Are my onions growing properly?

[Lilli M]

Hi Guys

Just joined the site (first forum ever)!! Bit scared of saying something silly but here goes my first post!

Last autumn, I turned the bottom half of my garden into a veg patch, everything seems to be growing well but I am slightly worried that my onions aren't growing properly. Some of them are still fairly small. I'm wondering if I should be watering them more. I've looked through my gardening books & the only advice is to water 'only' when the weather is dry. This to me sounds like they don't like too much water? I am currently sprinkling them via watering can every day that we have nice dry weather. Would I be better off giving them a good soaking or am I on the wrong track altogether?

Would be grateful for any tips.

Lilli M

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Lilli M! Welcome to the grapevine. When did you plant your onions?

[Lilli M]

Thanks for the welcome Lesley Jay

I planted them around the middle of April. They are 'Hyduro' which I bought as heat treated sets.

[Lesley Jay]

Heat treated sets grow much slower to begin with. Where water is concerned you need to water them until the bulbs are swollen and look like an onion. Then leave them to grow a brown or red skin and to start drying out. The stems fall over and turn yellow when they are ready. Leave them in the ground for a couple of weeks and then lift them and hang the onions somewhere to dry. If rain is forecast when the onions are ready but still in the ground, lift them out.

[Lilli M]

The thing is, half of them look onion size now and the other half are a touch smaller than a golf ball. So I'm a bit confused as to should I stop watering now or should I carry on in hope that the small ones will grow?

[Michelle]

My onions don't seem to very successful either. The red ones are ok, which were planted later than the white ones. Someone kept telling me that they'd just suddenly grow a lot bigger, but I'm starting to doubt that now!

Can't remember when I planted them, but it was pretty early - one of the first things we put in the new plot.

Even the stems don't seem very big!

[Shortie]

Oops... I never water mine unlss really dry. But then I did end up with smaller than expected onions last year. Tasted fine, just smaller. Now I know why

Welcome Lilli M. There is no such thing as a silly question, just something you don't yet know the answer to.
I'm about to post a pretty daft one about potatoes in a mo, and if you ever spot it, I recently asked what most people would probably consider the thickest question very recently about an unidentified plant growing in my garden. Thank goodness ntg didn't see it.. I wouldn't live it down! Sorry ntg, you know I love you really

[sewer rat]

Hi Lilli M, welcome to the Vine
As Shortie says, there is no such thing as a silly question - if you don't ask you never learn as my mother used to say - usually followed by "Stop asking so many questions !!"
As for your onions, all I can add is that my own heat treated setts took ages to start swelling but are now looking good - and my shallots are looking absolutely tremendous. - I water them only very rarely, but when I do I tend to water heavily down the centre of the rows so as not to get the necks of the onions wet.

[Lilli M]

Thanks for your replies guys, I'll stop worrying that I'm doing something wrong now.

Maybe it's not a good year for onions what with the weather up & down like it is at the moment.

[Lesley Jay]

Lilli M if you planted the onion sets in April they should be ready (I think) about the end of August.

[Doggler]

Glad you asked this Lili My onions in pots are poking out of the soil and I was a bit worried I hadn't planted them deep enough. As for watering, as they are in pots should I keep watering them or just leave them now?

[Lesley Jay]

Doggler they need water to grow. When they have grown though you don't want them to get wet because they need to start drying out. Last year my onions were ready for lifting and it rained really heavy. My onions were soaked and didn't store well.

[Doggler]

OK, am I right in thinking they're ready when the leaves go brown? So I keep watering till then?

[Lesley Jay]

Doggler you will need to judge this one. If you have good sized onions that are still white with green stems sometimes the stems will fall over before they start turning yellow. This is the time to stop watering. Then the outside of the white onions starts to dry out and the brown skins start to form.

[SueA]

Hi Lilli & welcome, I'd just leave your onions & keep on watering them until they are all a usable size, don't worry that some are bigger than others, the smaller ones might catch up, they may just have been smaller sets to start with or in slightly less light if in a different row etc.
Doggler your onions may not get as big in pots as they would in the ground but carry on watering until they look 'ripe' & ready.