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My Onions are Really Struggling

Last post 01-06-2012 12:15 PM by martcol. 4 replies.

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  • 27/05/2012 11:32 AM
    • martcol
    • 27 May 2012
    • 3
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    Hello I seem to have lost about a third to a half of my onion sets planted last Autumn. I have pulled some to inspect and can't see anything obvious; no mould or rot, no discolouration and no nasty bugs unless they are very tiny or really good at hiding. The bad onions are randomly spread across the patch but with a couple of complete rows gone but mostly interspersed with healthier looking plants. If you stand back from the area and look at al the rows it does look like something "swept through" the area a bit like an Old Testament plague. The plants almost all took off about the same time and seemed to be doing okay the beginning of the year but then when the growing season kicked off things became apparent that something was going wrong. The bad onions just look miserable. A bit yellow, no swelling of the bulb, and tiny. Here are a couple of Flickr photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/41231943@N03/7278444702 http://www.flickr.com/photos/41231943@N03/7278446374 And here's a 30 second YouTube vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro13Owc5jvA&feature=youtube_gdata_player Thanks Martin

  • 29/05/2012 09:20 PM
    In reply to
    • Simon
    • Chichester
    • 08 Jul 2008
    • 49
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    No definite answer, I'm afraid, but mine are exactly the same. It's my first try with onions, and some are doing well but others will not swell. The same has happened to the garlic, and the shallots. Some of the leaves curled like a corkscrew in the early stages, so I thought maybe a virus. Mother-in-law used the same stable manure as I did, and she says none of her veg is as good as usual. I also do a garden-share scheme, and the same sets are doing much better in another garden where I didn't use manure. So how about you - did you use stable manure this year? I also considered whether it was due to the very wet April. Maybe they took on too much water, or something...

  • 30/05/2012 06:11 AM
    In reply to
    • martcol
    • 27 May 2012
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     Yes simon,

     

    Stable manure was used but I don['t put it straight on.  It would have been rotting for a while before use.  We pretty much, have one source of manure accross the whole allotment and everyone uses the same.  I can't see anyone else having the same trouble as me.

     

    Martin

  • 30/05/2012 06:49 AM
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    I know that many experts will probably disagree, but here goes:

    Some years ago, I asked the (sadly no longer with us) very nice septuagenarian gentleman next door, for advice about growing onions, and he told me two things:

    1) It can take some years to get an onion bed really up to scratch; no rotation for him.

    2) Onions love company, so plant them in small groups.

    I have since discovered vaminoc mycorrhizal fungus, which helps with both yield and disease inocculation, and haven't really looked back.

    So, you're probably doing little wrong (otherwise none would grow), and perhaps experience, patience and time will reward you.

    The manure may be too fresh and thus too strong?
  • 01/06/2012 12:15 PM
    In reply to
    • martcol
    • 27 May 2012
    • 3
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     Thanks for your interest.

     

    I'll just carry on then.