The veggie garden
In the veggie garden
By Andy Roberts
this summer
Having problems with bolting onions ? Try growing hybrid varieties ...
They say mechanics don ’ t keep good cars because they are tired from fixing other peoples ’ all day . I ’ m not sure how true this is but I do know that my veggie garden is not a gold standard for the horticultural profession , probably for the same reason . However , I do grow good onions and am rather pleased that I will have onions as late as April , harvested about now , provided I have paid attention to storing them in a cool , dry , shady area ( in bags over the front of the Land Cruiser !) with occasional re-drying .
This year , at least half have bolted ( flowered ) and as a result will not store well . Onions are normally a biennial crop , meaning that they take two seasons to complete their life cycle and flower . If , however , there is a cold snap , as there was in early September , and the onions are sufficiently large , the plants can be ‘ fooled ’ into producing flowers . It is , of course , not possible to control the weather but there are a couple of techniques one can adopt to reduce the bolting .
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• Don ’ t plant too early – April , May and June are about optimum in this part of the world .
• Plant a hybrid cultivar that is boltresistant . They are proportionately expensive but worth it !
If your onions have bolted then cut off the flowers , lift , dry and use them quickly . They can also be cut up and frozen for later use .
Bolting is also a problem for other vegetables . Iceberg lettuces are particularly susceptible at this time of year , the so-called ‘ fancy ’ lettuces less so . Cauliflower and broccoli are not known for hot season performance either . Hybrids will perform well , however they must be watched once they start to head as they can over-mature in just a few days . They still taste fine , they just don ’ t look so attractive !
Don ’ t bother keeping the seed from a hybrid crop though as these properties are not maintained in subsequent generations .
Hybrid vegetables ( and other crops ) have numerous other attractive properties too :
• Very uniform size and growth
• A number of pest / disease resistant properties
• Predictable physical and chemical properties
• High yielding
• Often grown for a specific purpose e . g . certain onions are grown specifically for drying .
Of course , you get what you pay for and they can be extremely expensive – some sweet pepper seeds are as much as 7c each !
What to plant
December Sow sweet corn and maize for green consumption . Plant hybrid beans , cabbage , cauliflower and broccoli , as they will perform better . Plant capsicums ( pepper family ), Swiss chard , celery , rape , tomatoes , brinjal and sweet potato .
January Sow sweet corn ( too late for green maize ). Plant hybrid beans , cabbage , cauliflower and broccoli . Plant capsicums , Swiss chard , celery , rape , tomatoes , brinjal and sweet potato .
February As for January , excluding sweet corn and sweet potatoes . Getting late for tomatoes , brinjal and the capsicums too , but worth doing if your frost risk is low .
When an onion bolts , it produces a flower .
Bend over the necks of the onion before it bolts to help with the maturing and drying process .
Emerald seedlings offers a wide range of vegetable seedlings . Emerald Seedlings , Alpes Rd , Teviotdale Vegetable seedlings office 0772 326 446 seedling @ zol . co . zw