preparing beds for autumn onions & garlic

[Curlykale]

My autumn planting onions (Radar), shallots (Yellow Moon) and garlic (Provence wight) have just arrived today and I am hoping to build a raised bed and plant them tomorrow. I haven't grown them before and want to make sure that I give them the best start possible.

Can they all go in the same bed?

Should I dig manure into the soil or do anything else to it before I plant them?

If they are in a raised bed can they go closer together than is normally recommended?

Thanks in anticipation of more great advice!

[solway cropper]

All in the same family so they can all go in the same plot. Well rotted manure/compost shouldn't do them any harm but some authorities advise not manuring just before planting as you risk getting lush growth at the expense of bulb forming. I always plant closer than recommended...just don't expect huge onions if you do!

[Janna]

My mum swears by a good handful of fish blood and bone and nothing else, her onions are always fab

[northepaul]

I chucked some manure in my veg patch about 6 - 8 weeks before planting anything - garlic (various from the Garlic farm) shallots (again Garlic farm) and onion sets. Everything seems fine. I planted them with cabbages and sprouts, reasonably close together about 6 inches between.

[Jillyreeves]

This tread will help you :-)

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ure_40341.html

[maypril]

Short answer:

Unless you have a really heavy clay soil, don't add fresh manure unless you can wait a couple of months. Dig the soil well, make sure it's nice and crumbly and remove any stones. Add some low-nitrogen fertilizer now, then add some more in the spring.

Long answer:

solway cropper is right, fresh manure contains lots of nitrogen and that will give you lots of lush green growth above ground but at the expense of bulb growth. You'll end up with smaller bulbs if you use fresh manure.

Having said that, if you have heavy clay soil then that'll restrict the bulb's growth so you'll need to lighten the soil up a bit (make it more loamy and crumbly. Manure is usually great for this, but you'll have to leave it a couple of months for the nitrogen to seep away. Maybe try some multi purpose compost (the cheapest you can find will be good) and some sand to lighten it up.

You'll probably want to add fertilizer. I'd stay away from Nitrogen rich fertilizer (check the packet), Miracle-Gro for example is very high in nitrogen.

You should be looking for a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen but high in potassium and phosphorus. Equally balanced fertilizers such as Blood, Fish and Bone or Growmore will do at a push (if you have some in you shed and don't want to buy separate fertilizer, use that). Ideally you want to be looking at the fertiliser they target for tomatoes or roses. Maybe add a bit of extra bonemeal for good measure.

[Curlykale]

Thanks for all that detailed advice everyone = I appreciate all your help.

[petal]

Brilliant thread - I am just about to plant mine.

[pipkins]

Does it matter how wet the ground is? Lottie is a bit clayey I have noticed that some of you plant in to modules, can you say why please?

[zazen999]

I plant in modules as if the sets sit too long in bags they dry up, and it lets them get started so that when they go into the ground, they already have roots so can start making a solid base as soon as they are insitu. I only picked the last of my beans yesterday; so had to put some sets that I bought into modules or they would be spoilt by now. This also stops them pushing themselves out of the ground which happens when they start to root.

[Edwardo82]

I have just planted all of my onions, shallots and garlic.

They went in the Brassica bed, where there is space. I turned all the soil to a good depth, added Blood, Fish and Bone and removed stones as I went along. I put a fair bit of compost and good organic matter in there earlier in the year, which had been absorbed by the Brassica's, but left good soil condition and a nice consistency.

Will wait until spring when they start to trigger growth and will apply a little more BFBM.

One thing I am wondering about is how would a little seaweed extract go down with my onions, is it advisable or shall I just stick to the BFBM?

Hoping for a good second crop during my first year as a GYO.

[SlugLobber]

Too late for this year, but I bag up my manure (well, the horses'...) and let it 'sweat' for a couple of months, by which point lots of worms have got in and done their stuff. I then spread it and dig it in and plant a week later/when I next have time. I think last year I planted straight away, far too close together, but still got lots off onions. I just thinned them out from the spring, eating the largest bulbs and so allowing the rest to spread out.

[Noosner]

Thought I would bump this thread up, as have been down at lottie this afto preparing a new bed for overwintering onions, removing stones etc. I haven't tried overwintering onions before and I think after reading this thread I'll dig in some mpc next week (our soil is clay, probably heavy clay) with a small amount of BFB. Is it okay to plant straight away after doing this or should I leave it a couple of weeks to let the soil settle?

[bramble]

Just cleared my garden of strawberry plants as they took up too much space. Gave the runners to my daughter who is going to try growing them for the first time.
Spent the morning digging, weeding and raking and in the afternoon planted out my garlic and winter onion sets, rader and senshyu. Very pleased with my days work.

[catgirl]

When I planted out my onion sets last autumn I didn't take that much care really - it was more of an experiment to see whether they would work! I dug some multipurpose compost into the ground a week before planting and then put them straight in. I think they did alright, all except two made it through the winter and most were a decent size by the time they toppled over. This year I'm planting them on the lottie in raised beds on clay soil and will be using some of your tips! It'll be interesting to see whether it makes any difference.