New to allotmenting

oldtractor

Dig it over and make friends with other allotmenteers. Their advice and friendship is invaluable.

kerrirobberts

Thanks again. I'm going to put onions and garlic in this weekend as well as digging the rest of it over. One of the allotmenteers gave me an old pair of long armed clippers (look a bit like really large scissors with curved blades so probably got the wrong name).

tim_n

I've never had much luck with either - the garlic never seems to really get going (needs quite sandy soil I think, ie good drainage) and the onions develop white rot before they've properly formed.

Last year my neighbour used to pass them over to us and we cut off the off bits and they were fine. I'd check to see whether anyone remembers what was grown where on your plot - I'd ideally like to see the onions put in away from any other places onions might have been so the disease transfer is at a minimum. Similary try not to spread the soil around too much!

Sambucus_Nigra

Actually, I have fantastic garlic and lovely large overwintered onions in my thick clay - they do much better there than in sandy soil. Even with my white rot.

tim_n

Odd! Mine have always done badly in Clay! I heard garlic prefered poor quality well drained sandy soil... but then again garlic is something I always seem to fail with.

Sambucus_Nigra

When do you put it in and how deep?

It needs to go in now and it needs to be 3-4 inches deep.

tim_n

Usually about now and 3-4 inches deep and about 4" apart, 8" between rows. Tried several different varieties too!

Sambucus_Nigra

My best variety was bought in a local greengrocer in Nottingham. Grown locally and I got a fantastic harvest.

kerrirobberts

I was going to whack in the solent wight I've bought, and a supermarket one just to see which does better. I'm going to put them where the carrot/parnsip looking things I dug up this weekend were.

Sambucus_Nigra

Not supermarket; try greengrocers; you don't know where the supermarket ones were from. More chance from local greengrocers.