Hey there,
How are your gardens doing? What’s gone well this year, and where are you having problems?
Things are looking good for me so far. Like every year, I had some trouble with black bean aphids on my fava beans, but that seems to have resolved itself (even though the affected plants aren’t yielding much).
I’m happy with my onions and potatoes… does anyone know why some of my onion sets are deciding to go to seed?
Wishing you all a great week!
Things are looking pretty vigorous in the garden still. I just harvested my garlic last weekend (~1500 heads). Better size than last year, but slightly more foliar disease; I may use netting next summer to keep pests off ...
To OP - I'm guessing you planted onion sets (baby bulbs). Onions are biennial - they flower on the second year. This happens often when using starter bulbs. The good news - Free seeds! you should wait until they mature and save the seeds. Next year grow from seed - they'll be bigger and won't bolt. Put like 25 to 50 seeds in a solo cup (or similar pot) next jan-February and grow them in a window until early spring. Soak them in water to break up the clump growing in your cup and plant them as individuals in your bed - add sulfur with your fertilizer to bed for pest control and better pungency. Protip: trim onion leaves 2-3 times through growing season about 8 inches tall to keep the weight off the stem and prevent early senescence ( triggered by bending of the stem) as well as triggering additional leaf production (ie more layers in yo onion)
Is that romanesco? I love that stuff, but it's difficult to find regularly for some reason where I live and I'd love to grow it. Any advice or pointers? I don't even know what season to start but it's certainly not right now as it's been either sweltering or windy and cold lately. I finally m moved into a house and got a side yard where I started a garden this year in a raised bed, tomatoes in pots, and a mishmash of old soil from pots that I threw some sunflower, pumpkin, and zenia seeds in with a bunch for fertilizer. Those are doing surprisingly well. Zone 9b.