[richyrich7]

Thanks for the info Salmo clear and concise as all ways 

I won't grow onions on that spot at all for the next few years.

Good crop rotation is essential when you have these kind of problems. I will be growing turnip and swede where they have just come out from so a good dollop of lime may possibly help kill any fungal growth in the soil.

[wighty]

I've always pulled my garlic, peeled it and chopped it up in a food processor , crammed it into kilner jars and poured over white wine vinegar to make a version of shops 'lazy garlic'.  We have yet to touch last years let alone that from this year, may miss a year planting garlic!

[richyrich7]

Never heard of that one Wighty, do you have a receipe or is it a simple as chop and cover with white wine vinegar. Another question do you use it straight after pulling then ?

[Trillium]

In North America, the affected areas (thankfully not here) leave the soil alone for 20 years for onion rot to die off. Former onion farms are now raising other crops as its a very long wait otherwise.

Richy, you should be able to use the garlic straight out of the vinegar. Do avoid keeping it in an oil solution though as the oil will quickly spoil and infect your garlic with botulism.

[Chiswickian]

Ill add my wee voice to the onion rot too. Garlic 'Solent Wight' and Rada overwintered onions are patchy at best. Some of the onions are bulbing up nicely (not many of them though - ?50%) but those that have failed to thrive have the telltal signs of white rot. I get thee idea that the garlic will be a 50% success too. I use raised beds that are partitioned so I may be lucky enough to be able to rotate without planting in that soil for many years. I just hope I remember that in 10 years time!

[tam]

The stuff I've pulled so far (leaves died) is tiny. Some is about the size of a 10p even though it's split into tiny cloves. It was in troughs where I ran out of room and I think the soil was a bit old. I'm hoping the stuff in the ground will be a little bigger.

[SG6]

Reading this thread and had a search, found this:

http://www.hortweek.com/news/search/879914/Science-practice---onion-white-rot-control-composted-waste/

Seems to be saying that composted waste made with onion material helps.
I presumed that it means uninfected onions.
But an infected onion could introduce the fungus that then allows a bacteria to multiply that feeds on the fungus. So when dug back in the compost has the fungus eating bacteria present.

Seems there is no real effective cure and the the fungus can last for 18 years. There was mention of a agricultural chemical, but it is not available to the public. Suspect therefore that it is quite evil.

Some say crop rotation helps but others say that this keeps the level of infection down but enables it to spread from bed to bed by whatever means. So eventually infecting everything.

In simple terms it would seem that if you have it then you are in trouble for a long time.


OOPS,
May have done this in the wong thread, just seen another for Onion White Rot.
Will go stick it there as well.

[Salmo]

It would help if garlic and shallots from infected plots were not kept for seed the following year. Also be careful when accepting offers of seed from others. The fungus could also be on supermarket garlic

Does anyone know if you can disinfect the seed bulbs? Are the onion sets and garlic corms you buy treated in any way to kill the fungus

[wighty]

Never heard of that one Wighty, do you have a receipe or is it a simple as chop and cover with white wine vinegar. Another question do you use it straight after pulling then ?

It is as simple as it sounds.  Peel, chop in a blender and cram into jars and cover with vinegar.  I usually leave the garlic for a week on a rack in the greenhouse before I do it though.  I just add  a spoonful (including vinegar, which you can't taste) when cooking.  As someone else said don't use oil.  I only copied the idea from a jar of Lazy Garlic I had from the supermarket.  I have also done it to chillies with success.

[richyrich7]

Never heard of that one Wighty, do you have a receipe or is it a simple as chop and cover with white wine vinegar. Another question do you use it straight after pulling then ?

It is as simple as it sounds.  Peel, chop in a blender and cram into jars and cover with vinegar.  I usually leave the garlic for a week on a rack in the greenhouse before I do it though.  I just add  a spoonful (including vinegar, which you can't taste) when cooking.  As someone else said don't use oil.  I only copied the idea from a jar of Lazy Garlic I had from the supermarket.  I have also done it to chillies with success.

Thats  a great idea, saves having it hanging around, I'll give it a go, same with my chillis I've totally ignored them this year and they are making loads of fruit 

Thanks Wighty

[themoog]

I've lost all but one of my garlic bulbs to white rot, but it doesn't seem to have spread to the onions yet. I've been quite disappointed by the onion size, but as it's my first year growing onions, I just presumed that it was me (it still might be of course)  .

[Angelah]

First time I've grown onions, can't remember what they are, apart from one lot of white and one lot of red onions - over wintered, and two lots of garlic. They were put in a new bed, no maure, or growmore etc, just left to their own devices and they've done really well. Touch wood, so far, no rot! Variety of sizes, red ones not so big.

We'll be living on garlic for a while, so might try the garlic in vinegar idea!!!

[Bombers]

This was probably the best year I have had growing overwintered Onions and Garlic. 

I planted these around the end of October...



today, I lifted the garlic and I'm quite satisfied with the result, (albeit with the usual rust on the leaves)



as you can see, some of the bulbs are quite large..



My onions are nearly ready to harvest, and they are my best ever.

[Annie]

If it`s white rot  in the soil then it doesn`t matter when you plant your onions/garlic/leeks.I always grow overwintered garlic and appart fron a bit of rust no probs.I have one bed that i had white rot in a few years ago and I don`t grow any alliums there now and am careful to clean tools after working there just incase.So far so good.Google white rot and weep.Sorry.

[mumofstig]

WOW Bombers what beauts....might have a prod at mine tomorrow, but i'm not expecting anything like yours ...I've not got good soil YET!!!