Spring onions and basil problems

grantandersonuk · Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:20 am

Hi! I am new to this forum and I wonder if you can give me some advice on the above subjects?

I grow onions from sets very successfully in my raised beds with added mushroom compost but I am a total failure with spring onions which grow into a small white bulb with a spindly stem instead of the thick stems and no bulb which I want. Any ideas why this always happens, please?

Secondly, the basil which I grow very successfully in pots always develops black sooty spots towards the end of the season which can infect the whole plant if allowed to. I presume that it is black spot or something similar so I wondered if there was anything I could do to prevent this happening. BTW I never use chemicals in my veggie plot!

Grant

opabinia51 · Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:51 pm

Basil is a finicky plant, only water it once the soil has dried out. Also, try spraying the plant with a milk/water mixture. The black spots are a fungus (I'm thinking powdery mildew but, I don't know).

grantandersonuk · Sat Sep 16, 2006 7:09 pm

Milk, eh? I have never heard of that one before but I'll give it a try.

Thanks for the advice!

opabinia51 · Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:17 pm

You are most welcome.

You know, the only success that I have had with Basil in in greenhouses or greenhouse like structures. You might try that.

grantandersonuk · Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:49 pm

I can well understand that, actually: I used to grow amazing crops of basil in my cold frame until the neighbour's tree roots found the dinner party and became an unwelcome guest at the feast!

In fact they have now reached my raised beds and have started to do the very same there...

Any ideas about killing cherry tree roots other than an axe?

Grant

opabinia51 · Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:33 pm

Well, now you have hit an interesting dilema. I would check at your local municipal office regarding possible removal of the roots.

There are some possibilities but, I should think that if these are the roots from your neighbours tree that they would be liable.

psychobilly · Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:37 pm

When are you planting your onions and where do you live. Onions require about 100 days to mature, but do not like heat. Here, I plant sets in mid January to mid February. Then harvest 100 to 120 days later. May to June. As the weather warms up, the tops will begin to break over, signaling that the growing is over. I have set them out and had several frosts and freezes on them, but no damage is done. They will survive. I set them deep in the beds then as they grow, pull the dirt away from them so that by harvest the onion looks as though its setting on top of the row. Usually get some 3 to 4 inches across. I fertalize heavily with nitrogen about 45 days before harvest. I set out white bermuda and yellow granix. These are short day onions but then I live in the south, zone 7.

grantandersonuk · Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:06 am

Thanks for your reply!

I live in Edinburgh in Scotland and enjoy a fairly cool and wet climate actually.

I suspect that you have probably been a bit confused by my term "spring onions"? I think you in the USA refer to them as scallions or green onions?

I can and do grow ordinary onions very successfully from sets, particularly the Sturon variety which is very hardy and likes our conditions; it is just scallions I have trouble with.