8 Tips to Grow Perfect Onions, Garlic, and Leeks
video description
Date: 2022-07-18
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 15
Nicolas
Nitrogen fertilizing will get you bigger onions and garlic, but taste gets bland and storing gets worse. Too much water = it doesn't store well. Also for the watering, they need water when the bulb starts to form, so about 2 months before harvest. But yeah, never put nitrogen fertilizer it's useless. I plant allium small bulbs under 10 cm of wood chips, it's absolutely fine. For me it is completely counterprductive to grow alliums without mulch. Why would you? Mulch gives you longer whites for leeks, and it's easy to add some. And for all alliums, it keeps water in, and weeds out. It's a myth that they will rot under the mulch, only if you use something like grass clippings. But with wood chips? Perfectly fine to put a thick mulch. Regarding soil requirements, there is a HUGE difference between leeks and the other alliums. Onions, shallots and garlic love a well draining soil, and don't like heavy clay. They're best grown on a little mound. However, leeks don't mind heavy clay, they don't mind water logged soils, at least for most varieties.
reply
Nitrogen fertilizing will get you bigger onions and garlic, but taste gets bland and storing gets worse. Too much water = it doesn't store well. Also for the watering, they need water when the bulb starts to form, so about 2 months before harvest. But yeah, never put nitrogen fertilizer it's useless. I plant allium small bulbs under 10 cm of wood chips, it's absolutely fine. For me it is completely counterprductive to grow alliums without mulch. Why would you? Mulch gives you longer whites for leeks, and it's easy to add some. And for all alliums, it keeps water in, and weeds out. It's a myth that they will rot under the mulch, only if you use something like grass clippings. But with wood chips? Perfectly fine to put a thick mulch. Regarding soil requirements, there is a HUGE difference between leeks and the other alliums. Onions, shallots and garlic love a well draining soil, and don't like heavy clay. They're best grown on a little mound. However, leeks don't mind heavy clay, they don't mind water logged soils, at least for most varieties.
reply
handmade
Hello friend I grow garlic here in zone 7a in N. C. and definitely recommend a pre soak for your garlic cloves but instead of a fish product use a seaweed. Your garlic bulbs have been setting on a shelf in sleep mode for several months and will break that dormancy two weeks quicker after planting I'm the form of root growth. I intently said seaweed earlier due to the natural growth hormones it contains and already plant available nutrients absorbed by the once living kelp plant. So ditch the stinky fish stuff you gotta the kelp. One more thing I've personally had to leave the cloves soaking in the solution up to 3 days (weather related delays) and had no loose in germination after planting. Though personally I wouldn't wait that long. One more thought on the soaking process. If you notice any damage to the clove under the wrapper it could be mite's (you can do your own homework on that) the long soak can drown them. Thanks for the great content my friend and happy gardening.
reply
Hello friend I grow garlic here in zone 7a in N. C. and definitely recommend a pre soak for your garlic cloves but instead of a fish product use a seaweed. Your garlic bulbs have been setting on a shelf in sleep mode for several months and will break that dormancy two weeks quicker after planting I'm the form of root growth. I intently said seaweed earlier due to the natural growth hormones it contains and already plant available nutrients absorbed by the once living kelp plant. So ditch the stinky fish stuff you gotta the kelp. One more thing I've personally had to leave the cloves soaking in the solution up to 3 days (weather related delays) and had no loose in germination after planting. Though personally I wouldn't wait that long. One more thought on the soaking process. If you notice any damage to the clove under the wrapper it could be mite's (you can do your own homework on that) the long soak can drown them. Thanks for the great content my friend and happy gardening.
reply
Yee
Here in the desert, my best alliums are green onions and chives. They seem to be perennial here and grow continuously and spread a bit. Next I would say are garlic, though I am still working on getting bigger bulbs. However, our climate is so extreme that it is possible my small bulbs might be it. They taste wonderful though.
I keep trying onions and leeks. Leeks keep dying in summer, though I have only tried the last 2 years. I am trying again - they are super easy to sprout, even though my seeds are from 2013. Onions are great as green onions but they also seem to really dislike the summers; I lose a lot of bulbing onion plants in summer. I am trying again with a bit more shade and mulch. I am seeing more survive but so far, not much bulbing.
Still alliums are gorgeous and everything love their flowers, which are also interesting as garden snacks or salad topping. Just have to blow off any small insects lol.
reply
Here in the desert, my best alliums are green onions and chives. They seem to be perennial here and grow continuously and spread a bit. Next I would say are garlic, though I am still working on getting bigger bulbs. However, our climate is so extreme that it is possible my small bulbs might be it. They taste wonderful though.
I keep trying onions and leeks. Leeks keep dying in summer, though I have only tried the last 2 years. I am trying again - they are super easy to sprout, even though my seeds are from 2013. Onions are great as green onions but they also seem to really dislike the summers; I lose a lot of bulbing onion plants in summer. I am trying again with a bit more shade and mulch. I am seeing more survive but so far, not much bulbing.
Still alliums are gorgeous and everything love their flowers, which are also interesting as garden snacks or salad topping. Just have to blow off any small insects lol.
reply
Tartaglia
To me garlic especially is my favorite crop ever, it surfaces when all other crops die down in October-December, so it feeds off my summee crops like peppers and tomatoes.
Its also extremely hardy for some reason and it grows while its freezing (thank god the winters are very mild here)
Usually tips get kinda yellow quite early on tho, probably because of the very wet soils that i get during winter from all the rain.
Thats why the bulbs arent the largest but what i mainly just love about it is that it is a 0 care crop for me that keeps the ground alive during the dark winter months.
And it all happened because i once just dumped in a few garlic cloves in the ground for fun and they survived ever since. (Usually one or 2 bulbs stay behind in the soil without me noticing and then pop up later in fall. Maybe I should look into getting a better suited variety one day soon)
reply
To me garlic especially is my favorite crop ever, it surfaces when all other crops die down in October-December, so it feeds off my summee crops like peppers and tomatoes.
Its also extremely hardy for some reason and it grows while its freezing (thank god the winters are very mild here)
Usually tips get kinda yellow quite early on tho, probably because of the very wet soils that i get during winter from all the rain.
Thats why the bulbs arent the largest but what i mainly just love about it is that it is a 0 care crop for me that keeps the ground alive during the dark winter months.
And it all happened because i once just dumped in a few garlic cloves in the ground for fun and they survived ever since. (Usually one or 2 bulbs stay behind in the soil without me noticing and then pop up later in fall. Maybe I should look into getting a better suited variety one day soon)
reply
Lady-T
I have a question, I have onion seed and it's late spring and I wanted to plant for onions this year, my question is will the seed make an actual onion this year or do I have to overwinter them to get onions for next year. And also I plan on saving some seed from my onions for future harvests and I needed to know basically what the process is for that. I'm afraid with the food shortages fresh onions might be hard to come by soon, and I prefer fresh onions to dehydrated even though I have those. So a very detailed tutorial of just onions for the purposes of homesteading and seed saving would be very much appreciated. I'm in central Oklahoma zone 7. We get fairly hot summers, mild-ish Winters except for a couple of months from January to March we have the opportunity for some severe cold weather. Even though we don't usually get a lot of it
reply
I have a question, I have onion seed and it's late spring and I wanted to plant for onions this year, my question is will the seed make an actual onion this year or do I have to overwinter them to get onions for next year. And also I plan on saving some seed from my onions for future harvests and I needed to know basically what the process is for that. I'm afraid with the food shortages fresh onions might be hard to come by soon, and I prefer fresh onions to dehydrated even though I have those. So a very detailed tutorial of just onions for the purposes of homesteading and seed saving would be very much appreciated. I'm in central Oklahoma zone 7. We get fairly hot summers, mild-ish Winters except for a couple of months from January to March we have the opportunity for some severe cold weather. Even though we don't usually get a lot of it
reply
ROBYN
I love growing alliums. Im near San Francisco and experimented with short day onion. Theyre are showing signs of bulbing but not much. Its too cool here during the bulbing phase, which ends this month (March) when day length exceeds 12 hours. I have had abundant success with intermediate and long day onion, which gives me a spring and summer harvest. I only trim away green parts for what I eat. But I dont make it a habit of trimming my onion. I find it counter intuitive to what the plant needs-especially during the bulbing phase.
reply
I love growing alliums. Im near San Francisco and experimented with short day onion. Theyre are showing signs of bulbing but not much. Its too cool here during the bulbing phase, which ends this month (March) when day length exceeds 12 hours. I have had abundant success with intermediate and long day onion, which gives me a spring and summer harvest. I only trim away green parts for what I eat. But I dont make it a habit of trimming my onion. I find it counter intuitive to what the plant needs-especially during the bulbing phase.
reply
Jeff
I've been burned one too many times growing onions from sets. way too many flowers & not enough bulb production. Another down side with onion sets is the varieties are extremely limited vs. what you can get with seeds.
For my main onion crop I start seeds indoors Jan-Feb, then plant them out in the Spring. I also direct sow seeds in the Fall & let them winter over, so I get an early crop while my main crop is maturing. By doing this I haven't had to buy onions from the store in years.
reply
I've been burned one too many times growing onions from sets. way too many flowers & not enough bulb production. Another down side with onion sets is the varieties are extremely limited vs. what you can get with seeds.
For my main onion crop I start seeds indoors Jan-Feb, then plant them out in the Spring. I also direct sow seeds in the Fall & let them winter over, so I get an early crop while my main crop is maturing. By doing this I haven't had to buy onions from the store in years.
reply
Amanda
Harvest wild allium. great for beginner foragers. if it smells and looks like garlic, it is and its safe to eat. if it smells and looks like onion, it is and its safe to eat! Sooooo many wild varieties grow naturally all over CA and North America and the whole Earth! WHY spend money on fertilizers, seeds, grow bags, soil, et al when you can forage from nature. ? This guy is a giant commercial for the companies who sell all of the above.
reply
Harvest wild allium. great for beginner foragers. if it smells and looks like garlic, it is and its safe to eat. if it smells and looks like onion, it is and its safe to eat! Sooooo many wild varieties grow naturally all over CA and North America and the whole Earth! WHY spend money on fertilizers, seeds, grow bags, soil, et al when you can forage from nature. ? This guy is a giant commercial for the companies who sell all of the above.
reply
Brian
First year doing leeks in zone 5.
Started the leeks a few weeks later than the onions in January from seed (wish I had started with the onions. The leeks were growing fine in a small tub with about 3 of potting soil. Decided to transplant them into a deeper container, burying the plant a few inches. Hopefully this will give me a head start when time to plant in about a month.
reply
First year doing leeks in zone 5.
Started the leeks a few weeks later than the onions in January from seed (wish I had started with the onions. The leeks were growing fine in a small tub with about 3 of potting soil. Decided to transplant them into a deeper container, burying the plant a few inches. Hopefully this will give me a head start when time to plant in about a month.
reply
Cee
I'm in 5a/b (on the line. Tried 2 years of garlic in containers and even with extra mulch and wrap, they froze solid. This past fall, went totally in ground, a LOT of extra mulch, and I have garlic sprouting. Stoked! I currently have long day onion seeds starting, hopefully will have a harvest there too. No space for leeks. Summary - this is a great vid. Thank you!
reply
I'm in 5a/b (on the line. Tried 2 years of garlic in containers and even with extra mulch and wrap, they froze solid. This past fall, went totally in ground, a LOT of extra mulch, and I have garlic sprouting. Stoked! I currently have long day onion seeds starting, hopefully will have a harvest there too. No space for leeks. Summary - this is a great vid. Thank you!
reply
Justin
I dont think im growing any alliums here for a while outside of a few in the converted grill raised bed for greens. I put 4 pieces deep cardboard in a few walkways with 4 inches of chip on top. This year the walkways are full of tiny wild onions that went straight through the walkway layer. Unfortunately they dont taste good, very hot even if you caramelize them
reply
I dont think im growing any alliums here for a while outside of a few in the converted grill raised bed for greens. I put 4 pieces deep cardboard in a few walkways with 4 inches of chip on top. This year the walkways are full of tiny wild onions that went straight through the walkway layer. Unfortunately they dont taste good, very hot even if you caramelize them
reply
Elisa
Given the unpredictable nature of gardening I wonder how many tips like that (garlic soaking) are essentially superstitions a la skinner's randomly-reinforced pigeons. You do this, you have a successful season, you fear not doing it in every following season because what if it was the thing that worked? Baseball players are notorious for this.
reply
Given the unpredictable nature of gardening I wonder how many tips like that (garlic soaking) are essentially superstitions a la skinner's randomly-reinforced pigeons. You do this, you have a successful season, you fear not doing it in every following season because what if it was the thing that worked? Baseball players are notorious for this.
reply
Stacie
My onions werent forming big bulbs until I learned to move some soil away from the bulb. I learned that from watching Jason from Cog Hill Farm. I wait till I see the bulb start to form above ground, then I move some soil away to give it less resistance. It actually helped a lot! I suspect the timing of this might be a factor.
reply
My onions werent forming big bulbs until I learned to move some soil away from the bulb. I learned that from watching Jason from Cog Hill Farm. I wait till I see the bulb start to form above ground, then I move some soil away to give it less resistance. It actually helped a lot! I suspect the timing of this might be a factor.
reply
Kathryn
My husband complained about grocery store garlic and asked me to grow some but he asked at the end of February which is too late for Central Texas 8b. I have my calendar marked in September to start thinking about garlic. Varieties, sources, etc. Your video has helped me understand terminology and get prepared.
reply
My husband complained about grocery store garlic and asked me to grow some but he asked at the end of February which is too late for Central Texas 8b. I have my calendar marked in September to start thinking about garlic. Varieties, sources, etc. Your video has helped me understand terminology and get prepared.
reply
umiluv
Thanks for reminding me! I need to check when to plant my onion seeds! 7a.
We had a week of 80 degree weather and then got hit by a snowstorm with a hard freeze. The wild daffodils almost died. Crazy weather here in the South lol. Not like Los Angeles where I moved from. Totally different lol.
reply
Thanks for reminding me! I need to check when to plant my onion seeds! 7a.
We had a week of 80 degree weather and then got hit by a snowstorm with a hard freeze. The wild daffodils almost died. Crazy weather here in the South lol. Not like Los Angeles where I moved from. Totally different lol.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
