Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: pulse on April 23, 2008, 20:10

Title: More newbie questions
Post by: pulse on April 23, 2008, 20:10: Well I have a selection of questions that will undoubtably display my supreme lack of knowledge:

1. I put in my Nadine potatoes about a week and half ago. I have just realised that I have no idea what a potato plant looks like so I could be in real danger of pulling up a growing potato plant as a weed! Any decent pics anywhere?

2. I have some beetroot plants to put out soon. I have read they need to be harvested when the bulbs are between 1 and 3 inches in diameter. As they are a root crop, and hence I assume underground, how do I know when they are at a particular size.

3. Onions. Same as point 2 really how do I know when they will be ready?
Also is there a big difference between spring onions and onions in the way they are grown...can they be grown together.

Thanks for indulging my ignorance
Title: More newbie questions
Post by: richyrich7 on April 23, 2008, 20:50: 1) try Here (http://varieties.potato.org.uk/menu.php) they look a little hairy/fluffy as they first appear see the photo on the page of a developing tuber.

2) they from just below the surface and you will see the necks appear, just brush a little soil to onside to see what size they are.

3) Onions the leaves will fall over when they are ready to harvest, you lift them with a fork and leave to dry for a day or so before moving.
Spring onions are smaller bulbed than normal onions, in fact they hardly bulb up at all and are eaten quite young compared, can't see why you cant grow them together as long as you know which is which, but that won't matter if you are growing normal onions from sets.

Hope this helps
Title: More newbie questions
Post by: pulse on April 24, 2008, 07:34: Thx for the info
Title: More newbie questions
Post by: MarkG on April 24, 2008, 12:11: Hi Pulse,

I'm new too. A tip I got on here, which I'm trying this year, is to plant spring onions with the carrots. The onions may help keep the carrot fly away. I simply mixed a packet of carrot seeds with a packet of spring onion seeds and sowed them in a row.

Cheers,

Mark.
Title: More newbie questions
Post by: pulse on April 24, 2008, 12:51: Hmmm may give that a try.....
Title: More newbie questions
Post by: digital_biscuit on April 24, 2008, 14:16: Pulse

Re: Beetroot. I cropped mine when they were swede sized and apparently they tasted lovely! I hate them, but others found them delish!!
Title: More newbie questions
Post by: DD. on April 24, 2008, 14:30: Quote from: "digital_biscuit"
Pulse

Re: Beetroot. I cropped mine when they were swede sized and apparently they tasted lovely! I hate them, but others found them delish!!

Glad I'm not the only one that has to grow them for others!
Title: More newbie questions
Post by: cawdor2001 on April 24, 2008, 14:42: Actually i have Autumn planted Japanese bulb onions in from seed and i am pulling some now to thin them a bit to make room for the bulbs to grow big and i am eating the thinnings which are just starting to produce bulbs now (size of a large marble) and they taste great, just like a Spring onion. Waste not want not :wink:

Cawdor
Title: More newbie questions
Post by: cawdor2001 on April 24, 2008, 14:44: i too am growing beetroot for others as i hate it, they say you should pick when golf ball size for sweet baby beets, again using the thinning principle to make way for others to get to tennis ball size or so.

Cawdor