As all of the other harvests are coming to an end, it’s a good idea to start clearing your plot and planting some Autumn onion sets, shallots, garlic and flowering bulbs for a Spring display.
The BALGA Members’ Shop has the following varieties in stock as of 7 October 2021.
As you can see, we now have elephant garlic in stock at £0.70 per clove. Elephant garlic is ideal for roasting with potatoes and vegetables as it has a more subtle flavour than traditional garlic.
It’s a good idea to plant some tulips and daffodils now for a colourful display in Springtime. Why not come to the shop this Sunday (10 am-12 pm) to buy your Autumn planting bulbs, shallot and onion sets and garlic.
There is still time to get your onion sets, shallots and flowering bulbs before the shop closes at the end of the season (24 Nov). Many gardening websites suggest that November is the perfect time to plant garlic and tulip bulbs, so why not come to the members’ shop this Sunday (10am – 12pm) and get some planting done before the weather changes.
It’s always nice to see things growing over the winter and it makes the plot look nice when the weather is so poor and there is little else growing.
As you can see from the table below, we have very limited stock of some varieties. If these are your favourites, then please come to the members’ shop this Sunday before they are sold out. We also have a handful of elephant garlic cloves left.
The members’ shop will now only be open on 17 November and 24 November before closing for the winter at 12pm on 24 Nov.
Summer may be winding down and we may be enjoying bountiful harvests, but now is the time to start thinking of the next growing season and this means the planting of autumn onion and shallot sets and garlic.
The members’ shop took delivery of the autumn sets a couple of weeks ago and this year we have available:
Onion sets (60p per 200g) :
Radar
Shakespeare
Tornado
Shallots (80p per 250g) :
Golden Gourmet
Red Sun
Shallot sets
Garlic (70p per head)
Thermidrome White
Carousel Pink
Garlic
You can also sow broad beans in the autumn and Broad Bean Aquadulce is the ideal variety for growing over the winter months. There are packs of 200g for £1 available in the shop.
This year we are also trialing the sale of assorted narcissus and tulip bulbs. The narcissus are available for 90p per 500g and there are five varieties of tulip available; the price for these being £2 for 10 bulbs.
Tulip bulbs
The members’ shop is open every Sunday until the end of November.
Sadly, we have to report that allium leaf miner has reached deepest darkest Hertfordshire and has been spotted on both our sites here in Baldock. This pest first arrived in the UK back in 2002. It has come from mainland Europe and was confined for quite a time to southern and eastern counties but it has been gradually spreading since then.
And to make matters worse, allium leaf miner has two lifecycles each growing season and will attack all members of the allium family, particularly leeks and spring planted onions, shallots and garlic. There is no chemical protection available to allotment gardeners so the only thing that can be done is to cover crops with Enviromesh, and hope!
The adult flies appear in March or April, having overwintered in the soil. The females will feed on the leaves of your alliums before laying her eggs, usually near the base of the leaves of the plant. This can be spotted if you see lines of white dots on the leaves of your alliums.
Leaf Miner leaf damage
The eggs hatch and the resulting larvae, which are tiny white, head and legless maggots, feed on the leaves before tunnelling (hence the name leaf miner) into the leaves. At this point, fully fed, the maggots pupate within the stem of the plant.
Leaf Miner pupae
This second generation will hatch in September/October and again lay eggs at the base of the plant. It is this generation that will do the most damage to the now mature onion and leek plants. It will also overwinter in the soil ready to hatch the following spring.
It should be noted that most plants affected will tend to rot from a secondary infection from fungi or bacteria that develop in the damaged stems in the plant. The damage this fly can do is such that there can be no sign of your alliums being affected until the rotting is noticed.
So what can we do to protect our crops?
First off, employ a strict crop rotation policy. Do not grow alliums in the same area of your plot the following year.
Secondly, if your alliums do become infected, it is best to dig up the infected plants and burn them. As the pupae can survive over the winter, do not leave any infected plant debris on the soil.
Cover alliums with horticultural fleece, particularly when the flies are active in the spring and again in the autumn.
Plant out young plants after the danger of the first wave has passed and lift before the second generation is active. Whilst this may help with onions, leeks are in the ground for a long time so will not be ready for lifting in early autumn so covering them may be our only defence.
