Onion Tea ??

[KevinM67]

I hope this doesn't come across as me having lost my marbles, but...

Has anyone made an onion tea, similar to a nettle or comfrey tea?

I'm thinking to use more as possibly a repellent than as a fertiliser.

I've got a stack of onions left, many too small and been left up at the Allotment - I don't really want to eventually chuck them on the bonfire.

Any ideas or thoughts are very welcome.

[Chippy Minton]

Never done it myself but as our onions are so much stronger then the supermarket ones I can just see all the unwanted critters with tears streaming from their compound eyes Hope there's someone out there who can advise as it sounds like a good idea

We pickle the little ones, mmmmm pickled onions :P

[Knight of Albion]

My advice would be to store them and eat them. They're not as potent as their big sister garlic, but they do have antibacterial, antiseptic and antimicrobial properties, which are useful for purifying the blood and protecting from bugs and suchlike.

Bear in mind, onions contain a compound that is toxic to dogs and cats, so be careful in this respect.

[Alison]

Bear in mind, onions contain a compound that is toxic to dogs and cats, so be careful in this respect.

So does garlic

[KevinM67]

I was thinking to use it when watering carrots or possibly tomatoes - I'm not sure how I would harm cats or dogs in that way ?

[veggiechicken]

I replant them in an odd corner, quite closely. I know they'll bolt but you can still use them young, like big fat spring onions, leaves and all

[Alison]

I was thinking to use it when watering carrots or possibly tomatoes - I'm not sure how I would harm cats or dogs in that way ?

It won't, I was just adding to the previous comment about onions

[Mr Bones]

Have just tried a brew of two onions, two cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of cayenne, steeped for two days in a gallon of water. Sprayed on brassicas it's said to ward off white fly (makes it go elsewhere). A few old chaps on our site say it's the best thing since sliced bread but bear in mind they reckon their old Ford Fiestas are good cars... Anyway, worth a go

[KevinM67]

Cheers Mr Bones.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Have just tried a brew of two onions, two cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of cayenne, steeped for two days in a gallon of water. Sprayed on brassicas it's said to ward off white fly (makes it go elsewhere). A few old chaps on our site say it's the best thing since sliced bread but bear in mind they reckon their old Ford Fiestas are good cars... Anyway, worth a go

Mr Bones were you in MacBethin a previous life?

To the real question in hand though about onion tea. Can't honestly think of anything more horrible. Steeping onions in water till they bio degrade will produce the most horrible noxious smelling brew imagineable. Add to that the tendency of the soft flesh of onions to succumb to fungal infections, you are likely to infect your other crops with these fungii.

For what its worth though, what the industrial onion producers do with their onion detritus is interesting. They chop it up and apply it to the land they will next be cropping in onions. The idea is to encourage the sclerotia of the white onion rot disease to germinate and die before the main onion crop is planted allowing the main crop to grow without infection.

So if your land is affected by white rot,, there is a use for your small onions, otherwise, they are lovely fried

[arpoet]

I have been thinking. Yes, i know its dagerous at my age, but.... i dont ever remember seeing slugs in the onion bed. Maybe an onion spray would help keep them off me cabbages.

[snakeshack]

I'd vote for pickling , you can never have too many pickled onions