19 July 2011

Gadzooks! Giant onions!

Just posting a quick update on the onions that I planted back in October. They were the first overwintering varieties grown in the Greenside Up garden (we usually plant sets out in the early springtime) and they have, without doubt, been a major success.

The only care they've needed was for the bed to be weeded regularly and that's it. They survived the snow, ice, wind and rain and just kept growing and growing.

To give you an idea of their size my index finger is just over 7cm long (just over 3 1/2"). Only three bolted (went to seed and tried to flower) and their stems were removed as soon as they were spotted.

I lifted them today as their tops were brown and falling over. The next step is to move them inside to dry out fully before stringing them up as it's not dry enough to leave them out. We used to do this process in the shed but last year the polytunnel proved even more useful and they dried out very quickly draped over a wire rack. The trick is to keep them as far apart as possible so the bulbs aren't touching.

We've eaten a few fresh ones already and they taste good. 

So will I be recommending anyone plants overwintering onions, and will we be doing it this year? Absolutely!

3 comments:

  1. Wow, those are nice sized onions...good job.

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  2. Gives me hope for my Japanese Onions that were not looking great between the kittens attention and generally bad growing conditions.
    Back at work, so back in Ireland some time mid-august, trepidation and anticipation of seeing my garden when I get back, equal measures of both.
    Congrats on the awards and listings BTW

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for your comments guys :) I was a bit worried about them there for a while Simon, after they'd been trampled by cattle and then waiting to see if rust developed but they pulled through. Can imagine your feelings on coming back Simon - was only away for two weeks there and wasn't sure what I'd be coming back to (but all was well).

    ReplyDelete

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