Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

MickyB · « **on:** August 03, 2013, 19:31 »

I chopped up the tops of my onion leaves down to around five inches from the bulb and added them to the compost bin, did I make a mistake in doing so?

mumofstig · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2013, 19:42 »

As long as you have no onion rot on your plot - they'll be fine in the compost;)

It's perhaps not the best way to dry onions though, some people prefer to leave the stems on for drying
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=108458.msg1219630#msg1219630

MickyB · « **Reply #2 on:** August 03, 2013, 19:52 »

The vast majority of the onions 90% plus were OK, I am not sure what rot looks like but maybe 2 or 3 did have what I thought looked like rot at the very bottom of the bulb, with what looked like milky white sap oozing out and I got the impression that if I left these bulbs they would turn to mush, the necks of these bulbs were also soft again heading towards a state of mushiness. Another 4 or 5 had 'blown' at the bottom with what looked like new growth protruding out, I did not add the bulbs to the heaps just the leaves.

seaside · « **Reply #3 on:** August 03, 2013, 20:18 »

Sounds like the sort of damage one gets with white rot.. the worst affected onions rot like you say, the more mildly affected, just a bit of surface white fluff on the root side that dries away when pulled and doesn't seem to affect the storing qualities.
The advice is not to compost it, as it might well survive within the resultant compost, but then most plots seem to have a little dotted around them. If it's already in your compost pile, I guess there isn't much you can do about it now. Maybe use that compost where onions won't be grown ....eg... greenhouse compost possibly.
Since I suffered a little white rot this year, I am not composting any onion waste. The effect on my onions has been small, with only 3 or 4 rotting thoroughly as you describe. Onion rot stays around for donkey's ears and so virtually every plot holder on our 80 year old allotments suffers somewhat, but most get a reasonable crop for storage. It's something we all live with but none of us want to spread the issue any further than it is already.

MickyB · « **Reply #4 on:** August 03, 2013, 20:36 »

Quote from: seaside on August 03, 2013, 20:18

Sounds like the sort of damage one gets with white rot.. the worst affected onions rot like you say, the more mildly affected, just a bit of surface white fluff on the root side that dries away when pulled and doesn't seem to affect the storing qualities.
The advice is not to compost it, as it might well survive within the resultant compost, but then most plots seem to have a little dotted around them. If it's already in your compost pile, I guess there isn't much you can do about it now. Maybe use that compost where onions won't be grown ....eg... greenhouse compost possibly.
Since I suffered a little white rot this year, I am not composting any onion waste. The effect on my onions has been small, with only 3 or 4 rotting thoroughly as you describe. Onion rot stays around for donkey's ears and so virtually every plot holder on our 80 year old allotments suffers somewhat, but most get a reasonable crop for storage. It's something we all live with but none of us want to spread the issue any further than it is already.

That sound exactly like what I am seeing, I have already added them to the compost and I also split the leaves between two different compost bins so it would be impossible to identify and remove just the effected leaves - oops!

I take it the rot (virus, fungus?) survives within the leaves and not just in the bulb then?

Sparkyrog · « **Reply #5 on:** August 03, 2013, 20:55 »

Then do not plant onions of anytype leeks or Garlic where you use the compost

seaside · « **Reply #6 on:** August 03, 2013, 21:00 »

Quote from: MickyB on August 03, 2013, 20:36

I take it the rot (virus, fungus?) survives within the leaves and not just in the bulb then?

I might be wrong Micky, but I don't think so. It's more the root end, but then often the same knife is used to top, tail and peel.
If I were really concerned, I would just pull the last 2 weeks contributions from the compost pile and do something else with it, even though I wonder how possible it is to ever have a completely white rot free allotment.
Everyone goes on about plot cleanliness, and it's good advice. How well anyone actually practices that cleanliness in day to day reality is quite a different matter. I actually pulled a weeks composting as best I could recently for exactly the same reason you're talking about. I was happily peeling my worst affected onions and forgot the white fluff issue and had to retrieve the situation. Do I think it was worth it ? ... no idea. We all make mistakes, and if it is important enough to our own sensibilities, we take action as best we can.

MickyB · « **Reply #7 on:** August 03, 2013, 21:48 »

Anyone tried Golden Bear F1 onions? The web-site below states that they are white rot resistant?

https://www.quickcrop.co.uk/product/onion-golden-bear-f1

barley · « **Reply #8 on:** August 03, 2013, 22:11 »

Quote from: sparkyrog on August 03, 2013, 20:55

Then do not plant onions of anytype leeks or Garlic where you use the compost

why is that sparky

?

Sparkyrog · « **Reply #9 on:** August 04, 2013, 09:50 »

Quote from: barley on August 03, 2013, 22:11

Quote from: sparkyrog on August 03, 2013, 20:55
Then do not plant onions of anytype leeks or Garlic where you use the compost

why is that sparky ?

As there is a chance you now have white rot in the compost . Although it may get hot enough to kill it I am unsure. But I am sure someone will know .

Salmo · « **Reply #10 on:** August 04, 2013, 18:38 »

You may be best to use that compost on the ground where the onions have come out. Better still use it outside the onion rotation e.g. rhubarb, soft fruit, flower garden.

MickyB · « **Reply #11 on:** August 04, 2013, 18:54 »

Pity, I wanted to use it throughout the plot but never mind.
I have added various weeds from all over the plot into the compost bin, is it likely that the fungal spores have already been transferred into the compost bins within the soil stuck to the roots of the weeds?
I have already learned about club root on the brassica's and know not to compost those is there anything else that I should be aware of?

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Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

MickyB

Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

mumofstig

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

MickyB

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

seaside

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

MickyB

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

Sparkyrog

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

seaside

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

MickyB

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

barley

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

Sparkyrog

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

Salmo

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

MickyB

Re: Composting Onion Leaves - Yes Or No?

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