O/T:- Elite's onions!

[navypie]

The only thing I've ever grown is old. Can't believe I'm enjoying a thread about onions.

[seriouspie]

Actually just like Pete's looked in his glasshouse yesterday ( like two blades of grass ) so I assume you are fine. I'm quite excited about this project and my old 'Salesmans' mojo is back and indeed ideas abound in my brain about the future prospects for this venture!

When you produce the perfect 3 pounder I would wish to be your sole marketing arm in lieu of advice given which I consider a fair and reasonable offer + of course the normal 10% of revenue generated. I see great scope for this onion's image worldwide if marketed correctly and can quickly see you needing a few acres of suitable land for future growing, possibly the land in Lincolnshire you willed to your daughter would suffice as it would keep it in the family and as BFP lives in the county and has I believe, an interest in agriculture, he would make the ideal manager. Looking further ahead I see great opportunities in the literary world .... and again we are most fortunate to have as a brother 'Pie ... El Sid of Scarborough who could pen the life story of the onion 'Elitus' and how it came to prominence. Of course El Sid would require rewarding but I feel sure he would gain his satisfaction from penning a best seller (his personal ambition) rather than any financial reward. Even further in the future we could utilise Tarquin to open up the US market and indeed grow your onions under licence on his own land and who knows, possibly develop a new feed from goat sh1t which again could be patented for further sales. Yes the opportunities are huge

[seriouspie]

The only thing I've ever grown is old. Can't believe I'm enjoying a thread about onions.

Not as old as me Jolly Jack ...... but keep smiling through as they once said. Ahh just thought ...... keep your eyes open for a cheap ship that can be modified to transport the onions overseas. There should be plenty of cheap ex cruise ships becoming available and we'll need a decent skipper if you're interested!

[navypie]

Not as old as me Jolly Jack ...... but keep smiling through as they once said. Ahh just thought ...... keep your eyes open for a cheap ship that can be modified to transport the onions overseas. There should be plenty of cheap ex cruise ships becoming available and we'll need a decent skipper if you're interested!

Skipper a ship, I can't even tie a knot !

ps. Just heard some good news at last.........the Eurovision song contest's been cancelled.

[seriouspie]

Skipper a ship, I can't even tie a knot !

ps. Just heard some good news at last.........the Eurovision song contest's been cancelled.

Should be removed permanently ...... another piece of crap my re-established licence fee won't be subsidising - so yes, good news.

[Elite_Pie]

Seeing as one or two actually seem interested in this (shows how bored we all are), this is how an onion starts it's life. A little black seed the size of a grain of sugar goes in a bit of compost and about 10-14 days later a tiny green shoot appears. A week later it is at this stage:



Pretty pathetic looking I know, but once the second leaf forms it means it's growing. The first thing I harvest is always rhubarb, no effort to grow and shoots up in no time. Just pulled a few sticks for a rhubarb crumble tonight:

[navypie]

Seeing as one or two actually seem interested in this (shows how bored we all are), this is how an onion starts it's life. A little black seed the size of a grain of sugar goes in a bit of compost and about 10-14 days later a tiny green shoot appears. A week later it is at this stage:



Pretty pathetic looking I know, but once the second leaf forms it means it's growing. The first thing I harvest is always rhubarb, no effort to grow and shoots up in no time. Just pulled a few sticks for a rhubarb crumble tonight:

Tell yer what, this beats the match day thread. Keep us updated shipmate.

[seriouspie]

Tell yer what, this beats the match day thread. Keep us updated shipmate.

Elite

Have checked for soot! Advised you search local adverts for chimney sweep as they are still about and will give you as much as you want owing to difficulty in disposal. Much easier for us in the Sticks as coal still burned in outlying villages but there will be Sweeps in town somewhere.

[Elite_Pie]

Elite

Have checked for soot! Advised you search local adverts for chimney sweep as they are still about and will give you as much as you want owing to difficulty in disposal. Much easier for us in the Sticks as coal still burned in outlying villages but there will be Sweeps in town somewhere.

Thanks for the info. I've had a look on the net about the benefits of soot, it seems the main one is darkening the soil so it absorbs heat better and assists growth:

The main constituent of soot is carbon along with various chemicals from the coal burning process. It contains no major nutrients (NPK) and, as far as I know, no useful micro-nutrients of help to plants. What the soot does do is to darken the soil. It was stored away until early spring and, on a day without wind, spread onto the soil. Being darker, the soil would absorb more heat from the sun and so its temperature would be a little higher. This would help bring the season forward a bit.

It seems there is a chimney sweep in Bilborough which isn't too far from me. I might message him, or just stick with my wood ash.

[seriouspie]

Thanks for the info. I've had a look on the net about the benefits of soot, it seems the main one is darkening the soil so it absorbs heat better and assists growth:

The main constituent of soot is carbon along with various chemicals from the coal burning process. It contains no major nutrients (NPK) and, as far as I know, no useful micro-nutrients of help to plants. What the soot does do is to darken the soil. It was stored away until early spring and, on a day without wind, spread onto the soil. Being darker, the soil would absorb more heat from the sun and so its temperature would be a little higher. This would help bring the season forward a bit.

It seems there is a chimney sweep in Bilborough which isn't too far from me. I might message him, or just stick with my wood ash.

Fair comment ...... but if you Google "Nottingham prize onion grower" and scroll down to Peter Glazebrook's "Secrets of giant veg growing" you can see his video taken from when he appeared on Radio Red. My pal Peter and Peter Glazebrook were rivals for many years before my mate gave up showing "professionally" so to speak. There appears to be a few arguments as to the benefits of soot but my mate says both he and Glazebrook use it and Glazebrook has or does hold the world record for the biggest onion. I would also make the effort to make your own sheep sh!te feed but after another conversation this morning with Pete, chicken sh!te is a good alternative. Anyway youth what you do is up to you. I suppose it's like everything ...... the more you put in ... etc. Best of luck and keep us all informed!