what went wrong with my onions?

[Lizzy56]

last autumn I put in overwintering red and white onions. they were doing Ok but then in june I went on holiday for a week and when I came back all their foliage was completely gone and I really could almost not tell where they had been. what did I do wrong? other folk on my site have big beefy onions with lovely thick green stems.

help please, as I am wondering whether to bother next year. or possibly try seeds as opposed to sets.

[rustylady]

They should have been about ready for lifting in June. Were they forming bulbs before you went away?

[Two_Sheds]

Yeah, they're usually ready for lifting in June, so the foliage should have been dying back. Were they very big? If not, possibly need richer soil/feeding

[Gro-Bag]

Mine keeled over in the shady garden patch much quicker than they did in the open and sunny allotment bed. I suddenly couldn't see the garden ones either, but they were there when I had a little dig around - just much smaller than the sunny lottie-grown ones. They were the same sort, planted at the same time so I thought it was a sun/ shade thing - don't know if that might be true for yours?

[Gro-Bag]

Although it might well be that the lottie soil is better as Two Sheds says.

[Potstubsdustbins]

What we need is a post from AP (doctor onion) on the prep of an onion bed.

I grow my onions in containers. GP compost mixed with my home produced stuff, enriched with a onion fertilizer and during the last six weeks before harvest plenty of tomorite for extra potash.

Colin

[Aberdeenplotter]

What we need is a post from AP (doctor onion) on the prep of an onion bed.


Colin

Flattery will get you everywhere so I am pleased to oblige .

We must first of all remember two things about onions.

1.) They are gross feeders and need loads of nutrients in the soil, and

2.) They do not like competition from weeds so it is really essential that the bed is kept weed free so far as is possible.

I dig over my bed in the autumn adding loads of fym into the trenches as I dig. Overwintering onions can be planted now . I plant mine 5-6" apart in rows 18" apart. If you are tight for room, you can plant them in blocks but you still need 5-6" between the bulbs. Once there are signs of growth in the springtime, I throw down some growmore granular fertiliser and thereafter, the beds are hoed between the onions at least weekly and I weed between the onions as soon as the weeds can be got hold of easily. Nothing scientific in it. Just hard work and continued application.

For spring planted onions, same procedures except bed first of all dug over in the autumn and left rough overwinter so that the frosts can do the hard work in breaking down the clods of soil into a workable growing medium.

I lime my plot every year in the bed used for my brassicas as part of my scheme of rotation of crops so the ground will always be relatively alkaline which onions like. Maybe worth doing a soil test to check if you haven't previously applied lime.

[Aberdeenplotter]

last autumn I put in overwintering red and white onions. they were doing Ok but then in june I went on holiday for a week and when I came back all their foliage was completely gone and I really could almost not tell where they had been. what did I do wrong? other folk on my site have big beefy onions with lovely thick green stems.

help please, as I am wondering whether to bother next year. or possibly try seeds as opposed to sets.

Lizzy, I'm a bit puzzled about the foliage disappearing. Even if the onions were mature, the tops would simply die back but they would not disappear in the course of a week. As Ts has said, in June, overwintering onions should be mature and there should at least have been bulbs of some size. What did you harvest? Anything?

The point about your neighbours having onions with lovely green stems at that time is that they were probably onions planted in the spring time. Maybe have a word with them to find out how they cultivate onions locally. Most plotters will be happy to give you some guidance.

[jacob]

Lizzy, I'm a bit puzzled about the foliage disappearing. Even if the onions were mature, the tops would simply die back but they would not disappear in the course of a week. As Ts has said, in June, overwintering onions should be mature and there should at least have been bulbs of some size. What did you harvest? Anything?

I sometimes find that once they've fallen the slugs and snails make short work of the stems. If you haven't already done so, have a dig about -- should be some bulbs awaiting you, even now!

[chris]

Flattery will get you everywhere so I am pleased to oblige .

We must first of all remember two things about onions.

1.) They are gross feeders and need loads of nutrients in the soil, and

2.) They do not like competition from weeds so it is really essential that the bed is kept weed free so far as is possible.

I dig over my bed in the autumn adding loads of fym into the trenches as I dig. Overwintering onions can be planted now . I plant mine 5-6" apart in rows 18" apart. If you are tight for room, you can plant them in blocks but you still need 5-6" between the bulbs. Once there are signs of growth in the springtime, I throw down some growmore granular fertiliser and thereafter, the beds are hoed between the onions at least weekly and I weed between the onions as soon as the weeds can be got hold of easily. Nothing scientific in it. Just hard work and continued application.

For spring planted onions, same procedures except bed first of all dug over in the autumn and left rough overwinter so that the frosts can do the hard work in breaking down the clods of soil into a workable growing medium.

I lime my plot every year in the bed used for my brassicas as part of my scheme of rotation of crops so the ground will always be relatively alkaline which onions like. Maybe worth doing a soil test to check if you haven't previously applied lime.

What about growing from seed for overwintering? Would direct-sown or module grown until they've germinated and are grass like be better?

[Aberdeenplotter]

I simply prefer sets for over wintering. They work for an early onion for me. I did contemplate sowing some tasco and trying to over winter that but had to rethink due to the need to look after the seedlings whilst on holiday and it's now too late to sow imho.

[chris]

I may try sets next year then. I sowed some Paris Whites on the 18th of August, but in modules as I'd no clear space... we'll see if they work

[Aberdeenplotter]

keep us posted

[Two_Sheds]

What about growing from seed for overwintering?

You need to start them early enough: last year I did them too late and they didn't grow much, then all rotted in the damp dark gh
I've bought sets (Senshyu) ~ might put them in today but it's a bit damp

[Two_Sheds]

After watching Yolanda Vanveen, I now know the answer: you should have bought fully grown onions from the grocery store and just planted those in your soil