're in deeper and it's still pretty moist down there even with the compost......

chrisc

I only water things when they are put in the ground or if we have a major dry period.

Otherwise they fend for themselves.

I am on a sandy soil ... it can sometimes look a bit like a beach during hot spells.

While my memory might be failing me, I cannot remember ever watering onions or garlic. Potatoes (planted in manured trenches) only get watered if the foliage starts to look weary during a hot spell.

Other crops that I never water - asparagus and rhubarb.

At this time of year my watering is mainly limited to seed drills before sowing if the top inch or so is dry.

Quote from: aj on April 23, 2010, 07:19:27
I only water things when they are put in the ground or if we have a major dry period.

Otherwise they fend for themselves.

Same here, water the greenhouse - nothing else!!!! All your doing sloshing water around is watering the weed seedlings!
Plants will send roots down to find water and survive better in 'droughts' if youve left them to do so!  ;)
Imaging all the allotments without taps or a source of water....

Cant say i agree with not watering onions, everything has to have a drink to get the best results
Some growers would say that an onion bed should be kept lightly moist, there is a good argument for that as some recommend that you mulch the bed to retain moisture.
Onions are a short rooted crop that uses about 1" of moisture a week so if you have soil that has good drainage it will dry out a lot faster than soil with poor drainage.
I scrape down an inch or two into my onion bed and if the soil is not damp then it gets a light watering enough to soak through to the roots not a drenching to much water is just as bad as to little. I also only water them on an evening so the sun does not dry the soil out.
Its not a case of knowing your onions but more of knowing your soil.