Battered down onion stems

[Primrose]

Quite a few of my onion stems have been completely bent over and battered or snapped by a combination of rainstorms and the trampling feet of a visiting duck. As they're now lying on the ground I'm wondering whether they will continue growing in this state or whether I should accept defeat, pull them up and let them start drying.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Hi Primrose,

If they aren't broken I would leave them until they start dying back. I've just come back from holiday and have had my first look round the garden and most of my onions and shallots are lying down. I've just moved them to one side so they aren't completely covering the bulbs so they can ripen and think they will keep on growing.

I was very glad it had rained as it was less for my gardening stand in to do.
I'm trying not to be cross about the rotting raspberries and the obvious neglect in the small greenhouse, and my beautiful bougainvillea that is surrounded by a sea of its leaves and flowers and now looking very sick.
It could be worse, everything else looks great, and I've even picked some lovely cauliflowers.

[Primrose]

Thanks. Some of the stems have actually been snapped rather than bent over so will leave and see what happens. Sorry about your gardening stand-in neglect. I recently had to look after our next door neighbour's vegetables for a few days and tried to water them as efficiently as I would do my own, knowing how much effort goes into growing them but not everybody is either willing or knows how to care for plants properly in the absence of their owners.
An elderly friend of ours was really lumbered by some neighbours who expected him to water all their vegetable seedlings in their greenhouse and then plant them out at the appropriate time so that they could enjoy their two month trip to New Zealand. He was not well at the time, couldn't do it and got a very frosty reception when they returned home and found everything dead in their greenhouse. I call that a bit of a cheek!

[PLUMPUDDING]

Hi Primrose,

It is always a worry when you go away in the middle of the growing season. I try to cover all eventualities by giving everything a good soaking before I go and moving stuff into more shady places if I can in case of hot dry weather, then I plant out everything that has been in pots if I possibly can. Then I just fasten up the hose so everything in the greenhouse can be watered easily and hope he doesn't drown everything. I think he had just forgotten the small greenhouse, like he forgot all the seedlings in the coldframe last year. He does try though so I can't be too cross. I think the people who went off for a couple of months had a cheek expecting all that while they were away.