Onion and Shallots

These are the only 2 large onions of the 10 that I bought that are showing any sign of making any size at all this year and even these will be struggling to get past a couple of pounds. the rest that survived are now planted out in the open ground next to the Vento onions and seem a long way behind even them.I can only think that they got to dried out in the post as it took 5 days for them to get them delivered. I might with a bit of luck get one to use in the 1 large 1 small onion, and a shallot class. One certainty is they won't be going to Ingleton show, Iv'e seen the size of the opposition see Dans page http://www.allotment-diary.co.uk/









The Vento onions on the other hand are looking to be really healthy so i should be able to select some decent specimens come August. I might have to pull some early just to keep a check on their weight as i,m not sure as to what is the optimum size to get close to 8oz weight limit.











I managed to split down the Shallots to a maximum of 4 on Friday night i did try doing them a week ago but the were reluctant to split then so i just left them a bit longer and it was a lot easier.

Snowdrops

It's been a strange sort of week most of the country seems to have been suffering heavy snow and up here in Cumbria their's hardly been any snow at all, though it has been a bit on the cold side and as a result things are looking a bit behind this year with all the cold days we have been having since Christmas in fact the Snowdrops have only been through since the beginning of February and that's at least 10 days behind where we were last year, the ones that i have taken the picture of are about the most forward and have still not yet opened fully.

I have had a chance to get on with some more digging these last 2 weekends as the ground is quite dry for the time of year, which should save me a bit of time in the spring, with a bit of luck i might get the last of it done next weekend. The Shallots that i started just before Christmas are at long last just starting to move forward some are still to put out some leaf though they are all putting down strong roots so i am confident that they will soon romp away when things get a bit milder and catch up. The onions (Vento) that i planted about four weeks ago seem to be growing steadily although some seem slightly elongated which may be because of a lack of good light, i haven't pricked them out just yet as i am expecting some large Onions plants from Medwyns around the middle of the month and they will need to be kept warm when they get here so if i had potted all the Ventos up in to small pots i might be a bit to pushed for space, hopefully it might warm up a touch and the leeks will be able to moved on next weekend and that should give me enough room for everything, Later on tonight i will chit up my Potatoes they will stay indoors on the Kitchen window sill where i can keep an eye on them.

How things stand so far

The weather has turned a lot milder today and hopefully my Shallots will appreciate the easier conditions as they seem to have done nothing since i planted them on the 21st December, i have had to keep a fleece over them almost all the time and had a 60 watt light bulb on under them to give of just enough heat so as to stop them freezing solid, the leeks have been growing well though in the warmer environment that i rigged up for them and are putting on a lot more leaf i put a good covering of Vermiculite around them this morning as one or two pots were starting to get some mossy growth on top of the compost, hopefully with gently lifting it of and covering them with Vermiculite it should inhibit the green mold from growing. I got some of my seed potatoes yesterday which is a bit sooner than usual but being about the first customer i was able to have a good sort through and pick out some nice specimens of Kestrel, i did think of trying Bonnie this year instead for the coloured potato classes but was slightly disappointed with the ones on offer so stuck with the old faithful. I will still need to get hold of some Winston though for the white potato classes as they didn't have any of them in stock yet. The Onions that i sowed last week have been in our airing cupboard all week keeping warm, but i have taken them out in to my propagator in the green house today as i expect them to strike soon and they will need some light, the lupins that were sowed at the same time are now starting to push through.

End of the year Start of new year

Their,s a bit of catching up to do on my blog due to the fact that i have been offline for the last fortnight due to a problem with my computer, something about some virus spy ware that shut it down and it seemed to take an age to fix, still we are now back in business. The Leeks that i sowed 6th December are now decent size and i have today potted them on into 3" pots, i sowed 30 and they nearly all sprouted but i think i may have under watered them a bit early on as i had a bit of a disaster with some of the plants that sprouted slightly later in that they really struggled to get going and as a result i had to disposed of them , but the early ones must have had enough root system to find enough moisture to see them through and are now as i said looking well, pity that theirs just 14 left though. I might be able to get some more plants at our NVS next month when David Metcalfe comes to speak about his Pendle strain if he brings some to sell, as it is i have most off the packet of seeds left and will sow a second batch in February. On 21st December as tradition says i planted my Shallots in my unheated greenhouse but with the cold nights we have had since Christmas it might have been better to wait till the new year as i have had to put a light under the bench just to give off enough heat to stop them from getting frozen even though they have some fleece on top as well. A couple(Top left hand corner of picture ) are showing some green shoots now, they were a bulb that was in the process of dividing when i checked them over prior to planting so i just clicked them and as they both had some root system i planted them separate, i will have to watch to see how they go on. In a couple of weeks i hope to get some under 250 gram onions sowed this time i am trying Vento F1 from Medwyns it will be the first use for my new propagator that my daughters bought me for Christmas, thanks a lot Abi, Natalie and Susannah it's a good one and is much appreciated, i think they must have read on my blog that i was thinking of getting one and clubbed together, thanks again. Perhaps i will have to hint i need a new car next Christmas!

Graeme Watson on Shallots

Had the chance to get to the local NVS meeting last night were the guest speaker was Graeme Watson of Whitby on his method of growing and showing Shallots at National level. His level of care is quite meticulous with the timing of splitting and lifting being absolutely crucial to success, although surprisingly he didn't seem to mind as to when they were started having had top level success with dates varying from end of December to first week of February. One key fact that struck me was the need to grow them hard with very little if any feed so as to keep them healthy and not risk them getting to lush and leading them to being prone to disease. Once they are lifted they are dried out side on chicken wire mesh and he didn't seem to mind if the got a bit of rain on them in the first week or so in fact he thought it did them good helping to give them a nice colour. So in a nut shell their you have it and as a bonus if anyone fancies trying showing at the top level He is packing in growing Shallots for the next few years so as to concentrate on Leeks. All in all a very interesting meeting that gave me something to think about how i will grow Shallots next year, and just for good measure i won a packet of his Long Carrot Seed in the raffle so rounding off a good night.