[3759allen]

my onions seem to be dying off so i'm assuming they should be almost ready to harvest?

i planted them pretty late so didn't think they would be ready yet. i can't see any onions on the surface of the ground though, does this mean i planted them too deep?

should i leave them til they have completely died off or be brave and lift one and see whats going on? i'm in no rush to harvest them yet, if i leave them a bit longer will they continue to grow to a larger size?

the soil doesn't water log and is pretty dry so i can't see a problem with them rotting.

sorry for all the questions.

thanks in advance.

[3 allotments]

hi, have you tried lifting any yet, if they come up very easily check the root see if there is any white mould ,if so you have botrytis the rot then goes inside the onion and ruins it some times you can save a few by taking layers off. hope this is of any help  :)darren

[DD.]

Before we start worrying about diseases, may I ask how deep you planted them? They should really only have gone on the surface with the tips showing.

Also you say you planted late.

My guess is that they've run their course, but given what you've said about them, don't expect a lot from them, they weren't given the best start in life!

[3759allen]

thanks for the suggestions.

the tips were just under the surface, maybe a little too deep then.

they was only given to me, as my dad had them left over so anything is going to be better than nothing.

do i leave them to completely die off before lifting or will it not make any difference?

i think i may lift one tomorrow to hopefully rule out disease, fingers crossed.

thanks again.

[TheWhiteRabbit]

Funnily enough onions were the first thing we planted and, being new to all this malarkey, weren't sure when the packet said something like "plant an inch deep" whether that meant an inch from the bottom or an inch from the top!! So ours went in a bit deep!!

Ours aren't massive but they're a respectable size given that they were buried!! Fingers crossed for yours!!



PS - I can't remember what the packet said...the reference to 'an inch deep' is purely for illustrative purposes!!!

[gavinjconway]

I dib a hole and press the set in gently then pinch the soil over to cover them. They end up anywhere from 1/2" to 2" below the surface deep and every single one grows a good sized bulb - normally!!

If I'm using seed and planting out the seedlings I dib a hole, place the seedling and then throw a handful of soft compost on top to bed them in.. so they are probably 3" deep to the root section. Brilliant results this year.

They will sort themselves out.  Its the lateness that affects the growth.

I sometimes plant in modules (like this year) if I'm not ready to plant out which is always before my spuds go in so onions always planted first week of March (direct or in modules). Then I have a bigger fat dibber or thin skinny pointed trowel to make a hole and plant the modules through the holes in my weed fabric.

Onion spacing is 6" x 6"
Garlic spacing is  8" x 6"

Pics showing planting the modules then sets and then all finished... see my garlic in the background in the 3rd pic that were started off modules as well..   The last pic showing the crop of onions and leeks behind them. The garlic have been pulled out - brilliant garlic crop this year.


 

[Goosegirl]

I plant sets and plant like gavinjconway - depending on how loose your soil is, gently plant the base as you can harm it, then cover the tip with some fine soil - this will stop anything pulling them out before they have grown their roots to anchor them. The rain will wash the soil off the tips and you should have onion bulbs showing on the surface later on. I have also planted in modules to get their roots started before planting out later.

[shokkyy]

Gavin, how do you get your onions to stand up like perfect little soldiers? Mine are always lying around in a heap with all the leaves bent over. Makes it impossible to weed properly when they're like that. That weed fabric looks a very good idea, but do you find it acts like a slug hotel? Must have taken hours to cut out all those circles.

I was a bit late with my onion seeds this year because I had a disaster with the first sowing and had to resow. Mine are not looking very big at all at the moment, though they're all still nice and green, albeit lying around in green crumpled heaps.

[gavinjconway]

Shokky I just plant and let them be.. I used to weed them 2 or 3 times before the fabric trial this year. They just behave themselves and stand straight!!  Without the fabric I used to plant at 8" x 6" spacings for hoeing purposes. Slugs dont seem to like the fabric and no problems as yet with my strawbs, courgettes, sweetcorn and onions..   We burned the holes in the fabric with a blow torch.. It took time to mark with strings all ways then got a marker to mark the cross points and then the burning was fairly quick.

[BabbyAnn]

Shokky I just plant and let them be.. I used to weed them 2 or 3 times before the fabric trial this year. They just behave themselves and stand straight!!  Without the fabric I used to plant at 8" x 6" spacings for hoeing purposes. Slugs dont seem to like the fabric and no problems as yet with my strawbs, courgettes, sweetcorn and onions..   We burned the holes in the fabric with a blow torch.. It took time to mark with strings all ways then got a marker to mark the cross points and then the burning was fairly quick.

ooooh, I like that    Never thought of planting onions through fabric before (tried lots of other things though)