Allotments 4 All

Planted shallots today and read the planting instructions…see below and didn’t have a clue about metric measurement (I’m still on pounds shillings and pence) ::) so I asked my plottie neighbour (who appears younger than me) :D what a cm is in old money (inches) she said “well a 100 cm’s is 39 inches followed by gobbledygook and her husband said 1cm is 4 inches, so looking at the trowel in the diagram thought he may be right. ???

Just checked this size conversion out with the aid of this wonderful internet and was wondering if it is too late to dig them up and replant the little darlings with their heads poking out the soil. ???

Also what’s the triangle thingamy? As it says plant in rows 25cm apart. ???

Roy if you can remember that a foot is 30cm then you can work things out from that ie 6"=15cm, 4"=10cm etc. Hope I havn't confused it more!  ::)

Simon404

I was raised in metric, so no problem there for me.

I found it easy to go along the same lines, but the other way round, converting 30cm into a foot, etc.

I am sort of OK with it now LOL
::) ::) ;D

Having taught both, I know how confusing it can be. But if you think that a centimetre is roughly the width of the tip of your index finger you won't be far out.

Thanks for the measurement tips...will it be safe to dig them up or will they survive at trowel depth? ???

Roy, I work 1 inch = 2.2cm (not exact but near enough for me). Not sure what the triangle diagram is all about, for onions (and I would do the same for shallots) I plant the rows wide enough apart so that I can get a hoe inbetween for weeding. If I were you I would go back tomorrow and replant them.

why have you got to dig them up if you planted them alright? now i'm confused  ???

Thanks Jesse, so presumably they should be poking out of the ground if they are to be planted ½ inch deep as the shallots were approx ¾ inch diam?

Quotewhy have you got to dig them up if you planted them alright? Now I’m confused [Unquote]

Because I planted them approx. 4inches deep that you said 4"=10cm, they should be planted 1cm deep according to instructions, it is confusing isn’t it? ??? ::)

My onion sets are only just poking through the top of the soil, shallots I believe are planted the same way. My soil is quite heavy, if I planted them as deep as you have I'd not be surprised if they rot. You want to plant the bulb as deep as it is, i.e. make a hole the same depth as the bulb and pop it in so that the top of the bulb is at the same level as the soil.

Bob Flowerdew said on GQT the other week that shallots don't do very well if they aren't proud of the soil. In previous years I've always just covered mine so this year I've left them 1/3 their depth poking out.  We shall see if I get a better crop.  (A couple of them are shooting now - have green bits!)

moonbells

I think the instructions were very flimsy and have probably been printed 'en bloc' just to 'P' me off (sorry :o) spose it's called multi cultural signing >:(
Thank you all for your advice will go back tomorrow and rectify...where would I be without you :-*

Hi Roy,

Yes dig em up and push em back in noses poking out of soil. I think the triangle diagram is suggesting you plant three rows staggered, so each onion is 4 inch away from it's neighbour. Then another triple row 10inches away from the first. Imagine the 5 spots on a dice repeated down the rows.
I think the diagrams are poor and confusing. especially the 1cm. trowel!!!

brian

Roy - if it's any comfort, 2 yrs ago, having just put my garlic in 2" deep, I went on to put the shallots in at the same depth. We got 25 bulbs per plant instead of the usual 9. Sort that one!!

I always plant them just covered. This lessens the risk of the birds tweaking them. But do check them regularly, because some are bound to pulled out.

I always cover my onion and garlic (never grwon shallots) to prevent the birds gettin' em.  This was something I saw on GW when Alan Titchmarsh was presenting.  However, my onions this year are in my lottie for the first time and the soil up there appears to be quite lumpy and claggy so I had a hard job uniformly covering them.

red - garlic, of course - like 2" down?

Meant to add, above,  DON'T push your sets into the soil - it could damage them & they may just push out again. Dib a dent for them.

1 inch= 2, 54 cm    1 inch =2,5 cm
1 foot= 12 inches = 30,48 cm     1 foot = 30,5 cm
That is the measure I always use.

When I plant shallots I use a dibber and put them in with just top top above the soil. But I put some wire on top ( the birds pick them otherwise) and they do well. :D

Quote from: Gardenantics on March 20, 2005, 02:10:33
I think the diagrams are poor and confusing. especially the 1cm. trowel!!!

brian

;D Tee hee I thought that amusing ;D thanks again for the input Guys'n'Gals I shall go up the lottie after dinner and put one of those workmans tents up over the bed so I can re-plant them in private  :-[ ;D

The way I convert cm. to inches is to put a decimal point in the cm. and multiply by 4.

E.g  40 cm  becomes 4.0 x4 = 12 inches.

        45cm   becomes 4.5x4 =   18 inches. 

Don't use this if you are measuring glass as it is only a rough guide to stop me being a long way out with size.

Quote from: muhare on March 20, 2005, 13:01:03
The way I convert cm. to inches is to put a decimal point in the cm. and multiply by 4.

E.g  40 cm  becomes 4.0 x4 = 12 inches.

        45cm   becomes 4.5x4 =   18 inches. 

Don't use this if you are measuring glass as it is only a rough guide to stop me being a long way out with size.

I'm getting more confused with all these figures 40 cm becomes 4.0 x4 = 12 inches ??? is that a typo error ??? or should that read 16 inches ;D

Roy - just measure your trowel, like we do - the  blade, handle & total - a great guide - no numbers!!