I've made a decision.......

[binley100]

not to grow onions next year. Why? because they take up loads of room to grow enough to keep us going, they are cheap as chips on the market so not worth the hassle and the rot and the allium fly .......I will however grow shallots as they aren't cheap as chips and I seem to get better results with them.
I'll probably still stick in overwintering sets just cos I have overwinter space ...
Anyone else made any big decisions on what to not bother with?

[Ananke]

I was just saying to OH today that we will need to plant more onions, we've ran out already. Maybe you're idea is better though, for the space that they take up I could maybe get a few crops in there. I shall ponder this further

[binley100]

I can get a huge sackful off the market av price £1.50 either red or brown so it's just not worth the space and hassle ......I know this year was bad for growing but even the onion sets didn't get much bigger than what they started off ...shallots were great especially the red ones and I shall try banana shallots from seed .

[scarletrunner]

I can grow the more difficult veg such as celery and cauliflower, but for some reason onions of any description prove difficult for me ! my sprouts were rubbish this year also,allot of space wasted with poor results.Will give both of these a miss in future!

[Ananke]

I stuck some shallots in this year too, supermarket spares left over from xmas and had great results. My only issue with them is peeling them.

[Aberdeenplotter]

just watch with shallots, some varieties do not keep well.

[VirginVegGrower]

I will not be dedicating two beds to potatoes this year so we are sure to be guaranteed a good year last year I wanted to trial different varieties and it turned out to be a disaster.
I have also shaved down on my onions this year by concentrating on cutting out o/w ones on the lotty, but only because I've moved them to the polytunnel!

[veggiechicken]

I never have any luck with onions and I only grow them because sets should be easy - buy a bag, poke them in the soil, sit back and wait. I can't call them a waste of space as I put them in between other things - but they are a waste of money!

[Kaiya]

I had a fantastic overwintering onion year last year (main crop not so good). I have a whole bed (4.5x1.2) full of yellow, red and white onions and garlic overwintering, and will need another bed for the maincrops... I find them much sweeter than shop bought!

For me my "not bothering again" potatoes - tried them twice, they amount to very little and they take up too much room. I may try fluid sowing with carrots and snips but otherwise also giving up with them - sowed 500+ this year and not a single peep.

[Ananke]

My carrots were the same, thinking of giving up with them too. I use so many of them and realllllly want to grow my own but Mother Nature says NO.

[vikkib]

I decided not to bother with runner beans again... we really just don't like them enough!

It seems to be sacrilege not to have runners growing on the lottie but I'm sticking to broad beans and French beans this year... oh and trying borlotti beans!

[Snadger]

Onions are one of the mainstay on my plot.

Usually grow enough to last me through until about March so may grow a few more this year to last me until the Japs are harvestable.

I know where you're coming from Binners if the onion fly etc are a problem but not so sure about the "can buy a bag cheaply," argument? Is that not the case with any veg at certain times of the year?
Both carrots and sprouts are 4p a pound in the shops when mine mature, but I still grow my own.

Don'rt think there's any veg I deffo won't grow?

As it says at he bottom of my posts...........diversify and prosper!

[Bigmallly]

Gonna try onions from seed for the first time, I don't rate sets of either onions or shallots. What am I gonna pass on?........Sweetcorn & Chard.

[zazen999]

I only ever grow cabbages, kohl rabi and swedes. The rest of the brassica family can do one. Too much effort for so little gain. At least with chard it stands all winter and keep coming back no matter how weather beaten it gets and very few pests attack it.

The onions I grow are non-standard definitely not available in the shops varieties.

[Florence Fennel]

I was so disappointed with the potatoes (Sarpo, had to chuck them all if you remember) that I'm not going to bother with them. Probably. Maybe.