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Confused trying to grow onions

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  • NiniSNiniS Posts: 18
    JennyJ said:
    You could grow spring onions in the vegtrug if you like them. They don't need a deep root run.
    Yeah I might try that next year actually, basically just use my Vegtrug for salad type vegetables like lettuce, spring onion, spinach, radish, carrots (those seem to be growing fine in my trug). :smile:

    Skandi said:
    I grow them in tight clumps to produce little onions just like you have and as dove says, they are perfect for pickling.

    Looking at the two sets of onions, the ones in pots have done well, you know why they were small. so whatever potting mix/fertiliser you used in there worked, if you want to try them again in the trug use whatever that was.
    Ah maybe I'll give pickling a try then, see if I like it!
    And the funny thing is I'm pretty sure I used the same compost in the Vegtrug as in those pots (they were basically filled with left over compost), so I'm not sure why they grew so much better haha. Maybe they kept the moisture in better, the trug tends to dry out quicker on top I think. 
  • BigladBiglad Posts: 3,265
    I can't offer any expert advice @NiniS - the limited number of onions I germinated this year never made it to maturity. However, I love the trug!
    East Lancs
  • This is a really tasty recipe for pickled onions 
    https://www.ocado.com/webshop/recipe/honey-spiced-pickled-onions/52551
    😋 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Onions need full sunlight so if they received any shade, that could be why they haven't grown too well.  It hasn't been a good year for some onions growers, so that may also have some bearing.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • NiniSNiniS Posts: 18
    Biglad said:
    I can't offer any expert advice @NiniS - the limited number of onions I germinated this year never made it to maturity. However, I love the trug!
    Thank you, I love it too! I got it in February as a birthday present (I basically told my partner to get me this hahaha) and I'm happy I did with lockdown starting not long after! It's helped keep me sane during these long months. :) 

    This is a really tasty recipe for pickled onions 
    https://www.ocado.com/webshop/recipe/honey-spiced-pickled-onions/52551
    😋 
    Thank you, I might try that one! :smiley:

    Onions need full sunlight so if they received any shade, that could be why they haven't grown too well.  It hasn't been a good year for some onions growers, so that may also have some bearing.
    Hmm they get quite a bit of sun in that part of the garden. How many hours should they get you think? 
    I'm thinking it might be down to me not adding enough fertilizer maybe. I have plenty of seeds left so I could always try again next year if I fancy it. :) 
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    Whatever you do in the garden, if it pleases you it's OK, but I tend to look at the weight/value I get from a crop.  So, in the case of 'proper' onions, I enjoy the fact that a small plot of say 1m x 3m will produce enough to last us (2) right round to the next year.
  • war  garden 572war garden 572 Posts: 664
    edited May 2023
    just remember onion should considered leaf crops not root crop and they 
    love nitrogen. you want biggest plant possible before the day length triggers
    bulbing. from following article:
    "Romancing the Onion" 
    horticulture magazine march 1987 p 21
    full article can be found here
    https://archive.org/details/sim_horticulture_1987-03_65_3/page/n21/mode/1up

    ps it took me an hour find article in one of my 5 inch binders.
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