Page 13 - Simply Veg 4 2022

A general fertiliser can be applied if the soil is not in good heart but is not required if the soil is fertile. Planting should be done from mid-September to early November. The plants should be approx. 10 to 15cm tall by mid-December and the aim is to have
2 or 3 good leaves by the time of the first frosts / cold weather. Do not plant too early or they will bolt in the next spring. If you are having problems with Japanese onions bolting, there are heat treated sets which help overcome this problem.
The soil should have a neutral to alkaline pH (pH6.0 to 7.0) so apply lime if necessary andensuretheareaisnotproneto waterlogging over winter as this is likely to rot the roots.
Growing
Overwinter there is not a lot of maintenance other than keeping them weed free as onions do not compete with weeds very well and they reduce the yields considerably. If growth is slow or poor over winter give a
top dressing of a high nitrogen fertiliser like sulphate of ammonia or ammonium nitrate if you are organic use hoof and horn.
A thin mulch can be applied in the late winter to reduce evaporation from the soil and reduce weed growth. Do not pile the mulch around the onion bulbs but along the row and between the bulbs, make sure the bulbs are exposed to the sun when they start to ripen.
Harvesting
Onion sets ‘Senshyu Yellow’
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Radar–isveryhardyandusefulfor colder areas. Toughball–isgrownbymany exhibitors for the under 250gms class, high yielding globe shape and yellow skinned. Electric–aredskinnedcultivar
again globe shaped and fairly widely available. Snowball–whiteskinnedhencethe name and is reputed to keep well and has a mild flavour. Buffalo–goldenskinnedandreliable cropper. ImaiYellow–anoldcultivarwhich
I believe is still available from some suppliers
Red Torpedo – red skinned and is said can be sown in late summer.
Swift - the earliest and said it can be ready in late May, I have not tried this one so cannot vouch for this, have any members grown it?
When the foliage starts to yellow and bend over the drying process has started, leave them for a further ten days and then lift and dry them on slats or greenhouse bench
in trays. Once dry they will keep for a few weeks.
The time from sowing to maturity is approx. 35 to 40 weeks, but this is mostly over winter when the soil could be empty and helps to make all the year-round use of your ground and soil fertility.
Cultivars
• SenshyuYellow(alsosoldasSenshyu Semi Globe Yellow) – it is heavy yielding, widely available with a mild flavour, yellow skinned with white flesh and reliable. I have grown this for a number of years, and it gives good crops each year.
There may be other cultivars I am not aware of, and new ones could become available in the next few years, so keep an eye on the seed catalogues.
This issue of Simply Vegetables is due out in early October so it is not too late to plant sets out in most parts of the country andmembersinScotlandcouldstartthem in small pots or modules and plant them as soon as 7 to 10 cm high. If you have the land, make use of it note my comments in the Productive Plot article!
Onion ‘Senshyu Yellow’
Senshyu Yellow harvested
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