All year Alliums Challenge 2016/17

[veggiechicken]

I've been looking through my leek packets and have some called "salad leeks" which are ready in 10-12 weeks - Nipper, Atal, Swiss Giant Zermatt. They're planted March - July. Sow fortnightly for continuous supplies. Harvest July - December or some can be left in the ground to grow bigger.

[Jay-ell]

OK, so when does the picking have to start?
Let me see, Onions I have seeds for:

• White Lisbon
• White Lisbon (Winter Hardy)
• Welsh onion
• Welsh Onion (Red)
• Ailsa Craig
• Senshu Yellow
• Bedfordshire Champion
• Red Baron

Leek seeds

• Elefant
• Mussleburgh
• Giant Bulgarian

I've ordered sets for

• Troy
• Electric

and Garlic bulbs for

• Marco
• Early Purple Wight
• Carcassonne
• Lautrec Wight

Others

• Chives
• Garlic Chives (11 small pot) + seeds
• Perutile (5 plants)
• Egyptian Onions 6 plants)
• Elephant Garlic (6 1st year bulbils in situ)
• Babbington Leeks (6 tiny plants)
• Wild Garlic (Ramsons) seed

1st plot is riddled with white rot, 2nd plot I don't know but it's covered in squash.

I've sown some Senhyu,White Lisbon and Ramsons and I'm hoping that the squash will be out in time to plant them and the sets I've ordered (ramsons are going into the hedge). I've got some Musselburgh in to start the year with.

After the chives die down for winter there's only the leeks to go on till the white Lisbon is ready in the spring - the perennial aliums will need to bulk up quite a bit before I start harvesting them - I can probably take the chives and stick them in a pot to stick on the window sill to keep me going till Feb for the scallions. Those will have to keep on going till the overwintering onions are ready in May/June

I could always buy spring onions in the supermarket, plant them and harvest them a week later - is that cheating?

It's going to be tight and I'm probable going to have to buy more seeds - that's my excuse anyway.

I Think I'm in

[muddled]

I've got leeks in the ground,
chives in the ground,
spring onions (at the chive size stage) in modules and pots
garlic chives in modules

Got quite a lot of onion seeds but none for overwintering varieties...yet!

[Small pumpkin]

I could probably do the pick one onion a day challenge. For the next 12 months. if I harvested the 3 varieties of Spring onions (90% are ready for harvest now mind! ) I've got growing. I do get carried away with my spring onions!
Varieties are white Lisbon, spear and ( you will have to wait till I get home to read the label).

Will definitely have a go at leeks in a bucket next year. My plan is 3rd fill bucket with compost sow direct or plant seedlings ( undecided yet ). Then as they grow gradually fill the bucket ( probably with grass cuttings). What do you think? Then I have to work out how many to a bucket .....4 or 5 I'm thinking at the moment.

[Containergardener]

I've done leeks in tubs before, only done red onions (kamal) once in large builders trug which worked and have a pile of sp onions ready and growing now (Apache and white Lisbon), also have chive tubs (5) , I havnt harvested in winter though I guess I'd have to try moving them in to the GH?
I may be in ..

[Snadger]

There's a new fangled contraption now called a 'Freezer' (you may have heard of these or actually own one). With this I could have onions every day if i so wished.

Shame I got rid of my welsh onions, they could be picked every day/week but were minging!

Leeks could be sown or planted from bulbils and harvested every week of the year if you so wished.
With onions you have sets (Spring and Autum planted) seeds or bulbils also. Chives could be grown in a pot on the windowsill to give year round alliums.
I've never tried it but have been told you can crop leeks by cutting at ground level and they will re-shoot from the basal plate.

All in all, it sounds like an easy challenge.............but I'm not playing (Cos I can't be arsed)

[SusieG]

I've had rubbish success with my spring onions ...... I've got a bucketful still 'ongoing' sown about 6 years ago (actually 26.2.16 - six months...) and they're only just now looking half decent (well the green tops have got a bit taller and thickened up a tad...)

I sowed 3 lots into SFG beds in May - some were 'tape', others just the usual seed packets..... And hey presto ..... pathetic! This is all I got ...

Don't know what I'm doing wrong!
Leeks, pretty much the same - I've got a grand total of FOUR struggling to do anything ...

However..... the Sturon onion sets were a great success as was the garlic ...

Sooo, might give the ones I have left lying around a go, but not very confident of 'picking' one a day .............................

[veggiechicken]

Its One a Week, not One a Day.........or whatever frequency you choose.
In Snadger's case we'll never know 'cos he's an old misery and won't come out to play

[Snadger]

Its One a Week, not One a Day.........or whatever frequency you choose.
In Snadger's case we'll never know 'cos he's an old misery and won't come out to play

Ask AP he'll put you right. Anyway, with the ammount of alliums that Jay-el is growing i don't need to grow them, I'll just scrounge them from him or pillage his plot!

[Jay-ell]

Looks like I'm growing for two.

Bah, no where has cha cha chives for sale.

Ordered some Ramson bulbs as the seeds might take too long to bulk up to harvest in February. Will still grow from seed as I want to have a decent patch under the hedge for the hungry gap.

Ordered some three cornered leeks and some nodding onion seeds.

Saw Nodding Chives but these turned out to be Nodding Onions.

Now on the look out for mouse garlic.

[Jay-ell]

Oh dear - allium wish list is growing. Currently on my want list are (in no particular order) :-

1. Shallots
2. Potato Onions
3. Cha Cha Chives
4. Rakkyo
5. Daffodil Garlic
6. Few Flowered Garlic/Leek
7. Hookers Onion
8. Keeled Garlic
9. Mouse Garlic
10. Sand leek (Rocambole)

At this rate, in a couple of years I'll be picking a different species every week.

[Snadger]

Oh dear - allium wish list is growing. Currently on my want list are (in no particular order) :-

1. Shallots
2. Potato Onions
3. Cha Cha Chives
4. Rakkyo
5. Daffodil Garlic
6. Few Flowered Garlic/Leek
7. Hookers Onion
8. Keeled Garlic
9. Mouse Garlic
10. Sand leek (Rocambole)

At this rate, in a couple of years I'll be picking a different species every week.

I thought you had allium white rot on the plot? If so, that will clip your wings for you!

[Jay-ell]

Pots, pots, pots.

I also have a bath, and a few other themed containers

Don't know about the second plot but the previous tenant of the Jungle seemed to only grow brassicas and onions in every bed. There were leeks or onions in each bed together with either sprout stems or turnips.

That plot is going to get a break for a while from onions whilst I try watering it with garlic.

Of course a lot of these are perennial allium so once I've sorted out where they're going to go, they'll be looking to stay put.

[veggiechicken]

Apparently now is the time to sow Japanese overwintering onion seeds - for bulbs in ?May and Spring onions.
Had a rummage in my seed stash and found some Bunching onions and some other seeds that may stand a chance if sown now, so I've sown in modules, a pinch of seeds to each ................

Onion Long Red Florence ( can be sown August for spring onions)

Bunching onions :-
Shimonita (sow March - late September)
& Kyoto Market Green Leaf (sow Aug/Sept)
Winter White (sow Sept to overwinter)
Ishikuro (sow late winter/early spring! Nothing ventured.........)

Baby leeks (mature in 10 weeks)
Nipper (sow March - June!)
Atal (sow April - July)

Welsh onions from a seed swap day
Walking onion also from the seed swap that look very dried out!

Anyone else sown any seeds this week?

[Jay-ell]

I thought you sowed Welsh Onions in the spring. I'll have to sort out the seeds and sow half nof half later.

My Japanese onions I sowed in pots in the GH have popped up a couple of shoots today - same with the pots of white lisbon.

The walking onion bulbils I planted the other week seem to be coming on ok - straight off the plant into the pot - the elephant garlic bulbils look as if they've survived as well - I have another elephant garlic just come into flower, if I can remember I'll shave it tomorrow to see if it makes bulbils.

I've planted a tub of Daffodil Garlic and I've just got some three cornered leek bulbs to plant.

I'm tempted to sow some elefant leeks for baby leeks/greenhouse growing just to see.

I'm waiting on bulbs for wild garlic, golden garlic and round headed leek to come as well as the seeds for nodding Onion.

I think my Babbington leeks have died though (caps off and a minute silence) they've been looking dodgy since I put em in