Britannia Ovens (esp Range cookers) your experience

[Griffin]

I've never grown onions before and earlier on this year I planted out red onions. Some of them are in flower now. When do I harvest them?

[sjp]

the ones in flower have bolted and need the flower heads removeing if any of those are a useable size then pick them bolted onions don't store so will need using first any that arn't of a useable size go in the compost. the none flowering ones you leave until the green dies back and turns a strawy brown colour then lift them and put them somewere to dry potting shed bench or on an upturned crate the blue mushroom flats are ideal in a cold frame with the lid open at max to allow for airflow but set to keep the rain off to finnish drying. spring planted onoins should be ready to harvest about mid to late August

red onion sets are prone to bolting you can lose about 50% of the crop to bolting. seed grown red onions don't tend to bolt

[Griffin]

Oops Will go dig them up now

[counturchickens]

Griffin, don't worry. Our onions have been a nightmare this year, I think it was just too dry in the spring.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Glad you asked the question, I didn't know all that either . Will be checking my onions tomorrow .

[Griffin]

I harvested the most pathetic crop of red onions known to man Glad to have a bit of extra room in the garden now though, I was able to move Tiger and her new chicks to a bigger run

[Lesley]

I had to harvest onions and garlic early as well once I'd noticed some garlic with white mould - I lost about a third of my crop to it a couple of years ago. Quite a few of my onions had started to produce a flower and had thick middles. They've dried reasonable well and we're using the odd ones first.

[Alis girls]

We have some good onions best ever but dint know the bolters needed picking so thanks for that will be up at allotment picking the blighters and leave the rest.

[Lesley]

We have some good onions best ever but dint know the bolters needed picking so thanks for that will be up at allotment picking the blighters and leave the rest.

 

Yes, if you notice them start you can cut the flower head off but once they've really grown then you need to harvest those. The hot dry Spring made it worse this year.

[chickencam]

Red onions are the most prone to bolting in light soils and dry weather, we only ever get a few each year.

 

Onions are ready to harvest when their tops fall over and start to turn brown, we lift ours and put them to dry somewhere sunny and hot, not always easy, we lost a lot last year because they didn't dry properly in the damp autumn and lost lots more to the frost in storage. We are normally totolly self sufficient in onions, but not last year. This year's crop will be small onions but we planted an awful lot so should be ok hopefully.

[sjp]

I had to harvest onions and garlic early as well once I'd noticed some garlic with white mould - I lost about a third of my crop to it a couple of years ago. Quite a few of my onions had started to produce a flower and had thick middles. They've dried reasonable well and we're using the odd ones first.

if you've got white mould on the onins and garlic then don't use that bit of land for a few years for alliums as it stays in the groud for a very long time. I've got one bed that's got it in.plus we've got allium leaf miner on the allotment and I've just found out how my onions at home are getting flated my cream legbar grower can get through the electric netting as it's not electrified

[ali-s]

I was out in the veg garden at 6.30 am this morning snipping off the developing flowers on my Onions. they were only planted a few weeks ago.

[sjp]

I was out in the veg garden at 6.30 am this morning snipping off the developing flowers on my Onions. they were only planted a few weeks ago.

were they new sets or saved onions from last year?

[ali-s]

They were new sets. A red onion variety and a white one.