[mparveen]

I would like to know what Onion is best for cooking and also what I can grow larger (for salads).

Also which shallot variety is best for pickling onions as my local nursery has several varieties!

Plus I have been told that I cannot sow garlic now as they will be small? is this true?

[leeks r us]

Onions for cooking there is so much choice i couldnt pick just one but the easiest to grow are onions from sets, i grow sturon but there again its a personal choice. The planting times for garlic are normally november-ish and then febuary march time. I grow golden gourmet for pickling which work well and other types for general use.

[stompy]

If you want to grow garlic, get some bulbs/cloves an put them in the bottom of the fridge for a couple of weeks then plant them out.
This will give them the cold snap they need to grow big, i do this every time i plant garlic as my soil is too wet to over the winter and alot of the cloves rot.
I sow mine the beginnig of March usually along with my onion sets Sturon and red baron.

If you want smaller onions just fold the leaves over when they are the size you want and they will ripen, for bigger onions just thet them fold naturally.

[dno71]

I'm trying golden gourmet this year for pickling as they come highly reccomended.

[mparveen]

If you want to grow garlic, get some bulbs/cloves an put them in the bottom of the fridge for a couple of weeks then plant them out.
This will give them the cold snap they need to grow big, i do this every time i plant garlic as my soil is too wet to over the winter and alot of the cloves rot.
I sow mine the beginnig of March usually along with my onion sets Sturon and red baron.

If you want smaller onions just fold the leaves over when they are the size you want and they will ripen, for bigger onions just thet them fold naturally.

Spooky, I've got 6 bulbs of garlic in the fridge already and they've been there for over 3 weeks!!!!!!!

My local nursery is selling Sturon and Red Baron already so will be definitely sowing them!

[mattwragg94]

my favourite cooking onions are sturon or stuttgarter
my favourite shallots are golden gourmet and red sun
for salad onions id go for a red variety as thye are usually sweeter,
and the garlic will be ok to plant however people plant them around november as the winter helps the new cloves to seperate!

[mparveen]

my favourite cooking onions are sturon or stuttgarter
my favourite shallots are golden gourmet and red sun
for salad onions id go for a red variety as thye are usually sweeter,
and the garlic will be ok to plant however people plant them around november as the winter helps the new cloves to seperate!

Do i have to sow them whole?? I've never grown garlic or onions so am trying them 1st time!

[DD.]

Garlic has to be split into individual cloves, leave the onions sets alone!

I planted garlic in March last year that should have gone in during the autumn. Had a very successful crop and none of this fridge malarkey.

[AlixP]

I planted my garlic a couple of weeks ago.  Didn't know about the fridge trick (also new to allotmenting, so much to learn.)  Hoping it gives a good crop, if not I'll be hot footing to the supermarket to buy some and passing it off as my own!

[mattwragg94]

DD when you harvested your garlic, where the cloves seperated? i.e. like a normal garlic bulb. ive heard that late (i.e. march) planting can cause the bulb not to form its cloves correctly- resulting in just one big clove!

[DD.]

There's 4 or 5 stonking big cloves in each bulb.

[Herb]

I planted garlic bulbs in November, they've grown over the winter, and now have a lot of green growth.

When do you normally harvest garlic?

[DD.]

June/Julyish - when the foliage turns yellow.

[mattwragg94]

and when would march planted garlic be ready to harvest? ive always wanted to grow it but i thought i was too late this year!

[DD.]

They were still ready in July. I've not put the exact date in my diary, but this entry on 23rd July says I harvested them 2 weeks prior.

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