My onions are pants!

[Slug]

Hi all,

I grew some Japanese overwintering onions last year (and they're just ready for pulling now). Only problem is.... they're not that big. They're more like pickling onions rather than 'proper' onion size.

Does anyone know what I may have done wrong? I grew onions from sets last year and the results were even more unpredictable - lots of small ones and only a couple of large ones. This year at least they were all medium size of some sort.

Any ideas fellow grapes? I'd like to grow onions again next year, but to be honest I'm not sure if it's worth it for the piddly onions I'm getting....

[bramble]

Hi Slug, when did you plant them. Did you keep the patch clear of weeds, what type of soil do you garden on, did you water during the fine weather. Can't think of anything else offhand that might have caused your onions to be so small. Will be interested to hear your reply.
Regards, Gabrielle.

[Slug]

Hi Bramble,

I think I planted in October? All I remember was that there was a 2 week window of planting opportunity (according to the seed packet) and I stuck to it religiously!

My soil is very heavy and clay like and yes, I did keep it clear of weeds. Do onions prefer a specific soil type? I didn't particularly water them as I thought you weren't supposed to - or is that garlic I'm thinking of?

When it came to thinning out, I couldn't face the fact I was wasting lots of seedlings, so I replanted the thinnings. Do you think that's where I may have gone wrong and that I should have just thrown the thinnings out and saved all the disturbance of the onions?

Questions.... questions...!!

[bramble]

Hi Slug, well you certainly seem to have done all the right things. Should'nt think planting the thinnings would make any difference. Did you add any fertaliser to the soil before planting, or even a couple of weeks beforehand. Don't know if you planted from seed you sowed yourself or sets. If i'm planting from seed i start them off in seed modules in the greenhouse and that seems to give them a good start. I always buy sets and get good sized onions but then about a third of mine developed thick neck this year and they will not store.
Don't know if any of this is any help but maybe someone will think of something i forgot.

[Slug]

Hi Bramble,

I didn't fertilise the soil - because I didn't think onions liked that. I grew this year's onions from seed and last year's onions from sets. This years onions were definitely more even sized (i.e all the same), but I think they could be bigger.... I waited until they all flopped over, but I can't help but think they could be bigger!

How do people grow these supersize onions for exhibiting.... there must be a secret to bigger and better onions!

[SueA]

Hi Slug, the big onions you see at exhibitions are usually grown from special mammoth onion seeds, you can get them from W.Robinson & Son.
www.mammothonion.co.uk
You do need to water onions otherwise they tend to bolt in hot weather & not get so big. Also the spacing is important, if they are too close together the onions will be smaller. My onions aren't too good this year as they have bolted due to the heat & I don't get very big ones as I only grow them in a small veg. bed anyway.

[nick the grief]

Hi Slug,

I grew them this year & they were OK for me. If you've got heavy clay it may be thay the soil was slow to warm up & they haven't got in a full seasons growth.

Dig in loads of humus (muck or Compost this will improve the soil) & I gave mine a bit of Blood,Fish & Bone when they were on they move to keep them going.

As to spacing, I think I gave mine about 9 to 12" apart in all directions. I usually aim for tennis ball size as they are usually big enough to go at one go.

[Slug]

Thanks SueA - have you ever tried mammoth onions yourself? Do you know if they are just for show (i.e. just look good) or are they good for eating too?

Thanks NTG - perhaps my clay soil doesn't help. I'll mix lots of compost in at the end of the year as I've tonnes in my compost bin. My onions were not as far apart as yours (but they weren't touching either, so I would have though they had enough space to get bigger still). I'll give the blood, fish and bone a go for next year too.

I had no problems with onions bolting - not a single one bolted this year, which surprised me.

Nick - did you do much thinning out - and if so, did you disturb the onions much that you left behind? I wonder if I disturbed the roots too much in the early stages and whether that stunted their growth a bit.

Hmmmm..... lots to try for next year!

[nick the grief]

Hi Slug,

I also grow Mammoth & Kelsae not for showing I hasten to add but for eating & they are super onions the only troulbe with them is because they are from seed you have to start them early - well I do, but i've got a heated greenhouse.

The winter one's I didn't thin out at all. I planted the sets in October around 9" apart & that was that apart from a bit of carefull weeding. It's suprising how much space they want so if you only gave them 6" they won't get much bigger than ping-pong balls - I've got a few of the mammoth/Kelsae that are still in 5" pots & they are only this big but I was going to uses them for seed so I'm not bothered.

If you've loads of compost I would rough dig you bed over this autumn & leave it for the frost to break it down & then dig loads in next spring. Then plant your mammoth's in that. If you look at Robinsons web pabes they tell you how they prepare their beds.

http://www.exhibition-seed.info/

The winter one's if you grow them again perhaps you should try making a cloche out of some Alkathene water pipe & cover them over early on to help warm the sol up. or you coukld plant them in pots & over winter them in a coldframe & plant them out in the spring maybe.

[voodoo veg]

I was told by the old bloke at the nursery to feed quite regularly with a high potash feed which would help the onions swell.

I did this but my onions are only small because they are quite close together in window boxes

I did it as an experiment just to see if I could but agree with HFWhittster that for the volume of onions I use I would have to have an onion farm to make it worthwhile and ther'd be no space for anything else!!!!!!!

[nick the grief]

Two allotments is the answer VV

[lyndap]

My onions are not very brilliant this year.They are still growing but the bad weather early on didnt do any favours as they went soft,now soil cracking into huge crevaces even with loads of watering.Lost most of my red onions!Iv'e never grown onion seed,only used sets.Which do people think is best?

[Slug]

Thanks for the great info Nick. I think I'll give the whopper onions next year as it sounds like I stand a chance of getting something worth peeling and eating!

I haven't got a heated greenhouse, I've only got one of those plastic covered shelves. It does a good job in the summer of bringing things on, but would only offer basic protection in the winter.

We don't have really cold weather here either though, since we're by the sea so I don't know whether I could chance growing them in the plastic greenhousey thing. I could try starting them indoors if not (but that gets me in trouble! ).

I'll give the potash feeding a go next year too - I can't wait now!

[SueA]

Slug, the mammoth onions taste great & just grow to normal size if you have them close together like I do. My O.H. had one cooked last year with his hot dogs & said it was the nicest onion he's ever had & asked me to grow them again this year. You can get them as seedlings from Robinsons by post or from their nursery (bit far from Ireland though!) around March/April or just buy the seeds.

[Slug]

Thanks everyone - definitely going to grow mammoth onoins next year. OK.... so they may not grow to exhibition size, but normal size will do me just fine...