Onions and spuds - worth it?

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Onions and spuds - worth it?
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Can you be bothered?

Plant' em

75%

[ 24 ]

Not worth the hassle

25%

[ 8 ]

Total Votes : 32

Author

Message

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 12:08 pm Post subject:

Jonnyboy wrote:

Why are onions pointless? most cooks use massive amounts of them over a year. And unless you try really hard they are usually spanish.

We can buy 'em locally grown, in geet big nets (sort of half sack size) for two and a half quid from the greengrocers down the road. Not even far to stagger home with them.

SO yeah, onions are essentially a waste of time... but I'm growing red ones ('cos they're a bit different and far more expensive to buy, and we can't get 'em local) and some that came free with our spud order, alledgedly golden ones.

I'd say that shallots, garlic and leeks are more worthwhile; garlic gives you lots of flavour for the area it takes and is easy, and keeps exceedingly well, leeks are much better straight out of the ground, and shallots are amazingly expensive and can be grown with home saved.

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 12:09 pm Post subject:
I can't get local onions. I'll find out of there's a good reason for that after I've planted mine.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 12:11 pm Post subject:

Jonnyboy wrote:

And unless you try really hard they are usually spanish.

Eh? All three greengrocers in Torrington have British onions practically all year. Maybe they buy up the whole UK crop between them.

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 12:31 pm Post subject:
None of my local greengrovers do, they are great for everything else but onions seem to be a blind spot. When i lived in wales I would get the big sacks from the farm shop in over whenever i surfed the bore, they were dirt cheap so i can understand why people with access to them wouldn't want to grow their own.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 12:51 pm Post subject:
How bizarre. It really hadn't occurred to me that anyone might have difficulty buying UK grown onions.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 12:55 pm Post subject:
We never buy onions, we barter for maincrop spuds throughout the winter, which was very easy when I worked in the potato stores

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:02 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

How bizarre. It really hadn't occurred to me that anyone might have difficulty buying UK grown onions.

Life is tough outside the shires.

Tay

Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 2811
Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 4:37 pm Post subject:
There's no poll option for me to vote on. I have been growing onions but spuds are just too much effort. It's so hot and dry here in the summer that the few spuds we do get are small. Our first year here produced wonderful, plentiful potatoes, but spring had been very wet.

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 4:57 pm Post subject:
Yes, but only if you have plenty of space, otherwise go for less basic stuff. I like the spud part of the rotation (as cab says), also because that's the year when the plot gets really well-mucked. Home-grown onions do taste better - and red onions seem to be particularly successful

Dunc

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 134
Location: Lancashire

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 6:03 pm Post subject:
I'd say plant 'em. Even if it's only a couple of rows, they taste great (earlies especially) and are a big part of the occasional "entirely home grown" meal. That takes some beating in my book.

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 6:09 pm Post subject:

Simon wrote:

EDIT: please feel free to proof-read coincidense. It looks wrong

Oh thanks - permission to be a pedant...how wonderful

'Coincidence'

We grow potatoes and onions - quite a variety of onions. The potatoes were fairly successful last year...onions very successful - just not enough of them! Back to the drawing board this year. Gervase is gowing the potatoes and I'm increasing the onions several fold.

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 6:11 pm Post subject:
When we had an allotment we went for three years without buying a single onion. Now I grow a few Jap. Onions and one bed of 1st earlies. For fun I have three dustbins that will be used for Desiree.

Sally Too

Joined: 14 Sep 2006
Posts: 2511
Location: N.Ireland

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 6:48 pm Post subject:

Dunc wrote:

I'd say plant 'em. Even if it's only a couple of rows, they taste great (earlies especially) and are a big part of the occasional "entirely home grown" meal. That takes some beating in my book.

Ohh yes the 'grew it all myself' meal... Great!

My sister did pigs last year so we had a great home-grown meal one evening with some of her delicious pork chops, apple sauce from our apple tree, spuds, onions and some other home grown veg - I think it was the pumpkin.... & even a little of the previous year's nettle wine..... true satisfaction!

Growing your own is SO addictive!

deanom

Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 93
Location: Lincolnshire

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 7:29 pm Post subject: Still Eating
I think that they're worth it if you have the space. We're still eating our own spuds and onions, although we grew too many onions, and will probably still be eating this lot when the this year's batch are ready. Our Autumn sown sets are coming on nicely along with the 2kg of garlic (overkill) that we planted in October. Looks like we'll be eating garlic with everything!

Sally Too

Joined: 14 Sep 2006
Posts: 2511
Location: N.Ireland

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 7:44 pm Post subject: Re: Still Eating

deanom wrote:

Looks like we'll be eating garlic with everything!

So no colds/sore throats etc. in your family then?

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