with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert
If you nip off the flower heads from bolters as soon as they are visible, plants switch their attention to swelling side-bulbs
Bob’s top tips for the week
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We’re told to plant only smaller onion sets, as larger sets are more likely to bolt
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Dig or cover green manures now, so that they are really well rotted down by the time you want to sow and plant.
In our quest to grow a satisfying onion crop, we should treat received growing wisdom with caution, says Bob
All images Alamy, unless otherwise credited
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your whole crop, and it could leave DVICE is always worth listening to – but it should also many empty gaps in your bed. be questioned in case it’s in I’ve experimented, and as long as error or no longer applicable. you nip off the flower heads from these We’re quite rightly told we should bolters as soon as they’re visible, the plant only smaller onion sets (the tiny plants switch their attention to swelling side-bulbs instead. True, the resulting onion bulbs we use in place of ren’t as big as they would sowing seed) as larger se om unbolted plants, they invariably bolt. We’re furth ke a bit longer to dry off told to pull up any that hen harvested, and they do bolt “to stop them are a tad more wasteful encouraging others” n the peeling. But you (but just how, nobody do get them for just has ever explained). de-heading the plants, All well and good, if you want to grow perfect ot pulling them. onions to sell or send up Now this is a good Drying the side bulbs to the ‘Great House’, as with sets, but it doesn’t of bolted onions bolters would flower, seed well with sown plants, and wither, and not produce nice as these do not have the same reserves. However, I wondered whether succulent bulbs. However, if you’re growing for home consumption, pulling it could work with last year’s homegrown bolters may waste a significant part of onions that had started to sprout, as these usually just go to waste. Planting sprouted onions, these rush to bolt; however, if these are promptly deheaded, then they behave more like shallots and swell a couple or more quite usable (if misshaped) bulbs. Again, these take a little longer to dry off and to prepare, but are a great bonus crop for free.
“Pulling bolters may waste a big part of your crop”
14 AMATEUR GARDENING 1 FEBRUARY 2020
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Inspect chitting potatoes; look carefully at their shoots for aphids as these often appear, and kill them with a soft soap spray.
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Sow onion and leek seed in trays under cover and, likewise, start off your onion sets in wee pots or cells.
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Know your onions
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You may have heard that it’s best to pull up any onions that bolt, but this isn’t always necessary with crops grown for home consumption
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Sow indoor small-fruited, all-female cucumbers in a warm, light place: I’ll wager you have your first cucumber for Easter!
