I grew onions for over 20years in Cheshire on loam in 2 locations. Sunny position, pH about 6,moderate amount of manure, about 1oz/square yard of growmore.
I had good crops and enough onions from 150 sets to last a family of 6 through to April/May from August.
I am trying to grow onions in Devon on a clay patch surrounded by trees. I apply horse manure, pH is about 6-I dressed the vegetable plot with lime last winter, I use growmore at the same level as that in Cheshire.
A lot of the sets hardly grow at all and the largest onion is about 4 ounces. Some go to seed early, but much of the plot becomes shaded by trees after the end of July.
The local weeds-red campion especially are very active and I have to work to keep them down. In spite of this the crop is very poor and only lasts my wife and I through to mid November.
Any helpful thoughts please.
Regards
David T.

"david taylor" wrote in message ...
I grew onions for over 20years in Cheshire on loam in 2 locations. Sunny position, pH about 6,moderate amount of manure, about 1oz/square yard of growmore.
I had good crops and enough onions from 150 sets to last a family of 6 through to April/May from August.
I am trying to grow onions in Devon on a clay patch surrounded by trees. I apply horse manure, pH is about 6-I dressed the vegetable plot with lime last winter, I use growmore at the same level as that in Cheshire.
A lot of the sets hardly grow at all and the largest onion is about 4 ounces. Some go to seed early, but much of the plot becomes shaded by trees after the end of July.
The local weeds-red campion especially are very active and I have to work to keep them down. In spite of this the crop is very poor and only lasts my wife and I through to mid November.
Any helpful thoughts please.
Regards
David T.

I have the exact same problem. I'm on Devon clay too, and
have trees that contribute some shade at times, but that can't be the whole problem. This year some sets grew reasonably, whilst others barely grew at all, and they were side by side!
I have a feeling at least some of the trouble can be traced to the clay. Though fertile, it stays cold in spring, retarding growth, and although onions may not mind so much, carrots seem to detest it.
I am thinking of experimenting with poly sheets next spring, to warm the ground up. The other possibility is to use raised beds, or add a lot of organic matter to the soil to lighten it. Another problem I get on a variety of plants is chlorosis, which is caused by magnesium and/or iron shortages: this may be caused by an insufficiently acid soil locking up these elements. My ph is 7 or even a little over.
I would also be interested in hearing any ideas.

Andy.

The message
from "david taylor" contains these words:

I grew onions for over 20years in Cheshire on loam in 2 locations.
Sunny position, pH about 6,moderate amount of manure, about 1oz/square
yard of growmore.
I had good crops and enough onions from 150 sets to last a family of 6
through to April/May from August.
I am trying to grow onions in Devon on a clay patch surrounded by
trees. I apply horse manure, pH is about 6-I dressed the vegetable
plot with lime last winter, I use growmore at the same level as that
in Cheshire.
A lot of the sets hardly grow at all and the largest onion is about 4
ounces. Some go to seed early, but much of the plot becomes shaded by
trees after the end of July.

I don't know whether it's significant but this year my onions ended up
on a patch which had had quite a bit of compost added over the winter.
They didn't like it. The soil seemed too loose and it took them a long
time to get a foothold. I resolved not to grow them on freshly composted
ground in future. I just wondered whether too much manure could have the
same effect. However, you used manure in Cheshire too, so perhaps not.
Janet G

I would suggest that you try some over wintering onions the sets are still available and the ground still warm, also the trees will not shade the onions without the leaves, they will have a good root system come the spring and be off like rockets.

........................Leslie
"david taylor" wrote in message ...
I grew onions for over 20years in Cheshire on loam in 2 locations. Sunny position, pH about 6,moderate amount of manure, about 1oz/square yard of growmore.
I had good crops and enough onions from 150 sets to last a family of 6 through to April/May from August.
I am trying to grow onions in Devon on a clay patch surrounded by trees. I apply horse manure, pH is about 6-I dressed the vegetable plot with lime last winter, I use growmore at the same level as that in Cheshire.
A lot of the sets hardly grow at all and the largest onion is about 4 ounces. Some go to seed early, but much of the plot becomes shaded by trees after the end of July.
The local weeds-red campion especially are very active and I have to work to keep them down. In spite of this the crop is very poor and only lasts my wife and I through to mid November.
Any helpful thoughts please.
Regards
David T.

Thanks for the thoughts. It may be that Janet has hit on something, compost is more intimately mixed in loamy soils, in clay if applied a short time in advance it tends to form pockets. There are some worms in the clay but not as many as I would have expected in the loamy soils. Chlorosis does not seem to be a problem. All the vegetables seem to green up well.
As for overwintering, there are some small onions -set size -left in the ground. They have sprouted and rather than pick them as spring onions I'll leave them in the ground and see what happens.
A raised bed and polycover seem sensible ideas. Jen is pressing me to put raised beds in the vegetable patch to tidy it up and make management easier. I could kill two birds with one stone.
Regards
David T
"Leslie" wrote in message ...
I would suggest that you try some over wintering onions the sets are still available and the ground still warm, also the trees will not shade the onions without the leaves, they will have a good root system come the spring and be off like rockets.

........................Leslie
"david taylor" wrote in message ...
I grew onions for over 20years in Cheshire on loam in 2 locations. Sunny position, pH about 6,moderate amount of manure, about 1oz/square yard of growmore.
I had good crops and enough onions from 150 sets to last a family of 6 through to April/May from August.
I am trying to grow onions in Devon on a clay patch surrounded by trees. I apply horse manure, pH is about 6-I dressed the vegetable plot with lime last winter, I use growmore at the same level as that in Cheshire.
A lot of the sets hardly grow at all and the largest onion is about 4 ounces. Some go to seed early, but much of the plot becomes shaded by trees after the end of July.
The local weeds-red campion especially are very active and I have to work to keep them down. In spite of this the crop is very poor and only lasts my wife and I through to mid November.
Any helpful thoughts please.
Regards
David T.

The message
from "david taylor" contains these words:

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A?

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Janet Galpin contains these words:

I don't know whether it's significant but this year my onions ended up
on a patch which had had quite a bit of compost added over the winter.
They didn't like it. The soil seemed too loose and it took them a long
time to get a foothold. I resolved not to grow them on freshly composted
ground in future. I just wondered whether too much manure could have the
same effect. However, you used manure in Cheshire too, so perhaps not.

Grow onions on depleted ground - first year of adding manure, try
caulis, celery, marrows, cucumbers etc. Second year, root veg, beans,
peas etc,. Third year, onions, shallotts, etc.

Onions are not successful 9usually) on rich soil.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

I had exactly the same problem this year, planted around 60 sets and got less than 15 onions from them.
Our soil is heavy clay and i prepped it much the same way.
I have given in and started making raised beds ready for next season.

"Janet Galpin" wrote after"david taylor" :

I grew onions for over 20years in Cheshire on loam in 2 locations.
Sunny position, pH about 6,moderate amount of manure, about 1oz/square
yard of growmore.
I had good crops and enough onions from 150 sets to last a family of 6
through to April/May from August.
I am trying to grow onions in Devon on a clay patch surrounded by
trees. I apply horse manure, pH is about 6-I dressed the vegetable
plot with lime last winter, I use growmore at the same level as that
in Cheshire.
A lot of the sets hardly grow at all and the largest onion is about 4
ounces. Some go to seed early, but much of the plot becomes shaded by
trees after the end of July.

I don't know whether it's significant but this year my onions ended up
on a patch which had had quite a bit of compost added over the winter.
They didn't like it. The soil seemed too loose and it took them a long
time to get a foothold. I resolved not to grow them on freshly composted
ground in future. I just wondered whether too much manure could have the
same effect. However, you used manure in Cheshire too, so perhaps not.

Yes, but clay soil hold on to the nutrients very well, they do not leech out
as in a normal soil so any manure of fertilizer used on a clay soil is still
there despite rain etc.
We have grown good onions , av 13 oz, on Thames silt/clay for years. No
manure, that's for the spuds, only a light sprinkle of growmore.
Onions also need Phosphorous to do well, is your soil deficient?

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London