The onion experiment.

This year as a little experiment I have planted onions in a number of different ways. The first method is the old reliable of planting from sets, the variety used is the stalwart " Sturon ", secondly I have sown seeds singularly in modules and thirdly I used a method known as multi-blocking where a number of seeds are placed in each module and let to grow on with the bulbs gently pushing each other out of the way as they swell. For these last two methods I used the old favourite "Ailsa craig " and all onions have now been planted, with the last few going in a little later than expected this weekend. The only thing to do now is keep watered and concentrate on weed control as these guys hate competition. A happy onion will become a big onion.

There are pros and cons for each method, onion sets are very easy to grow and relatively foolproof ( something which always seems to attract me !! ) however they are relatively expensive, I paid eight euro for around three hundred and fifty this year. The seed by comparison is much cheaper, it cost me one euro twenty cent for approximately two hundred and fifty seeds ! If germination rates are high that will provide a significant saving. The multi-blocking technique is a fantastic labour saving method because when planting time comes you are essentially planting up to five onions at a time, five times faster. This method can be used for : Beet, broccoli, cabbage, corn, cucumber, leek, melon, bulbing onion, spring onion, peas, spinach and turnip. I'm growing some of my spring onions in this manner and also some in the traditional straight line method, I shall keep you updated on the results.



I planted out some of the Autumn leeks also this weekend, this variety " Autumn mammoth 2, Hannibal " promises an excellent yield from August onwards. You know what they say about promises though ! I sowed the winter variety " Musselborough " in some toilet roll inserts and am hoping to plant them in the bed the early potatoes are now occupying. An amazing thing about leeks is that even after digging them up they continue to grow albeit very slowly. This slow growth diminishes the quality of the stems so fresh is best.



All this talk of onions reminds me of a funny incident that happened way back in the days of the boom. I was slating the roof of a new house which overlooked the next door neighbours fairly substantial cottage garden. I had no knowledge then of vegetables or what it took to grow them so the value of all that lay before my eyes was entirely lost on me. However the wizened old gardener responsible for this creation took it upon himself to educate us .... whether we liked it or not. Every morning we were greeted to shouts of " Look at my onions lads " or " Come down here and I'll show you this " as he pointed at something that really didn't interest us. The man was a persistent old character though and one day partly through curiosity and mostly because the opportunity to evade work had presented itself my slating partner decided to go down for a nose.

The look of glee on his face when he returned with a carrier bag crammed full of the finest of veg that money simply cannot buy .... sickened me. What sickened me more was when he came in the morning after and regaled me with tales of the gourmet dinner his wife had cooked, while simultaneously trying to articulate the wholesome goodness of the prize veggies he had blagged the previous day. The bag of chips I called dinner that night were still repeating on me. The day wore on. My nerves were becoming frayed.

Like clockwork the gardener appeared and the banter began again, they were now friends having shared food, although not at the same table it was somewhat of a shared experience. An experience that was about to take a turn for the humorous, well from my point of view anyway.

The old man headed up through his garden with a large bucket and a rope in his hand. Suddenly he stopped and heaved on a huge iron lid, with a groan of old age he straightened his back, cast the lid to one side and immediately began lowering the bucket into the void. With a manly tug on the rope the bucket flew upwards and landed at his feet with a splosh, the deftness of his movement confirmed a well rehearsed routine. " Jesus is that toilet paper ?" The mysterious contents of the bucket had now been revealed. " Looks like someones septic tank is a bit full " I smirked as the horror of what was happening unveiled in front of my full bellied friends eyes. A casual glance in our direction and the old man set to work .... watering his veggies with the content of the second chamber of his septic tank !! My once boastful friend now looked to be in need of medical attention as he fished for the mobile phone to cancel that nights much anticipated stew.

If there were a moral to be applied to this story, I wonder what could it be ? Something about not rubbing peoples noses in it, or not accepting gifts from strangers. Na ah for me it's " You are what you eat "