red onion and potato problem

[hiyatim]

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these are the problem, i planted these in mid april, i bought small bulbs rather than seeds, i gave half the pack away with all the details of what they were so now i dont know what they are or when they will be ready...any way to help me??

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simialar problem, different veg, bought some seed potato's and got them in the ground, through the packet away and now dont know what they are and when to harvest again, ive planted in the bottom of bin/bucket and as the leaves grew up i kept covering up making soil higher and higher, bucket has been full for two weeks now and im still building in the bin, they went in origionally about a month ago

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tim, first with the onions - small bulbs are called onion sets and these sets are planted out into their final growing positions in March / April about 4 inches apart. So you need to sort out an area for the onions to grow in and then tip the pot out and carefully separate the roots. If you plant the onions closer than 4 inches apart then you get smaller onions. With potatoes I always wait until the foliage has died down before I harvest them because I want good sized potatoes but if you are growing an early variety for 'new' potatoes you can harvest them after about 12 weeks.

[hiyatim]

thanks lesley i think ill probably do the same with the potato's and wait for the foliage to die back, is it tru that even after the foliage has gone you can leave them in the ground and they will last longer than making one big harvest??

with the onions i had so many sets that some are a bit close but i dont mind getting some smaller onions, how will i know when they are ready tho, is there a harvest time if i planted mid april ish?? ive tried googling it but couldnt find the answer

thanks

tim

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Tim, yes you can leave potatoes in the ground and dig them up as you need them, but before any frost!! The onions should be ready about the end of August. The leaves fall over and turn brown when they are ready, you need to stop watering about mid August to help the maturing process. You then lift them up and spread them out in the sun to dry out ready for storing.

[hiyatim]

thanks lesley, i wouldnt have done any of the above so im really glad i asked