[dionne]

Me again..so i got my autumn onions, swift and red cross is it to late to plant them out now?? also the soil is very very clay should i put some sand in there to stop them going moldy???

[WG.]

Seems a bit late but you may as well plant them since I don't think they'd keep for a spring sowing.  I'd suggest planting on a ridge to help clay soil drain better.

[dionne]

I was hoping they would be here in october   but only just arrived.to plant them on a ridge is that just as it sounds  :oops: (dont meen to sound silly) do you just build up  a mound and plant them in that?

[WG.]

Think of a tattie drill with the top flattened off.  You can make it wide enough for 2 maybe 3 rows of onions.

[Trillium]

By mounding clay soil up, you get better drainage for the roots as water can't pool easily at the crowns. Once your soil is more friable in a few years, you probably won't have to bother. But in the meantime, this is your best bet to keep crops from rotting. I have terrible clay soil and even though I've added lots of hummus and manure, I still need to do this a while yet.  

[dionne]

ok Thank you,i read that adding sand will help as long as its not to fine,is this a good idea to?

[WG.]

Adding sand won't do any harm as long as you don't add too much.  Onions are fairly shallow rooted.

[Ali]

They don't seem to mind wet clay too much... that's what I've got and they seem quite tolerant