How To Grow Onion Shallot and Garlic advice from Marshalls Garden
Every kitchen should
have fresh supply of Onions, Shallots and Garlic, adding intense flavours to a
huge range of kitchen dishes. Growing them is a pleasure and simple to do.
Follow these guidelines for your own harvest of these delicious and versatile
vegetables.
Planting sets and cloves will give you a great harvest but can be slow to establish and birds do like to pull at them to get to the earthworms below, that have been attracted by the explosion of microbial activity in the rootzone.
Using pre-rooted sets and cloves gets the plants off to a quicker
start, leading to larger and earlier crops. Plus a lot harder for the birds to
pull them up too!
Pages quoted are from Marshalls Autumn 2024 Catalogue
Prepare the soil: Onions,
Shallots and garlic prefer an open, sunny site and light, free-draining soil.
If you have heavy soil, dig a generous amount of grit and organic matter into
the planting area to ensure better drainage. Avoid planting in very heavy or
freshly manured soil. Onions are sensitive to acidity, so if you have acid soil
add some Garden Lime to the area well before planting, or a Pre-planting Onion,
Shallot and Garlic Fertiliser.
Planting: Both
autumn and spring varieties can be planted straight outside into prepared soil.
Loosen the soil and dig in some Pre-planting Fertiliser for added nutrients.
Plant onion and Shallots
with the tips of the sets showing at the soil surface. Onions should be spaced
5-10cm (2-4in) apart with 25-30cm (10in to 1ft) between rows, and shallots
15-20cm (6-8in) with 30-45cm (1ft to 18in) between rows.
Garlic cloves should be planted
so the tip of each clove is 2cm (1/2in) below the soil surface. We
suggest leaving 15cm (6in) between individual cloves and 30cm (12in) between
rows. Plant pre-rooted plugs deeper than the plug they are grown in.
Aftercare: During
the growing season, water if the weather is dry and give an occasional feed
with a general liquid fertiliser, and keep the area weed free. Keep the water
going in especially towards harvest time, as the bulbs can almost double in
size in the last 4-6 weeks before harvest.
You might not know, but
hardneck garlic varieties may produce a curly flower stem (commonly known as a
scape) and cutting this off can increase the bulb size. The scape has a fresh,
garlicky flavour that is absolutely perfect for stir fries!
Harvesting: Onions
and Shallots can be lifted fresh in summer as soon as they reach a useable
size, however if you’re harvesting for storage we recommend waiting until the
foliage bends over and dies down naturally before lifting.
When harvesting garlic,
we’ve found that a good indication is when their foliage starts to turn yellow
and wither. Use a fork to gently remove the bulbs from the ground.
To lift, you should ease
your bulbs out of the ground and allow them to dry outside for a couple of
weeks (if the weather is fine) or in a well-ventilated greenhouse or shed.
Storing: Onions,
shallots and garlic are ready for storage when the skins are completely dry and
papery. They should be kept in a light, cool and well-ventilated place. Onions can
be braided into long bunches and hung up to improve length or harvest and look
great too!
Pests and Diseases: Onions
are prone to various fungus-borne diseases, so we recommend trying to rotate
their growing position each year so you’re not planting in contaminated soil.
Here are some of the
most common pests and diseases to look out for!
Rust disease –
Rusty spots form on both sides of infected leaves and break open to release
dusty, orange airborne spores. Severe attacks may cause the leaves to shrivel
prematurely and will reduce vigour.
Unfortunately, there is
no solution or cure to rust disease. We recommend keeping a close eye out for
the signs and removing and destroying any infected plants to help it spreading.
Onion white rot –
The leaves will start to turn yellow and wilt, which prevents the bulbs from
forming properly. A good way to tell if the bulbs have been infected is they
will have white, fuzzy spots.
We recommend watching
out for rot and removing any infected bulbs from the area to prevent it
spreading.
Onion fly –
The leaves will start to wilt and turn yellow, preventing the bulbs from
developing. Onion fly can affect garlic and leeks as well as onions. The larvae
of onion fly live in the soil and eat the roots of the bulb, eventually burrowing
into the bulb itself.
Protect your crops with
Insect Netting. However, if you do have issues with onion fly, we recommend
simply discarding any bulbs.
Onion downy mildew –
The leaves will begin to turn yellow and die off from the tip downwards. In wet
weather, white mould develops on dead parts often turning a darker colour
later. Remove and destroy any affected bulbs.
Onion neck rot –
This fungal disease can occur in storage. We have found that to avoid neck rot,
you should water regularly and stop feeding in August, in addition to keeping
your crops dry after harvesting.
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