Onion Questions

Iyer,

so, I'm growing some onions and taters from sets in a few bags behind my parent's house, as they won't let me dig any of the lawn up (sad face emoticon :( )

i have a couple questions I hope someone could help me with given that the book i've got, The Vegetable Expert is a bit confusing to someone as incredibly green as i when it comes to the green fingers.

* 'Dig Soil well in advance of sowing' - if i'm sowing my seeds in march and august, when does this mean?

*Onion Harvest
- how long do they tend to take to grow to harvestable size from bulbs?...is it quite random and do i just wait for them to yellow?
- how's best to take the suckers out of the earth?
- storage: it says i dry them for 21 days then store them till spring?!? certainly they don't last 6 months before rotting? and by drying i just leave them in a box?

thanks a ton for all your help!
David

 

You're growing onions sets in growbags? I've never done that personally but someone may come along soon who has and can advise you better. In the meantime, here's some basics.

If you're planting veg in the ground, you normally rough dig in the autumn and spread compost/manure. Then you dig it over again and rake it level in early spring. I live in the south and do this in Feb/March. Then you start your planting programme.

Onions normally like to sit firm in the soil and get plenty of sun. I don't know how your onion sets will perform if you have them in the soft compost of a growbag. I plant my onions sets in late March/early April and the onions themselves tell you when they're ready because their tops fall over and shrivel. For me, this would normally be in late July or August, depending on the weather. And they don't all fall over at the same time, the bigger ones hold on for ages. When the tops have shrivelled, you lift them and put them somewhere sunny to ripen off fully. Should take a couple of weeks, at max. By then, the bulbs should be hard as bullets. Tie them to a string or put them in nets and store them somewhere dry, cool and ventilated e.g. a garage or shed. Then they should last 6 months, easy. Some types of onion do keep better than others, though.

I don't know what the "suckers" could be. Or do you mean the onions themselves? If so, you just put a garden fork under them and gently lever them out. They should lift cleanly if they're really ready to come.

 

hahaha, 'sucker' is a very sophisticated and high brow noun that works as a universal anaphor! in this case the antecedent is 'onions', aye.

i'm amazed that they last six months.
dumb question: why is it that shop bought onions last about a week odd?
i'm assuming it's a combination of late transport across ocean to shelf to plate and chemicals...

 

In my experience onions grown from sets don't keep as long as those grown from seed. When I had my allotment I ripened my onions in the cold frame. The greenhouse is also a good place. As you can't use part of the garden an allotment might be the answer - if any are to be had locally and you have the time to devote to it.

http://www.raffia.plus.com

 

the allotment waiting list locally is nearly a decade I've heard.

although i imagine the difference is quite intuitive (they take longer to sprout leaves?), what changes if i grow my onions from seeds?

 

David

Probably shop bought onions don't last long in your kitchen because they're at the end of their storage life when they're sold. And they'll have been knocked about in bulk harvesting and storage. And you're probably keeping them in a warm, humid kitchen?

Try and keep them cool, ventilated.

 

David, as long as your onions are ripened and stored correctly, they can last until NEXT years crop is ready.:thumb:

 

FURTHER ONION QUESTIONS.

these ones of enormous ignorance.
how on earth will my onion crop produce seeds and can i store them to grow more?

 

http://www.cd3wd.com/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/AGRIC/FB19ME/EN/B84_16.HTM#B84_16_1

this growing guide says the crop needs potasssium and phosphorous but to avoid nitrogen...

does this refer to a certain kind of fertilising process????

 

David, onions are leafy plants. They want phosphates when first planted to encourage root growth. They then need nitrogen to encourage top growth. Finally, they need potash from the start of August to help them ripen.:thumb:

 

thanks again david, what can i use to add such chemicals?

 

For Phosphates, use superphosphate, for Nitorgen use nitrate of soda and for Potash, use sulphate of potash.:thumb:

 

Daitheplant could you say that in english please

:confused::confused::confused::confused:
를 위한 인산염, 사용 과인산, 소다의 Nitorgen 사용 질산 및 칼륨, 칼륨의 사용 황산염
i got the Nitrogen bit but the rest is all gobldygook

 

Same as David said. My onions last virtually to the next seasons crop...not always, but if you grow shallots, they can supplement any you may have to purchase till your crop is ready. I always grow from sets supplied by a reputable source..I once tried from seed and to be honest was quite time consuming and not a great success for me.

I dry and harden them off on metal fencing or chicken wire, that is not in contact with the ground. Not all the onions will be successful in drying so you can start eating those, or any damaged one's first.

I tie mine up on lengths of string by folding over the leaves and then cutting off long bits. I hang some in the garage and some in the kitchen. I tie them up by size for ease of use.

Regarding feeding onions..in the ground - not grow bags, as I have never attempted that. I just put down a good layer of growmore three weeks before I plant and that's it.

If you like aliums..as in the seed heads...plant a few shop bought onions on the flower bed. They will give you some beautiful flowers!!

But I wish you all the best in your endeavors.:thumb:

 

So, Tweaky, you are not feeding your onions then? Growmore lasts in the soil about 10 to 14 days. T M. You go to your garden centre. To the fertiliser section, and you look for a box with Superphosphate of Lime on it, this is your phosphates. Then you look for one with Nitrate of Soda written on it, this is you nitrogen fertiliser and lastly, you look for one that says Sulphate of Potash, this is your potash fertiliser.:D:D:D