Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: ceri green on May 27, 2009, 19:11

Title: onion question from first time onion grower
Post by: ceri green on May 27, 2009, 19:11

How do you know when onions are ready?

(Just reading another thread on here i might have planted them too deep anyway, but the leaves look healthy  :D)

I dont really want to keep digging them up to check!

Title: Re: onion question from first time onion grower
Post by: SpudtheBinx on May 27, 2009, 19:18

It's when the leaves go brown and start to fold over I believe.

Title: Re: onion question from first time onion grower
Post by: DD. on May 27, 2009, 19:27

That's right.

You don't even have to ask them, they tell you themselves. They just give up and lie down.

Title: Re: onion question from first time onion grower
Post by: gillie on May 27, 2009, 20:48

The leaves keel over and go brown.  They should be left basking in the autumn sunshine until they rustle.  Then pick the onions up (by this time they have virtually no roots) and store them.

Any that bolt, or that stay standing when all the others have gone down should be used immediately as they will not store.

On the other hand, if you need a few onions for cooking, take some anytime they are large enough.

Cheers,

Gillie