O/T:- Elite's onions!

[Elite_Pie]

A little tip a few may find useful which I've used for a few years . Many seed packets say "plant out when the risk of frost has passed". The trick is to plant out as early as you can, but not if frost is likely to kill the plant, so here is a way to help. Save any 2 litre clear plastic bottles (lemonade, coke, cider etc) and cut the bottom off. You then push it into the ground around the young plant and it helps in 3 ways. It stops pests like slugs eating the plant, it keeps the plant warmer by acting as a mini-greenhouse, and it conserves moisture. This video explains it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwxESy5cL_k

[tarquinbeech]

Made a fatal mistake last year so a tip for anyone else:

4 years ago I grew nothing, didn't even know what a tomato plant looked like.......2 years later, I was growing tomatoes like weeds (they originate from the Americas), I had them everywhere, so much fruit that I was literally giving carrier-bags-full of them away (it was a local ugly-looking variety that I bought from the local market and saved the seeds) great for juicing and pulping, superb in stews and curries.....then I got "cocky" and ditched Mr Huge-but-Ugly for a variety I saw in Walmart (large, perfectly round, nice taste)....I tried everything, fancy home-made cages, trellising, different spots in the garden, loads of blooms that wilted in the Northern Mexico heat, absolutely hammered by huge armies of beetles and leaf-hoppers, refused to ripen (pale orange was the best I got)......not one single tomato in 4 months......ditched the lot, ripped up all the vines.

Picked up two packets of seeds yesterday (cherry tomatoes and Jitomates) as I need to start from scratch and I cannot find the "local variety" just at the moment......moral of the story, even when you think you have it cracked, nature turns and bites you on the arse....the original "ugly" was obviously local and prolific and matches this climate and altitude (and a natural resistance to bugs) whereas the "Walmart variety" could have come from anywhere, probably mass-produced in a temperature-controlled, light-controlled, sprayed daily with anti-bug liquid, greenhouse in California......if it works, stick with it.

Onions I've cracked and save seeds, same with carrots, tomatoes I need to start again (this time I will seed-save), Swiss Chard is going in today and I should have masses of leafy greens (and the root is huge and grows new leaves faster than I can eat them) peas are a bit mehhh in this heat, peppers are coming up fast and I can start picking this month........really need to crack my sweet potatoes for a bulk veggie, vines are massive but no tubers in their own 4m x 2m bed....grrrrr

[Elite_Pie]

This is my most advanced onion at the moment, which is why it has been given a bit of special attention in the form of a leaf support. To be honest I don't know if it looks like it's on target to hit 3lbs or not, I might have hoped the bulb would be a bit bigger after the fantastic spring we've had.

[countygump]

Save any 2 litre clear plastic bottles (lemonade, coke, cider etc) and cut the bottom off.

Seems a bit of a waste, doesn't all the lemonade/coke/cider fall on the floor?

Posting vids is actually easier than posting piccys.

[Elite_Pie]

Well, I got close but not quite close enough to the 3lb target, but 2lb 14 and a half oz (1.32 Kg in metric) is a personal best. I still have quite a few onions still growing, but I don't think any will beat the one pictured below:

[Elite_Pie]

Lurking in the background of the onion pic is probably my biggest triumph of the season. Last year my grandson went pumpkin picking for Halloween, and I got the job of carving the spooky face. As an experiment, I saved a few of the seeds and planted a couple of them in the spring.

This is the result:



Was anyone else tempted to have a go at gardening to pass the time in lockdown?

[CheltenhamPie]

For us Elite, gardening was our salvation during the early months of “lockdown.” Congratulations on the success of your onions.
Let’s hope Notts know their onions when the season starts.
COYP.

[magpiekev]

You've got a pumpkin in your football patch

[i961pie]

Lurking in the background of the onion pic is probably my biggest triumph of the season. Last year my grandson went pumpkin picking for Halloween, and I got the job of carving the spooky face. As an experiment, I saved a few of the seeds and planted a couple of them in the spring.

This is the result:



Was anyone else tempted to have a go at gardening to pass the time in lockdown?

I have had a large allotment for the last 20 years with 4 greenhouses and it's been a godsend during this pandemic.
I think I would have gone mad without it. Being able to escape up there for hours at a time has been great.
It also backs onto Bulwell Hall Park so we have walked miles around the lakes and golf course for exercise.
I haven't managed an onion that size but last year and this I had some massive pumpkins and great beetroot.

[drillerpie]

Lurking in the background of the onion pic is probably my biggest triumph of the season. Last year my grandson went pumpkin picking for Halloween, and I got the job of carving the spooky face. As an experiment, I saved a few of the seeds and planted a couple of them in the spring.

This is the result:



Was anyone else tempted to have a go at gardening to pass the time in lockdown?

Not gardening related but you can also clean pumpkin seeds and cook them.

Put them in the oven on a baking tray covered in greaseproof paper while you're waiting for your oven to heat up to cook something else (a roast maybe), and after 5 or 10 mins you'll hear a couple start to pop, that means they're ready. Put them on a bowl and sprinkle a bit of salt on them and you have a tasty, easy and healthy snack to eat while the main meal is in the oven.