Overwintering Onions, Shallots & Garlic

[Westi]

I know I could just roam through the sites but wondered if any of you have found any bargains for the above? I don't want masses, about 50 of a red & brown or white onion, shallots & a selection of garlic (soft neck) with probably an early & a later ripening.

Our lottie used to get them in with the appropriate bulk discount but are not doing it this year. The local garden centre have some but they are not up to much (Very tiny & many with mould on them) & I've seen better in the 99p shop, but they don't have any either as yet!

Cheers in advance!

[PLUMPUDDING]

I bought some Red Baron and some Stutgarter onion setts from the Pound Shop this year and have a wonderful crop of both, the whites are amazing. I like a bargain. I suppose you just have to look out for the fresh stock coming in early in the year.
I bought the garlic from Marshalls and the shallots too, but have saved some for replanting every year and so haven't needed to buy any since 1997.

[Diane]

I'm still waiting for the winter garlic to be delivered to our local garden centres - there's a problem here with the suppliers apparently.

[snooky]

have a look at the Garlic page on Kings Seeds site,page 2.There is an offer there for a selection of garlic bulbs which may interest you.P&P £3-50 though.
http://www.kingsseeds.com/Products/Vegetables/Garlic

They also have pages for Onion sets and Shallots.

[Diane]

Many thanks, I'll do that. It will be worth sending for them - at least they'll be in the ground.

[Pa Snip]

http://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/s.nl?sear ... gGGjjOFOUk

Also plus P &P

[Monika]

I always get my overwintering collection from DT Brown. This year it's onion Radar, shallot Jermor and garlic Provence Wight, in addition I have ordered garlic Vallelado because it did particularly well this year and we eat a lot of garlic. I am expecting them the nest few days and they will go straight into ground, already prepared.
I am not sure how they compare in price to others but they have certainly been very good value over the years. Any sets/cloves left over are always gratefully accepted by other allotmenteers.

[Pa Snip]

I posted this list of varieties that I recently purchased on my P(l)otted History Part 2 thread.

20 Senshyu Yellow Onion set
50 Electric (Red) Onion sets
50 Troy Onion sets
2 bulbs Garlic Iberian Wight, yet to be split down to individual cloves
2 bulbs Garlic Mukulov Wight, ditto above
2 bulbs Garlic Vallelado Wight, ditto above
10 Shallot Eschalote Grise
20 Shallot Jermor

This list is far bigger than we normally plant for overwintering but my circumstances mean I am loathe to leave ground empty on the plot. My wife, daughter and her family will benefit from my labour.

All were purchased loose from a nursery we use, I will not say every variety is cheap but some like the Senshyu Yellow do compare with packaged brands.
They are all priced 'per 100grm' but are loose so we get to pick over the stock and select each bulb or set as we like and given the wastage sometimes experienced when buying packaged onion sets or shallots it is worth the effort and cost of self selection.

All I have to do now is get them in the ground

[PLUMPUDDING]

Monika, do you get good results from over wintered plants? I've stopped bothering as the slugs eat the tops or it's too cold for any growth and they just sulk until it's time to be planting everything else in Spring. I've usually got enough shallots and garlic to last all year anyway. I know it is probably worthwhile in the south.

[sally wright]

Dear PP,
I find that the only way to get any onions, shallots or garlic is to plant now (or sooner if I am using my own stock) for the shallots and garlic and about the middle of October for the onions (any sooner and they will all bolt in the spring).

I have an allotment that is riddled with white rot and prone to downy mildew and rust so using this overwintering method allows earlier growth in the spring. This means that the plants have time to make bulbs before the fungal diseases start to interfere with the yield. I won't say this works every season but it is better than having no produce.

Living as far north as you do I expect that you would need to plant the onions by the middle of September and the shallots and garlic even earlier; perhaps by the end of August with the aim of allowing them to get to around 4 inches high before growth stops because of the cold. Any taller than that and the winter will soon finish them off. As a general rule of thumb plant the onions on the average date for the first frost in your area; for me this is the third week of October. This is when having your own stock of garlic and shallots for planting is very useful as you do not have to wait until the bulbs are in the garden centres or the seed companies decide to send theirs out.

If you can I would also think about cloching the garlic and shallots from about Mid February onwards to allow for an earlier start in growth. If you have clay land try cloching the garlic all winter to help prevent it rotting off.

About mid March (or when the weeds start to grow) I will apply a feed of a low nitrogen feed such as rose food to boost growth. Growmore and it's ilk are not suitable as the nitrogen content will cause too much leaf growth at the expense of bulb size and keeping qualities.

Regards Sally Wright.

[Monika]

Plumpudding (and Sally), I can't say we ever have much problem overwintering onions, shallots and garlic. I never use weather protection over them, only wire netting, mainly to deter the pheasants which roam about on the allotment. I always try to get them into the ground before October (and will do so this weekend). They then do very little above ground before the winter sets in, but they are off at speed in spring and both shallots and garlic usually carry us through until the new ones the following year. Onions Radar occasionally 'disappear' (rot?) before spring but we don't usually get any bolters.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Thanks for your suggestions, I suppose we experiment and adapt to our own gardening conditions, also how many of each kind of onion,shallot, garlic and leeks we use.

I have decided that spring planting is more successful here and if the ground is frozen or under snow I start the garlic and shallots off in pots in the cold greenhouse and put them in a cold frame when they start to sprout.

A good way to extend the garlic season is to leave a few in the ground and let them divide and grow in a clump,. These are then available to use as small fresh ones when the others have finished. The new green tops can also be snipped to use instead of chives.

While talking about onions, it's a good idea to check the stored ones now to make sure the necks aren't rotting. If there are some thick tops that haven't dried properly I split them up and stand them on a sunny shelf so they can dry without it spreading down into the bulb.