Amateur Gardening – 10 July 2019

14 AMATEUR GARDENING 6 JULY 2019

Know your onions

I

T’S one thing to grow a good crop

of onions, and quite another to keep

those that are in an edible condition

for as long as possible. And if you

want to be eating your own for much

of the year, then this is important.

The batches that store best are those

that were not pushed into soft growth

with too much water or fertiliser. If any

of yours have been treated in this way,

try to use those before winter. Likewise,

varieties recommended for summer

salads or the show bench, and Japanese

onions sown last autumn, are all better

eaten straightaway.

Next, you should harvest your onions

only when their leaves have started to

wither away naturally. Do not bend onion

leaves down at the neck, supposedly

Want to store your crops of onions, shallots and

garlic until next year? Bob Flowerdew explains how

“Do not bend

onion leaves down

at the neck”

‘to help them ripen’, as doing this

damages the tissues and increases

the occurrence of neck rot.

To help onions ripen, insert a fork

well underneath and lift them carefully

so as to break their roots. Then leave

them to dry in situ before breaking off

the soil from the roots – unless it’s going

to be wet, in which case take them under

cover. Shallots can be lifted in the same

way as onions, although usually they

need no assistance to help them ripen.

Garlic must be left until the leaves wither,

but then you risk not being able to find

the bulbs, so dig these up before the

leaves disappear.

Once you’ve dug up your onions,

shallots and garlic, they need to be

dried thoroughly. This is the secret of

success. Ironically, hanging these bulbs

in ropes or bundles is counterproductive.

Spreading the bulbs out on netting in

a warm, dry place is much better. Eat

the thick-necked and biggest bulbs

first, pickle the small bulbs, and keep

the rest well aired and dry. That way,

you should still be eating them until

well after Easter next year!

1

Inspect your fruit cage for

holes, often made at ground

level by hedgehogs and rodents,

for any trapped birds that will

devour your crops.

All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited

Bob’s top tips

for the week

with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert

2

July is the safest month for

pruning Prunus trees – cherries,

apricots, peaches and plums, both

flowering and fruiting forms.

3

Don’t pick soft fruit, especially

gooseberries, when they’re

underripe. Instead, protect some

so that they can ripen fully and

become delicious.

4

A good use for over-sized

courgettes is to cut them in

half, hollow them out and lay them,

as bait, beside any crops that are

prone to slug attacks.

The onions that store best are those that

haven’t been pushed into soft growth

with too much water or fertiliser

Bottom inset: TI Media

Haxnicks

with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert

Knowyour onions

Bottom inset: TI Media

Don’t hang onions, shallots or garlic

in strings or bundles – lay them on

netting in a warm, dry place instead

Bending onion leaves

down at the neck does

not help them ripen