Dropped my first growing clanger :(

[wadsleyparkowl]

Hi Folks,

Got my first ever plot in Nov. Been spending as many weekends as possible at the plot, mainly clearing the old beds & getting them ready for Spring. I've also managed to erect a fence all the way round with used pallets.

Any way, I'm digressing. I set some over winter onions 2nd week in Nov. A few have Just started to sprout, so I covered them with netting to prevent the birds having a go at them. Here's my clanger. I have not covered them with fleece during this current very cold snap. Is it too late for them, or should they be ok?

I've heard & read conflicting views? some have said cover them up, others have said they are over wintering & should survive a hard winter.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks peeps.

[Hans Mum]

I've never covered mine and theyve always survived & i'm not too far away from you....overwintering sets are meant to overwinter....simples.....

[zazen999]

Yup, overwintering onions, overwinter.

[greenishfing]

I'm in freezing yorkshire too and I never cover mine with anything. If the birds unearth the odd ones I bung back in. They've always survived the winter without any protection. We usually get frost into May here.

[wadsleyparkowl]

Thanks folks. I wasn't 100% sure either way. I can sleep easier now

[horticultural_hobbit]

Mine are never covered....and being over wintering, it takes a fair bit to kibosh them. In my case, the fair bit of rain. Should be okay. Those that get plucked out by the birdies, are shoved back in again.

[binley100]

mine get covered in March and April purely to try and keep off the allium leaf miner .......

[Likac66]

I planted some last year for the first time. We had weeks of snow on the ground and I never touched them. They survived without any problem.

[bubblewrap]

One comment I would make why the fence?
If the allotment site is secure a fence is not usually necessary as your fellow plot holders wont usually nick anything , and anyway that sort of fence won't keep anybody off.
And the fence could antagonise other plot holders.
You could use the pallets for a compost & manure heaps
As you may gather I don't like internal fences on allotment sites.

P.S. I have grown winter onions before & have never covered them with a fleece & they have always survived.

[SarzWix]

All of our plots are fenced BW, and we have to maintain the fences as part of our agreement. Perhaps the OP's site is the same? We have a perimeter fence, but the gates at either end are never locked, so allotment security is down to our own individual fences and gates

[bubblewrap]

I'm only going by what I'm used to all sites owned by Charnwood Borough Council have six foot security fencing & a gate which is locked when nobody is there.

We were thinking of putting up watch towers with machine guns but in the end thought that was a tad over the top.

[bubblewrap]

I'm only going by what I'm used to all sites owned by Charnwood Borough Council have six foot security fencing & a gate which is locked when nobody is there.

We were thing of putting up watch towers with machine guns but in the end thought that was a tad over the top.

Though putting 10,000 volts through the fencing worked a treat

[Tripmeup]

Though putting 10,000 volts through the fencing worked a treat

..... and is probably handy for the summer barbecue too?? !!

[Alison]

I use the fence that OH built around my plot for supporting blackberries, tayberries etc . Personally I'd hate not to have a low fence round as, although it doesn't stop anybody who really wants to get on the plot (and the gate isn't locked anyway) it does stop people randomly taking a short cut across.

Re the original post, never put any protection on my winter onions so no worries there

[wadsleyparkowl]

I should clarify, it's not a fence in that sence. It's shared plot, split into 2 by the council me one half & my neighbour the other. It's only made of 3ft high pallets purely to seperate their half from mine. Otherwise my neighbour would have to walk on my plot to access theirs, which in the grand scheme of things is no big deal but I wanted to creat my own space. Certainly no intention to annoy my neighbour.