On 21 September we planted some autumn onions and garlic.
We planted two varieties of garlic - Germidour and Thermidour - and four varieties of autumn onions - the imaginatively named, Thompson and Morgan's Autumn Onions, Senshyu, Radar and a red variety called Electric. Even though the reds seem fussy we still are sticking with trying to get a good harvest. This year we bought the sets and bulbs from local nurseries rather than online so we had less choice and just had to buy what was available. Last year our planting times were dictated by whenever the online suppliers decided to dispatch our orders so we figured that we would prefer to get the sets planted as soon as we could rather than have a wider choice. We also planted cloves from one of last year's elephant garlic bulbs
The weed control fabric which had been used for last year's autumn onions and garlic had been moved to the appropriate bed a while ago and so all we had to do was plant.
Soon after planting we noticed that something had dug up some of the garlic cloves and made off with them. so I laid some chicken wire over the bed to provide a bit of a deterrent.
We had a few days away last week and so had a plot break and when we visited the plot at the beginning of this week we were surprised to see that all the varieties of onions were already shooting. Some had produced some fairly tall shoots!
This has given me a bit of a problem - should I remove the chicken wire so that the shoots don't end up growing through the mesh and spoiling?
Not a problem I thought I would encounter so soon after planting!
We had a few days away last week and so had a plot break and when we visited the plot at the beginning of this week we were surprised to see that all the varieties of onions were already shooting. Some had produced some fairly tall shoots!
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It's amazing how you can see a difference in things when you take a short plot break. Could you perhaps bend the wire more so that it stands proud of the shoots for now?
ReplyDeleteI could bend it Jo, I did this over the lettuce but then I wouldn't have enough wire netting.
DeleteI just love those first shoots of garlic. It was the first thing I planted when I finally got a garden (six years ago) and I used to walk down the garden every day and look at them. I was SO excited when they started to shootl I still love them now. They mark the start of the new season's planting, and I find they always grow really well.
ReplyDeleteThe garlic hasn't shooted yet CJ just the onions.
DeleteWow, that is a flying start! Nice problem to have though, much better than the alternatives. I always grow salad onions, but this year I tried shallots from seed. Just a few, just to see, but they were wonderful, so definitely going to do that again. No room for rows of "proper" onions though. Might think about garlic - if I was just going to grow one kind, what would you recommend?
ReplyDeleteIf I had limited space, Janet I wouldn't bother planting onions either
DeleteI didn't answer your questiotnabout varieties did I? To be honest I'm not able to really detect a difference in taste and some garlic has performed better some years than others.
DeleteI'd go for a soft neck variety as these are supposed to keep better. TRy seeing what is available i your local garden centres.
You seem so organised with planting. I think I would do an occasional check to try to adjust plants growing up through the wire.
ReplyDeleteWith the change in weather I guess growth will slow down considerably, Kelli
DeleteI haven't got my garlic in the ground yet...hopefully it will go in the week after next. I think if I was you I would just leave the wire for now and keep an eye on things.
ReplyDeleteI think that is what I will do, Tanya
DeleteI think I'd leave it there for a while, the holes seem big enough for the stems.....I popped all my withering garlic in the vegie patch yesterday, I'll be surprised if anything grows.xxxx
ReplyDeleteI think the garlic was the main attraction for whatever dug up the cloves, Snowbird. The cloves had been carried away as there were no signs of them.
DeleteI thought my garlic from last year had just vanished and I forgot all about it. Suddenly when picking cabbages last week i found some sprouts, dug them up and they were lovely large bulbs of garlic. So they are now broken up and replanted and all sprouting like mad: isn't this too early? I fear they will just die over the winter.
ReplyDeleteGarlic are pretty tough and like a cold spell so hopefully will be fine, sweffling.
DeleteThanks very much for that:)
DeleteI had a nightmare with onions this year. All of mine died - I have no idea why but I don't think they ever looked as good as yours do already.
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame Liz, Our summer onions were very mixed in how they performed as I posted earlier.
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