Wednesday 18 November 2009

Planting Garlic and Onions

Simon planting onion sets.
Last Saturday afternoon we planted about 70 cloves of garlic and the same of onion sets, which we hope to harvest in July next year. We are not quite sure what we are going to do with all that garlic, but the onions should be easy to use up if we can store them somewhere dry.

Onion sets in their trench ready to be covered.
The garlic is a purple French variety called Germidour, apparently a mild flavoured soft-necked reliable performer. The onions are Stuttgarter Riesen, a round onion of the Mulhouse type (according to the label), and promises to produce sweet yellow onions that will keep moderately well. Stuttgarter Riesen is usually planted as sets ie baby onions, as they do not come true from seed. We've saved some onions to plant in March, in case a spring planting suits them better.

Garlic cloves ready to be covered with soil.

Susan
When I phoned my father last night, he was just on his way out to collect my mother from the hospital. She is coming home, just a week after her operation.
Simon

6 comments:

Jean said...

There is something so satisfying about a nice neat row of something you have planted. Must be the anticipation of the harvest. Then the bugs get them !! Aargh.
Our cabbages have all been nibbled to stumps by pigeons and rabbits inspite of yards and yards of green netting. Next year I think I'll just grow the things the critters are not so keen on. Let Sainsbury's do the rest for me.

Jean said...

PS The new header photo is great.

Simon said...

Jean: You disappoint me ;¬) I was fully expecting a "is that a new header, when did that appear" post!!

We have been lucky with critters so far, even our cabbages have survived

nihaty said...

useful is a plant garlic in turkey, we use almost all the dishes and he's my taste wonderful natural antibiotic.

Anonymous said...

reading your garden posts thru from the beginning -- here's a pretty good tutorial on braiding garlic.
i don't know if that's something you pick up down the road between then and now -- but, i'm having such a wonderful time reading of your adventures.

http://www.thyhandhathprovided.com/2009/07/braiding-garlic.html

Susan said...

Jeanette: Thanks for pointing me to this nice blog. Lots of really useful preserving hints, and the writer has a deft touch. I thought about braiding our garlic, but for us it's easier to store it in fruit boxes in the pantry. I might braid some for gifts sometime though.

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