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[Katyed]

Hi

 

We are just starting out a vegetable garden and we have put in some overwintering onions.

 

We have seen lots of varying advice about whether these should be covered over winter. The last article we saw said a black sheet covering. We are getting little green shoots appearing though - surely such a complete covering would kill these?

 

On the other hand we don't know if we should be getting green shoots so early.

 

Can anyone advise on how best to proceed to keep our onions happy?

 

Thanks

[Lesley]

I've never covered them - they are meant to be hardy enough to go through Winter.

 

They will start to grow now and then as the weather becomes colder they will go into a hibernation - the green shoots will be fine. Come Spring, the onions will start to grow again and be ahead of Spring planted sets. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to cover with fleece, but I wouldn't use black sheet.

 

The overwintered ones are meant to be used, while the Spring grown ones are better for storing to use for the winter.

[Katyed]

Thanks exactly what I needed to know

[chickencam]

We have covered ours with enviomesh to stop the birds pulling them out, but otherwise they are hardy.

[Cinnamon]

Can anyone recommend a good overwintering onion for me?

Preferably one that I can buy online

[chickencam]

We have just planted some Unwins first early onions, but it is the first time we have grown them and the first time we have tried overwintering onions, so as to whether or not they will work I'll have to wait and see.

[Katyed]

I'm sure the spelling is wrong but ours are senshyu?!

[Lesley]

We've grown those as well.

 

Marshalls will have ones to plant now - and they have good advice in their catalogue....their website should have the same info.

[Chooks Aloud]

I saw a bloke on the telly planting onions recently. He made a mound across his bed and just popped them in with his finger. He always plants them in the mound as when it rains it will run off and not rot the bulb. He never covers his just put some sticks across to stop the birds from pulling them out. He had huge ones - onions that is.

 

Karen

[farmerJules]

I saw a bloke on the telly planting onions recently. He made a mound across his bed and just popped them in with his finger. He always plants them in the mound as when it rains it will run off and not rot the bulb. He never covers his just put some sticks across to stop the birds from pulling them out. He had huge ones - onions that is.

Karen

 

 

[TAJ]

We put mesh over to stop the birds (as with our spring onions) for the first few weeks - we have never covered winter onions and never had a problem. Just remember these onions tend to be a hybrid with a Japanese onion - not traditional English varieties. They are great, but they do not store as well as the spring planted ones. We grow both and just use the over-winter ones first.

 

Tracy

[Valkyrie]

Our winter onions are coming through now. One patch has chicken wire over the top - I did have some fleece as well to deter the girls, but it was blown off and they haven't bothered with it at all. Another bed has now been surrounded by our old secondary glazing in an attempt to stop the girls picking out the shoots. Hah, fooled them!

If you want onions to store throughout winter then either sow seed (my grandmother used to grow Ailsa Craig variety) now in modules or go for sets (apparently the heat treated ones are supposed to prevent bolting in hot weather - not that it seemed to make much difference to mine). The sets arrive in spring and you can either put them in modules to transplant (giving them a head start) or directly into the soil. I haven't noticed much difference, although I do tend to start them off in the greenhouse first. Jet Set was a good variety that stores quite well - except we tend to scoff them too quickly.

As the only onions I intend to do this year are the winter ones, I shall freeze them to store instead (double wrapped because they can make the freezer pong ) Instead of late onions I will be growing lots of leeks.

The onions I have at the moment are from Marshalls and were a set of 3 different types. I always used to get mine from Chase Organics, but I wasn't impressed with the sets that I have been getting lately from them, so am giving Marshalls a try.

 

Good luck with your plantings whichever you choose.