onions

Question 1

Named cultivar

Answer 1

Allium ‘Red Baron’

Question 2

How to sow indoors

Answer 2

Jan/Feb indoors into modules with 1 seed per module. Keep at 10 degC. Grow on in a glasshouse and harden off in march. Plant out in late March, spacing plants 10cm apart in rows 30cm apart.

Question 3

How to maintain

Answer 3

keep area weed free
Allow foliage to die down

Question 4

how to store

Answer 4

Allow the foliage to die down and then lift the bulbs with a fork. Leave bulbs on the soil surface for the skins to dry and the roots to die. Once dry, remove any loose skins and store in a cool, dry shed which is frost free.

Question 5

How long to store for

Answer 5

They can be stored until May the next year.

Question 6

One pest and it’s controls

Answer 6

Onion fly. Maggots burrow into the base. Lift and burn badly affected plants. Use fleece. Dig soil in winter to expose maggots.

Question 7

One disease and it’s controls

Answer 7

Onion smut. Soil borne disease. Dark lead coloured stripes appear on leaves. Plant clean seedlings raised in modules or trays.